Courtesy of Tamar Godel
maintain that connection.

Like some other future Hakehillah members,
Godel did not click with Chabad, at the time the only
Jewish community in Seoul. She had a diff erent way
of practicing Judaism than Chabad and found they
did not share the same values at times.

When Godel’s eff ort to pay off her loans was pro-
longed, she decided to stay in Korea longer than
intended, and if she was going to stay, she was going
to fi nd a way to make the best of her situation.

“If I have the opportunity to be here long enough, to
do better than Chabad, why shouldn’t I do it?” she said.

She and Toombs, a Minnesota native who was also
teaching English, fell into leading HaKehillah. Th ey
had both attended a Shabbat at a Jewish woman’s
house, which quickly transformed into frequent cof-
fee meet-ups and dinners.

“You would just go to [our friend's home], and
there are other young Jewish adults who were awe-
some, and you would talk late into the night; you
would stay over; you would talk all Saturday. It was
really lovely,” Godel said.

When that young family moved back to the U.S.

in June 2017, Godel, Toombs and the other young
Jews were on their own. Th at December, they hosted
Hakehillah’s fi rst Chanukah party.

For the past four years, the group has continued
to hold programming, getting funding from Hakhel
grants from Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Aff airs
and from ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal and
the National Center to Encourage Judaism. Th ey are
sorting out their High Holiday plans, which have
Hakehillah members attend a Chanukah
celebration at a member’s home.

shift ed every year due to the pandemic and Korean
laws, which dictate that no one can have religious
exemptions and take time off from work for holidays.

Th e Hakehillah members are working on their
own Haggadah, which, beyond its purpose during
Passover, will serve as an instructional man-
ual and guide for the next generation of Jews in
South Korea.

Within the congregation, there are already six
young Korean Jews, all 18 or younger, many of
whom are the children of one Korean and one white,
Jewish parent. Th e hope is that when Godel, as well
as many other members, return to the U.S., this next
generation of Hakehillah members can pick up the
Haggadah — written in English, Hebrew and Korean
— and adapt it to accommodate what their commu-
nity needs years from now.

“Our space is very well defi ned,” Toombs said, “But
it’s also vague enough that whoever takes it over next
can decide the fl avor, the identity of how it’s run.” JE
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