Culture Class

So far we've had about three culture classes and they've all been very different. Our first class was with Professor Xu Xin who founded the Institute of Jewish Studies at Nanjing University. We met in a meeting room full of Jewish artifacts donated to the institute such as menorahs, kipot and talitot. Along one wall was a case full of Hebrew books that had been translated into Chinse by Xu and his students

.

One of his students brought out a torah kept in an Ark that was donated to the institute. I know Lizzie (my roommate and the other Jewish student in our group) and I definitely felt a sense of pride at the accomplishments and prestige the institute seemed to carry. Xu talked to us about the Chinese understanding of the Jews and the common ancient roots that both Judaism and and China share. When asked about his interest in the Jewish people Xu said that "to understand yourself you have to understand your fellow man".

Professor Xin showed Lizzie and I the library full of donated books (above, left) and He told me the Jewish books I brought for him would be added to the library.