[MakkabI]
July 30th, 2004, 05:20 PM
Yuko Hayashida is an incongruous sight among modern religious Jerusalemites.
"I was brought up in Japan, but I feel Jewish. I don't know why - it's like falling in love."
FAMILY HISTORY
Hayashida hails from a middle-class family in Osaka, Japan's second largest city, with six million inhabitants.
"Osaka is crowded and fast paced - hot and humid in summer, and cold in the winter. My childhood was not so happy. I was shy and did not have many friends. It was hell at home for over 10 years until my parents divorced when I was 21."
BEFORE ARRIVING
"My first contact with Jewish people was through reading books like The Diary of Anne Frank as a teenager."
After graduating high school with excellent grades, she enrolled at Osaka University to study Arabic and Islam.
"I thought maybe I would work for companies involved in import-export with Arab countries. We learned classical Arabic, Aramaic, modern and biblical Hebrew. I realized that I couldn't understand Islam without knowing Judaism and Hebrew. It was so fascinating! The attraction to Judaism began when I was about 21, after studying Arabic for two years."
In the summer of 2001, she spent two months at Hebrew University, studying Hebrew and living in the Mount Scopus dormitories.
"I met many Jews and attended a different synagogue every Shabbat. I don't know why I felt at home in Jerusalem, but somehow I felt more comfortable than in Japan. Day by day, the feeling that I'm Jewish became stronger. By the time I completed my MA course [in Japan], I had already decided to convert."
Hayashida traces her feelings of Jewishness to a trip to Poland in 2003.
"After visiting Auschwitz, I went to the Warsaw synagogue where I met a righteous elderly English Jew who wanted to help me. He has good connections in Israel, and introduced me to a rabbi."
Hayashida graduated in the spring of 2003. Her thesis was on the 1,000-year-old Karaite and rabbinical ketubot (marriage contracts) uncovered in the Cairo Geniza.
"I was happy in university. My professor wanted me to continue to a PhD, but I wanted to return to my people."
UPON ARRIVAL
Hayashida moved to Jerusalem last July. She soon found a sublet in the Katamon neighborhood via the Internet, which she shared with two Israeli students she had not met before.
In May, she completed a Rabbinical Council of America conversion course, held in Jerusalem in English.
"About 20 women began the course last September, but some disappeared. They came from different countries; most have a Jewish partner. We met twice a week, and learned about kashrut, the festivals, Bible, Halacha, Jewish philosophy, history and prayer.
"Conversion was easy for me. I passed the exams, and was interviewed by three rabbis at the Beit Din [rabbinical court]. They questioned me about my knowledge of Judaism and the laws. It usually takes six months to get a conversion certificate, but they're going to give me one soon."
FAITH
"I dress conservatively, and attend an Orthodox Ashkenazi synagogue every Shabbat. Members of the congregation occasionally invite me for lunch.
"In Japan, I believed in God but not in religion. The Japanese think religion is a drug. Most are atheists, but I have friends who are serious Buddhists from childhood."
ADJUSTMENT
"As an Asian, it is a problem to live in Israel. People harass me and cars honk at me. Israeli guys yell 'China, Filipina.' They embarrass me. Somebody tried to rape me on Rehov Yehuda in Baka one evening. I'm a very shy person. Sometimes I miss the safety of Japan, where I didn't stand out.
"I get very stressed out by terrorist attacks. I heard the explosion at Caf Hillel - it was so scary. I have mixed feelings about Israeli politics. Suicide bombers are criminals, [but] I cannot be too right-wing because of my background."
CIRCLE
"I'm not so sociable, and it's difficult for me to make friends. I e-mail my few close friends from Japan every day, in Japanese."
Hayashida recently met her fianc , a Yeshiva student originally from Poland, at Hebrew University.
"I had a few shidduchs [arranged dates], but none was right."
FINANCES
Hayashida brought her modest savings from working as a private math, English and Arabic tutor while a student.
"I somehow survived the first year, but if this situation continues I will have to return to Japan to make some money. In Israel, I am unemployable. I cannot find a job, although I constantly search via employment agencies and the Internet. I worked as a waitress in a Jerusalem sushi bar for a while, but was not satisfied. I occasionally work as a babysitter."
IDENTIFICATION
"Sometimes I miss Japan - especially the hot springs, my friends and my cats. There are many cultural differences. In general, people are very modest in Japan. We take our shoes off at home. Japanese bathrooms are very clean. I especially miss the food. Here I eat pita, humous and tahina instead of seaweed and rice.
"My friends and family in Japan think that I'm crazy. They think Israel is a dangerous country, but I love Jerusalem and Israel. I am a part of the Jewish people. I don't feel like a stranger here."
LIVING ENVIRONMENT
Hayashida currently lives in her third rented apartment, which she shares with two English-speaking religious women in the Talpiot neighborhood.
Religious books line faded wicker bookshelves in the frugally furnished lounge. There is no television.
"Television is a waste of time and addictive."
ROUTINE
"I'm a night person, who likes to read. Right now, I'm preparing to join a midrasha [college of Jewish studies] for religious girls."
LANGUAGE
"Language is my hobby. I studied English in high school, and speak better English than Hebrew. Israelis speak too fast for me."
PLANS
"I'd like to learn more about Judaism, find a job and make a family. I want to live in a Jewish community. I haven't yet found the time to travel around Israel, outside Jerusalem. Everything is happening so quickly."
"I was brought up in Japan, but I feel Jewish. I don't know why - it's like falling in love."
FAMILY HISTORY
Hayashida hails from a middle-class family in Osaka, Japan's second largest city, with six million inhabitants.
"Osaka is crowded and fast paced - hot and humid in summer, and cold in the winter. My childhood was not so happy. I was shy and did not have many friends. It was hell at home for over 10 years until my parents divorced when I was 21."
BEFORE ARRIVING
"My first contact with Jewish people was through reading books like The Diary of Anne Frank as a teenager."
After graduating high school with excellent grades, she enrolled at Osaka University to study Arabic and Islam.
"I thought maybe I would work for companies involved in import-export with Arab countries. We learned classical Arabic, Aramaic, modern and biblical Hebrew. I realized that I couldn't understand Islam without knowing Judaism and Hebrew. It was so fascinating! The attraction to Judaism began when I was about 21, after studying Arabic for two years."
In the summer of 2001, she spent two months at Hebrew University, studying Hebrew and living in the Mount Scopus dormitories.
"I met many Jews and attended a different synagogue every Shabbat. I don't know why I felt at home in Jerusalem, but somehow I felt more comfortable than in Japan. Day by day, the feeling that I'm Jewish became stronger. By the time I completed my MA course [in Japan], I had already decided to convert."
Hayashida traces her feelings of Jewishness to a trip to Poland in 2003.
"After visiting Auschwitz, I went to the Warsaw synagogue where I met a righteous elderly English Jew who wanted to help me. He has good connections in Israel, and introduced me to a rabbi."
Hayashida graduated in the spring of 2003. Her thesis was on the 1,000-year-old Karaite and rabbinical ketubot (marriage contracts) uncovered in the Cairo Geniza.
"I was happy in university. My professor wanted me to continue to a PhD, but I wanted to return to my people."
UPON ARRIVAL
Hayashida moved to Jerusalem last July. She soon found a sublet in the Katamon neighborhood via the Internet, which she shared with two Israeli students she had not met before.
In May, she completed a Rabbinical Council of America conversion course, held in Jerusalem in English.
"About 20 women began the course last September, but some disappeared. They came from different countries; most have a Jewish partner. We met twice a week, and learned about kashrut, the festivals, Bible, Halacha, Jewish philosophy, history and prayer.
"Conversion was easy for me. I passed the exams, and was interviewed by three rabbis at the Beit Din [rabbinical court]. They questioned me about my knowledge of Judaism and the laws. It usually takes six months to get a conversion certificate, but they're going to give me one soon."
FAITH
"I dress conservatively, and attend an Orthodox Ashkenazi synagogue every Shabbat. Members of the congregation occasionally invite me for lunch.
"In Japan, I believed in God but not in religion. The Japanese think religion is a drug. Most are atheists, but I have friends who are serious Buddhists from childhood."
ADJUSTMENT
"As an Asian, it is a problem to live in Israel. People harass me and cars honk at me. Israeli guys yell 'China, Filipina.' They embarrass me. Somebody tried to rape me on Rehov Yehuda in Baka one evening. I'm a very shy person. Sometimes I miss the safety of Japan, where I didn't stand out.
"I get very stressed out by terrorist attacks. I heard the explosion at Caf Hillel - it was so scary. I have mixed feelings about Israeli politics. Suicide bombers are criminals, [but] I cannot be too right-wing because of my background."
CIRCLE
"I'm not so sociable, and it's difficult for me to make friends. I e-mail my few close friends from Japan every day, in Japanese."
Hayashida recently met her fianc , a Yeshiva student originally from Poland, at Hebrew University.
"I had a few shidduchs [arranged dates], but none was right."
FINANCES
Hayashida brought her modest savings from working as a private math, English and Arabic tutor while a student.
"I somehow survived the first year, but if this situation continues I will have to return to Japan to make some money. In Israel, I am unemployable. I cannot find a job, although I constantly search via employment agencies and the Internet. I worked as a waitress in a Jerusalem sushi bar for a while, but was not satisfied. I occasionally work as a babysitter."
IDENTIFICATION
"Sometimes I miss Japan - especially the hot springs, my friends and my cats. There are many cultural differences. In general, people are very modest in Japan. We take our shoes off at home. Japanese bathrooms are very clean. I especially miss the food. Here I eat pita, humous and tahina instead of seaweed and rice.
"My friends and family in Japan think that I'm crazy. They think Israel is a dangerous country, but I love Jerusalem and Israel. I am a part of the Jewish people. I don't feel like a stranger here."
LIVING ENVIRONMENT
Hayashida currently lives in her third rented apartment, which she shares with two English-speaking religious women in the Talpiot neighborhood.
Religious books line faded wicker bookshelves in the frugally furnished lounge. There is no television.
"Television is a waste of time and addictive."
ROUTINE
"I'm a night person, who likes to read. Right now, I'm preparing to join a midrasha [college of Jewish studies] for religious girls."
LANGUAGE
"Language is my hobby. I studied English in high school, and speak better English than Hebrew. Israelis speak too fast for me."
PLANS
"I'd like to learn more about Judaism, find a job and make a family. I want to live in a Jewish community. I haven't yet found the time to travel around Israel, outside Jerusalem. Everything is happening so quickly."