AsiaLIFE

Think of religious minorities in the Kingdom and it is unlikely that those of the Jewish persuasion will figure too high up on your list. However, there is a small but active group here and they even have their own synagogue. Words by Julie Masis.

Imagine living in Phnom Penh without ever going to a restaurant, a bar or a movie, without even buying a snack on the street or riding a motorcycle. That is the way Rabbi Bentche Butman, 26, his wife Mashie, 23, and their two small children live.

Cambodia’s first Jewish religious leader moved here from New York at the end of November, renting a house a few blocks from the Independence Monument, and opened a synagogue in his living room.

Mashie Butman says they rarely leave the house – only to go shopping or for a short walk in the late afternoon when the heat is less intense.

Instead, others come to them.

Every Friday night, Phnom Penh’s Jewish community gathers around their dining room table for a traditional Jewish meal of matzo-ball soup, gefilte fish with horseradish, home-backed challah bread and babaganoush. “When you step through our doors, you forget that you are in Cambodia,” says Rabbi Butman.

As orthodox Jews, all the food they eat is kosher. This dictates the separation of milk and meat, so that separate sets of dishes, pots, and silverware are used for each. All animals have to be slaughtered in a special fashion that Jews believe causes the animals less pain. Certain food – such as pork and seafood other than fish – is entirely prohibited.

When the Butmans moved here, they brought with them US$8,000 worth of food from New York. The only items they purchase locally are bottled water, fruit, vegetables, fish and eggs. They bake their own bread and cakes, and taxi kosher chicken across from Thailand on a monthly basis.

And they always eat at home.

“I miss eating food that I didn’t make,” says Mashie Butman.

Around 100 Jewish people live in Cambodia, according to Rabbi Butman. Until now there was no place for them to gather. Some came ten years ago, succeeded in business and stayed. Others failed in business, but found love with local women. Among them are Israeli backpackers, American journalists, students, real estate developers, an Israeli archaeologist who studies the temples of Angkor, an IT professional from Kazakhstan, a doctor from South Africa and even a gold miner.

“I used to ask myself – what are [Jewish] people doing here?” says Rabbi Butman. “I don’t anymore. They’re doing the same thing as they do in Chicago or in New York City.”
Still for Rabbi Butman, the oldest of 14 children who grew up in a closed-knit religious community in Israel, being so far away from thousands of people who share the same lifestyle is not easy.

Although he loves singing and playing the flute and piano, his biggest passion is reading and studying Jewish texts. When he moved to Phnom Penh, he brought with him 1,500 books – creating the country’s largest Hebrew-language library in his upstairs office. “This is my life,” he says. “What am I without my books?”

The most important book in his collection is the Jewish bible, or Torah, which he borrowed from another rabbi for an indefinite period. Hand-written by a scribe, the document is worth US$35,000. “A synagogue without a Torah, is like a birthday party without a cake, or like dinner without a main course,” he says.

The Jewish Centre of Cambodia was opened with a first year budget of US$120,000 after Rabbi Yosef Kantor, of the Jewish Association of Thailand, sent a delegation here. Wanting to confirm that there were not any Jewish people in Cambodia, instead the delegation returned with at least 30 names, according to Butman. This led to a decision to open a Jewish Centre here. Rabbi Butman, who was living in New York at the time, was invited to come to Cambodia to serve the local Jewish community.

“I knew nothing about Cambodia,” he says. “When I heard the name I didn’t even know how to pronounce it.”

Since arriving in Cambodia, he has thrown a Chanukah party in Siem Reap and organised a gift-basket exchange between Jews for a recent holiday. In his living room, people discover new friends, business deals are signed, jobs found, and Jewish boys and girls meet.

As for his future plans?

Butman lists opening a kosher restaurant, organising a Jewish school, and starting a charity – though he is not sure what it will be yet. One thing he has no plans of doing is riding a motorcycle. It is just too dangerous, he says. In fact, he has only been on a moto once in his life.

Whatever happens, he is not leaving the country any time soon. “When the last Jew goes on the plane, I’m going to be after him.”

For more information, visit www.jewishcambodia.com.