The gates to Taiwan's first Jewish cemetery (Chabad.org)[Missing Credit]
"When he passed away, it was a wake-up call,” Tabib told Chabad.org. “I knew that if we didn't take this on and make it happen, no one else was going to do it.”
It took another three years, but, last month, Tabib led the first burial service at the newly inaugurated cemetery in suburban Taipei.
Set in the forest on the outskirts of the city, around 40 minutes from the Chabad house, the burial ground’s consecration marks, the first time halachic burial has been available in Taiwain, where 95 per cent of the general population are cremated at death.
For Tabib, who emigrated from the US with his wife, Racheli, in 2011, it was also the final piece of the puzzle for the Taiwanese community, alongside the $16 million Jewish community centre they opened in 2021, with support from local Jewish businessman Jeffrey Schwartz, which houses the island’s first permanent synagogue and kosher kitchen, as well as a Judaica museum, mikvah and 300-seat ballroom.
(L-R) Rabbi Shlomo Tabib, Jeffrey Schwartz, and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky open the Jeffrey D.Schwartz Jewish Community Centre in Taipei, Taiwan (Chabad.org)[Missing Credit]
And the cemetery finally brought Taiwan in line with other regional Jewish communities, with Hong Kong and Shanghai’s equivalents dating back to 1855 and 1862 respectively.
Moreover, Taiwan’s particular burial laws still allow interment without a coffin, which aligns with what Charedi Jews consider to be ideal halachich practices.
“I know you say it’s your job, but we don’t take it for granted,” wrote a member of the late community member’s family in a letter to Tabib, who acted as their representative on the ground after they moved away.
“You were there for us at our collectively most difficult time in our lives. What you do touches hearts.”
