Bangkok

15 Nisan 5770

Dear Family and Friends,

חג שמח

My best wishes to you and your family for a sweet and joyful Passover.

I will be attending two Seders here in Bangkok. The first night there will be a gathering at The Davis Hotel - 100-150 participants. The second night will be at the Shul - Beth Elisheva. Rabbi Kantor is an enthusiastic and brilliant religious leader. I am looking forward to both events where the Four Questions will be chanted in Hebrew, Yiddish (the Rabbi is a Chasid) and Thai (several members are married to Thai women).

Indeed there are two other Seders in Bangkok. One is in the Backpacker area and will be attended by hundreds of mostly young Israeli's. The other is at the Shangri La Hotel.

And there are Seders in other Thai cities as well: Pattaya, Phuket, Ko Samui and Chiang Mai. I thought about traveling up to Chiang Mai, but I decided to stay here and celebrate with my local friends: Harry from Afghanistan, Gary from South Africa, Didier from France, Bennett from Honolulu, Dan from Philadelphia, Nahum from Brooklyn, Bill from Staten Island, et.al.

And so, my dear non-local friends, I wish you and your family a Happy Passover, wherever you will celebrate.

Finally, apropos of Passover, may I recommend a powerful novel by Geraldine Brooks called "The People of the Book" - the story and the history of the "famed Sarajevo Haggadah."

לשנה הבאה בירושלים

Jan