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| Hakehillah group members tour downtown Seoul together. / Courtesy of Sarah Gavin |
By Hallie Bradley
"Many people come to us saying, 'I'm Jewish, but …'" said Anna Toombs-Yun, co-founder of Jewish community organization Hakehillah. "But we think, 'I'm Jewish and …' is much better."
Whether you have only one Jewish parent, attended Hebrew school but never joined a community or maybe just know the tune of the "Shema," Hakehillah believes you have the right to claim and be proud of your Jewish identity.
Hakehillah is a progressive Jewish community in Seoul built around the ideas of diversity and inclusion. One of only two Jewish organizations in Seoul currently, Hakehillah is a group for everyone from the Orthodox to those who are looking for egalitarian services.
"For us, living a Jewish life is crucial to feeling at home and we wanted it to be available for every Jew, not only some," Toombs-Yun explained.
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| Hakehillah group members socialize at a picnic. /Courtesy of Sarah Gavin |
The group started organically in the summer of 2017 when a friend who consistently hosted Shabbat dinners left Korea. Toombs-Yun joined up with Tamar Godel and Sarah Gavin to fill the void.
Hakehillah is formed around a central principle of inclusion ― of all Jewish people regardless of level of observance, sexuality, gender, patrilineal or matrilineal lineage, etc. The group is also open to the non-Jewish partners of their members to engage in Jewish traditions as much as possible.
Hakehillah hosts four main holiday events each year including Purim, Passover, High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) and Chanukah and tries to host at least one Shabbat-related gathering every month.
"We still do not have our own dedicated space, so we either use private homes or local businesses for our events. We try to patronize businesses that agree with our principles of inclusivity and diversity," Godel explained.
Hakehillah has also hosted Tisha B'Av art therapy, yoga, group runs, film nights and Sukkot parties, and they've attended Seoul Queer Culture Festival together. They are active and involved, and hope more people will join them as their community continues to grow here in Seoul.
Because the group is small and there are only a few hundred Jews in Seoul, they are ineligible for the vast majority of grants but that doesn't stop the founders from pushing for their organization. In 2017, Hakehillah joined with the Hakel Jewish Intentional Communities Incubator, the world's first and largest global incubator for Jewish intentional communities. This offered a connection to Jewish communities across the globe and gave Hakehillah financial support but more importantly the opportunity for holistic growth with tools for long-term success.
"For example, we were provided with an expert adviser, Hakhel's founder, Aharon Ariel-Lavi, who has helped us make concrete plans for our future," Gavin explained. "His leadership has been crucial to learning how to be true leaders and has given us the confidence to do what we are doing. Hakhel also comes with a huge network of communities around the world, so we now enjoy a wealth of mentorship and support."
The group became the official representatives of South Korea in the Asian Progressive Jewish Association (APJ) after they joined in 2019 thanks to the support of Rabbi Nathan Alfred, the lead Rabbi at United Hebrew Congregation in Singapore. After visiting Korea and seeing how passionate the Hakehillah community was, he invited the founders to attend the APJ Conference in 2019 where they met likeminded people and joined a network of Jewish communities around Asia. The APJ has also supported the group in terms of donations, rabbinical support and live streamed services for the High Holidays.
To learn more about upcoming events and meetups, follow Hakehillah on Facebook or Instagram @hakehillahkorea.
Hallie Bradley is a writer based in Seoul and runs the popular site thesoulofseoul.net.
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