Dear, will you be wearing the blue or white ao dai to the Bar Mitzvah this Saturday?
Leave it to Rabbi Menachem Hartmen of the Chabad Jewish Center to open new horizons for Jewish businesses and tourists in the far-flung land of Vietnam.
Rabbi Hartmen, certainly a pioneer in coxing Jewish practitioners into the oriental daylight, traveled to Vietnam in 2006 to establish the first Chabad center in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.
Chabadniks engaged in preliminary work in Vietnam before Rabbi Hartmen arrived. They traveled the country identifying people with Jewish names and found 60 individuals.
Since that unofficial survey work, more than 20,000 Jewish business people, tourists and government officials have made the trek to Vietnam. President Shimon Peres made an official visit to the country last November.
It’s estimated that about 200 Jews call Ho Chi Minh City home and another 100 live in Hanoi. Rabbi Hartmen estimates that about two-thirds are either American or Israeli expats.
Most of the American Jews are involved in the shmate business, meaning the garment industry. Vietnam draws fashion mavens from throughout the world to buy exotic clothing offered in the open air markets and small shops.
It’s said that tourists bring two suitcases to Vietnam. One is for the clothes to wear while visiting, and the other is to fill with clothing bargains found in former Saigon.
After World War II, the Jewish population swelled to about 1,500 people. After the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the number dropped to nearly zero. Now Jewish people are trickling back into Vietnam.
Many are drawn to the exotic attractions of Vietnam and the incipient business opportunities that the government of Vietnam has allowed. Many hotels, bars and restaurants are privately owned. Tourism is booming, drawing millions annually.
Vietnam has also established friendly relations again with the United States. The US Navy has even engaged in joint training exercises with Vietnam.
Several dozen Israeli companies have a foothold here.
All this bodes well for Rabbi Hartmen and the Chabad Jewish Center. As the Jewish population swells and Jewish entrepreneurs arrive to stake a claim in Vietnam’s growing tourist market, Rabbi Hartmen will be here to greet them.
The Chabad offers kosher food, a women’s group, a youth group and studies in the Torah. There’s also a weekly Hebrew school and Friday and Saturday morning services.
Rabbi Hartmen doesn’t offer ao dais for ladies yet, but give the rabbi time.
