The
historical setting of the first arrival Jewish settlers in Aotearoa began in
Auckland and Wellington in the 19th century, with the discovery of
gold. The
first synagogue was established in 1843 in Auckland, and a Jewish cemetery was
established in 1858. Estimated
3,000 Jews reside in New Zealand, with a population of almost 4,000,000
inhabitants, 85% of which live in the larger cities. Most of the
population (75%) are New Zealand European, and 10% are Maori descendants. There are two
official languages, English and Maori, and 99% of the population are literate!
How
does the Diaspora play a part in the migration of the Jewish people in Aotearoa
(Psalm 137:4) “how do we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.” A
distressed people groups from captivity by their enemies full of sorrow but it
is the desire from within to sing the Lord’s song but not to utter such lyrics
among idolaters. To have the heart to sing the Lord’s song significantly
designed to celebrate Yaweh’s divinity in appropriate worship. In a strange
land – far from our home; away from their temples of worship; exiles; captives:
how can we find spirit in such heavy circumstances to sing?
They definitely got to worship here in Aotearoa, visiting
the Jewish synagogue for me personally was an honour. I thought to
myself this was the closest I could get to Jesus, in trying
to comprehend how it was for the Messiah as a Jew. An important
part of Judaism was land and descendants, lineage their covenant
with God made with Abraham.
Judaism is one of the oldest religions in
the world that still exists today. Culturally, physically,
spiritually, even though this particular style of worship is progressive
meaning a more contemporary way of worship, different to the orthodox Jews.
Which I witnessed, while seated in the synagogue very different from what
I expected, anyhow I fell in love with the Hebrew language once I read
the English interpretation and heard the songs sung in a very unique
manner.
