A book about faith and prayer by Israeli Rabbi Shalom Arush that is popular in Israel has recently been translated into Mandarin, a language spoken by 1.4 billion people worldwide.

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The Universal Garden of Emuna (Hebrew for "faith") was originally written by Arush in Hebrew and for an Israeli audience. Nevertheless, thanks to its universal message, it has since been translated into more than a dozen languages, including Portuguese, German, French, and Russian. 

Arush is the founder of the Chut Shel Chessed religious learning institutions and is a member of the Breslov Hassidic movement, which was founded by Rabbi Nachman in the 18th century. Rabbi Nachman's grave in Uman is a popular pilgrimage site among Breslov followers who travel to the small Ukrainian city every Rosh Hashana. 

The book attempts to answer a variety of life's questions: What is the purpose of life? How to achieve happiness? What is the proper way for a person to live? What does the future have in store for humanity? Will everything be good in the end?

Since The Universal Garden of Emuna was written in Hebrew and for an Israeli audience, the translation into Chinese posed quite a challenge for translator Noam Aurbach, who studied Hebrew and Talmud in China and has a doctorate in Asian studies. 

Certain words and concepts that are common and well-known by Breslov followers and Israelis in general, did not only had to be translated but also explained, like the subject of family purity or hitbodedut, a common Breslov practice of secluding oneself for meditation and prayer to God. 

"I worked on the translation with a Chinese translator named Eden for several years," Aurbach told Israel Hayom. "The process was lengthy and the text was proofread several times. Actually, the first person to read and proofread it was a Chiese convert to Judaism who immigrated to Israel and became a Breslov follower herself." 

With regard to the translation challenges, Aurbach said, "There is a great debate in China over the translation of the word "God," a debate that has divided Chinese churches for years because each is loaded with meaning. We decided to translate "Creator of the World" [as God is referred to in The Universal Guide of Emuna] word for word."

According to Aurbach, the word "Torah" was not easy to translate either. One option was to translate it as "Bible," but that would also include the New Testament. Another option was to use the translation of "Five Books of Moses," but this term is most often used in China in scientific discourses on religion. The word "Torah" does exist in China as "Tou-la," but might not nececcarily imply, as it does in Hebrew, the study of Mishna, Gemara, commentary, and books on Jewish law in addition to the Pentateuch. 

Such translation challenges resulted in a years-long translation process. In addition, designing and printing the book was no easy task either, as the book was written entirely in Chinese, but printed in Israel. As is known, in Israel, texts are written from left to right, whereas in Chinese, they are written vertically in columns going from top to bottom and ordered from right to left. 

"The book speaks about teshuva [repentance or return] in the spirit of Breslov," Aurbach explained. "The language is very Jewish and Israeli, and it is understood by both secular and religious Israelis, but is foreign to someone who comes from a completely different background.

"The book speaks to a secular Israeli who is looking for his true self. It invites him to do teshuva, to return to what he is already familiar with, to return to his tradition. Directly translating such a book into Chinese, with no additions and explicitation, is not easy. It is challenging, and in my opinion, even precedent-setting, as there are almost no direct translations from Hebrew into Chinese, and certainly not of texts like this." 

Nevertheless, despite Aurbach's hard work in making sure nothing got lost in translation, the book is unlikely to hit the Chinese markets any time soon.

"There is hostility towards religion in China," Aurbach explained. "Eden [the second translator] decided to remain anonymous for that reason. And from the time we started working on the translation, the situation has only gotten worse. We are not even planning to print or sell the book in China."

Instead, the book will be available for purchase in Israel and online.

With every translation of The Universal Garden of Emuna, the aim is to bring the knowledge of God to all corners of the world.

"During the lengthy process of translation, I sometimes wondered how such a specific [Breslov] text would present Judaism to a Chinese person who might have never heard about our religion," Aurbach said. "After all, there are so many ways to describe the foundations of Judaism, none of which have to include the unique Breslov concepts. 

"I still do not have a good answer to that, other than simply acknowledging the fact that there are so many kinds of texts in the world that show so many different perspectives [of Judaism], and each one is worthy of being translated. Is it possible that the Chinese person will read this book and think that this is all there is to Judaism? Perhaps. But he might also become more interested and discover that Breslov is only a part of Judaism and not its entirety." 

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Tens of thousands of Jews from across the world travel annually to Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashanah at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. This year, however, authorities in Ukraine have closed the borders to foreigners because of the coronavirus pandemic and fear of spreading COVID-19, making travel there for the holiday impossible.

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The Ukrainian border closure began on Aug. 29 and extends through the holiday of Yom Kippur on Sept. 28.

Even before the official border shutdown, Israeli and Ukrainian officials asked Jews to refrain from traveling to the Ukrainian city this year.

Duncan's letter to Pompeo, which was co-signed by 25 congressional colleagues, highlighted the fact that Ukraine's travel ban has some exemptions, "including allowing students, diplomats and cultural figures to arrive by invitation."

"The Ukrainian government could add a limited religious exception allowing for a small fraction of regular attendees (not to exceed 2,000 people) to enter the country for a total of five days," the letter said, adding "All members of the group would be tested upon arrival at their own expense and would agree to follow all medical safety and security precautions and protocols at all times. …"

In recent years, tens of thousands of religious Jews have made the annual trek to Uman to visit the gravesite. Even the prospect of several thousand are causing concern among Ukrainian leadership.

In response to a JNS inquiry about the letter, Duncan said, "As a former member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee with a longstanding history of working on religious freedom issues, protecting religious practices is extremely important to me. With COVID-19 turning our world upside-down this year, we have all had to make sacrifices. However, even during times of uncertainty, governments should continue to allow maximum flexibility for religious expression and practice.

"I have a deep respect for all people of faith, and I believe Ukraine had good intentions in crafting their travel restrictions. But I also believe they need to find creative ways to accommodate people of faith in a safe and commonsense manner," he continued.

"Governments don't have to choose between allowing religious expression and public safety, and believe this letter makes it clear that common-sense steps can be taken to achieve both goals. I am hopeful raising this issue will clear the way for many in the Jewish community to travel to Uman for the Jewish New Year."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Ukrainian Jewish Committee Director General Eduard Dolinksy said the man suffered minor injuries. Other Hassids in the group, who like the victim were on the annual pilgrim to the grave site of the Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, were unhurt.

The latest attack comes on the heels of a similar incident in which Breslov Hassids were violently turned away from Uman even before Ukraine announced a ban on tourists.

"We usually don't make contact with the locals, we just pray and have fun; we are very happy to have managed to arrive while upholding the various health regulations," a Hassid told Israel Hayom on Tuesday.

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"At the request of the Prime Minister of Israel, a decision was made to significantly restrict the Hassidic pilgrimage to Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashana," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said in a statement.

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It did not say how many Hassidim would be allowed into Ukraine for the event or give any further detail.

Coordinator of Israel's battle against coronavirus Professor Ronni Gamzu has asked Zelenskiy to ban the annual pilgrimage outright because of concerns the central Ukrainian town of Uman could be a hotbed of coronavirus contagion.

Zelenskiy's office has declined to comment on whether Kyiv might ban the Hassidic pilgrimage entirely, not just limit it.

Israel is among the countries from which any travelers to Ukraine must quarantine themselves for 14 days after arrival. Israel registered 230.6 new infections per 100,000 of its population last week while Ukraine's rate was 54.9.

The Ukrainian and Israeli governments have issued a joint statement pleading with Breslov Hassidim to cancel their trips, but significant numbers are still planning to go.

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Israel's Ambassador to Ukraine Joel Lion took to Twitter last Friday to condemn the incident, writing that anti-Semites "painted a graffiti of the biggest murderer of Jews in History. #NeverAgain begins by fighting any kind of #Antisemitism as defined by [the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance]."

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Lion added that Ukraine "should strongly condemn [the vandalism] and bring the perpetrators to justice."

The graffiti featured a portrait of a bloodied Hitler and a sentence in German: "Reputation is easy to lose and hard to earn."

Local authorities reacted quickly, removing parts of the offensive graffiti within one hour from the ambassador's tweet.

"We welcome the prompt reaction of the #Ukrainian Authorities," Lion said in a follow-up tweet.

We welcome the prompt reaction of the #Ukrainian Authorities. @APUkraine @IuliiaMendel @TheIHRA pic.twitter.com/lNc4OB81Bd

— Joel Lion (@ambassadorlion) October 11, 2019

Authorities also reportedly apprehended the suspect behind the anti-Semitic incident, who is now facing up to five years in prison.

The grave of Rabbi Nachman, or Nachman of Breslov, founder of the Breslov hassidic movement in Judaism, is a major site for pilgrimage for thousands of his followers from across the globe.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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