‘You don’t want to take my money, do you?’: Mandarin-speaking rabbi fights antisemitism on Chinas TikTok – Yahoo News
Posted By admin on August 13, 2022
An American rabbi who lived and worked in China for over a decade is fighting antisemitism on Chinese social media using educational videos.
Rabbi Matt Trusch was sharing Jewish parables in fluent Mandarin on Douyin (Chinas version of TikTok) from his Texas home last year when he came across users spouting Jewish stereotypes online.
Trusch describes himself in his Douyin bio as a rabbi who shares wisdom of the Talmud, interesting facts about the Jewish people, business thought and money-making tips.
A holder of two degrees in Asian studies, Trusch has gained a significant following on the online platform, where he highlights life and business lessons from the Talmud and the book Tanya by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, who founded Chabad Hasidism.
More from NextShark: China develops AI 'prosecutor' that can charge citizens with crimes with '97% accuracy'
As of this writing, his account has accumulated over 180,000 followers while his videos have attracted nearly 700,000 likes.
The comment sections of his videos are filled with a large amount of hateful messages and mixed opinions on Jewish people.
In one of his videos in which he explains how China helped Jewish refugees fleeing from Europe during World War II, several commenters appreciated Trusch for sharing this information while many others used stereotypes and antisemitic language to mock him.
More from NextShark: Chinese mother goes on TV to beg vlogger daughter with 6 cats to find a job and a man
The clip, which has over 7 million views, received comments such as You dont want to take my money, do you? and Wall Street elites are all Jews.
There were also commenters who blamed Jewish people for the Opium Wars between China and Great Britain during the mid-1800s, as well as for causing the inflation in pre-World War II Germany.
In videos that do not even involve Israel, some commenters can be found chiding Trusch for not commenting on Palestine.
Story continues
More from NextShark: China says report alleging it asked Russia to delay Ukraine invasion until after Olympics is 'fake news'
Based on the commenters messages, many of his viewers perceive the Talmud as a get-rich scheme rather than a Jewish religious text. Such perception has become so popular that it has created an industry of self-help books and private schools that claim to teach about Jewish money-making secrets.
Trusch, who works with an Australia-based Chinese-speaking Jewish partner on creating content to educate others about Jewish people, shared that he intentionally included Chinese people's stereotypes about Jewish people in his Douyin bio to attract and reach more Chinese viewers.
We do sort of exploit the fact that [Chinese people] are interested in listening to Jewish business wisdom to get them to follow us. We have sort of played to that before, he was quoted as saying.
More from NextShark: Followers of QAnon Queen of Canada face mounting problems after being convinced utilities are free
The Chinese peoples view of the Talmud as a business guide also helps Trusch and his partner navigate Chinas complicated religious environment, where Judaism is not among the five recognized religions.
Pirkei Avot and the Talmud do not mean religion in China, even though those are Jewish texts that we learn Torah from, Trusch noted. If I were to say, Im going to teach Torah concepts in China, that will be forbidden, probably. But if I talk about things from the Talmud, then its not threatening.
Trusch spent 12 years in Shanghai doing business in a range of industries after completing an undergraduate degree in Asian studies at Dartmouth College and a masters degree at Harvard University in the late '90s.
He shared that while he was already aware of the stereotypical way Chinese people think about Jewish people, he noted that, When I was in China, I very rarely felt anything but a fond appreciation of Jews.
In 2009, he returned to the United States and settled in Houston with his family. While in the U.S., he still found time to visit China frequently but was forced to stop in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Featured Image via
View post:
- Iranian Diplomat: The Jews Have a Plot to Lay Claim to the British Royal Familys Wealth - Middle East Media Research Institute - October 6th, 2022
- Remarks by President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff at a Reception to Celebrate the Jewish New Year - The White... - October 6th, 2022
- 'Jerusalem of Lithuania' remains witness to the horrors of the Nazi genocide and their willing collaborators - Cleveland Jewish News - October 6th, 2022
- Meet the rabbi who made it possible to live a Jewish life in the UAE - Cleveland Jewish News - October 6th, 2022
- A Daf Yomi Scout: Literary Critic Adam Kirsch Shares Insights from His Seven-Year Study of the Talmud with YU Students - Yu News - September 29th, 2022
- Book Review | Studying Talmud with Beruriah - Moment Magazine - September 29th, 2022
- Why Bats Sleep Upside Down and The Secret of Yom Kippur - aish.com - Aish.com - September 29th, 2022
- 5 things to know about Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year - WDJT - September 29th, 2022
- New chapter in 'lost Jewish library mystery' as books returned to Lublin - The First News - September 29th, 2022
- Allegiance To The Monarch - aish.com - Aish.com - September 29th, 2022
- Embracing a Spiritual Discipline of Reparations - Word and Way - September 29th, 2022
- Hidden Meaning in the Talmud's Cures and Fables - aish.com - Aish.com - September 18th, 2022
- Everyone's Buddy - aish.com - Aish.com - September 18th, 2022
- I Never Wanted to Get in the Pool. My Daughter (and the Talmud) Changed That. - Kveller.com - September 18th, 2022
- Abortion and Jewish law - JNS.org - JNS.org - September 18th, 2022
- Jim Crawford is loving Tallaght atmosphere as his side set to face Israel in crunch Euro 2023 play-off... - The Irish Sun - September 18th, 2022
- Becoming Elijah: Prophet of transformation by Daniel C. Matt - Church Times - September 18th, 2022
- Rome, Babylon, and 1 Peter 5:13 Revisited | Nicholas Gulda - Patheos - September 18th, 2022
- Bnot Brak the ultra-Orthodox answer to Real Housewives - Australian Jewish News - September 13th, 2022
- What happens when a heretic and a rabbi walk into a bar? - Jewish Herald-Voice - September 9th, 2022
- Gorbachev was different he had a heart - The Jewish Standard - September 9th, 2022
- Being On The Team - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - September 9th, 2022
- West Temples Rabbi Lader to retire in June 2023 - Cleveland Jewish News - September 9th, 2022
- From Peru to Israel: the Long Journey of the Inca Jews - aldianews.com - September 9th, 2022
- We have faced Amaleks like Putin forever, but with morality we can prevail J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - September 9th, 2022
- Upcoming holidays and events in 2022 - NEWS10 ABC - September 9th, 2022
- The angels who saved my husband's life | Shira Pasternak Be'eri | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - September 9th, 2022
- 'Quiet quitting,' the sudden trend in work, sounds sort of Jewish? (Hear me out.) - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix - September 9th, 2022
- The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and the Talmud - reviewed by Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen J-Wire - J-Wire Jewish Australian News Service - August 30th, 2022
- What If It Were 'Zalman'? - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 30th, 2022
- Q & A: The Mantle Of Leadership (Part II) - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 30th, 2022
- It is Caught with Two Hands Torah.org - Torah.org - August 30th, 2022
- Anger, Procrastination, and Elul - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 30th, 2022
- You say you want a revolution? Try the Bible - Religion News Service - August 30th, 2022
- When was the Old Testament Written? - The Gospel Coalition - August 30th, 2022
- Straus Center Fall 2022 Courses: The Wisdom of Solomon, Rembrandt and AI - Yu News - August 30th, 2022
- Maimonides on the Liberty of the People - Brownstone Institute - August 30th, 2022
- Asking the Clergy: Your faith and recreational marijuana - Newsday - August 30th, 2022
- The Evening Shema: The Perfect Place to Begin - Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters - Lubavitch.com - August 13th, 2022
- Tisha B'Av: The Arch of Titus an alternative view - The Times of Israel - August 13th, 2022
- At Oakland's 'Base,' rabbinic couple wants you to make connections J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - August 13th, 2022
- Chazanut and music: tradition and today - Australian Jewish News - August 13th, 2022
- VA'ETCHANAN: In this week's Torah portion, a command to love J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - August 13th, 2022
- Don't Believe in Other Gods Versus God is One - aish.com Ancient Wisdom & Modern Psychology - Aish.com - August 10th, 2022
- Discerning Between Darkness and Light - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 10th, 2022
- Activist-writer Elana Dykewomon dies, just as her first play debuts J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - August 10th, 2022
- Reading the Book of Psalms in the Twenty-First Century - Jewish Journal - August 10th, 2022
- Tuesdays primaries offered a glint of hope for Democrats this fall - The Guardian - August 10th, 2022
- Talmud - Jewish Virtual Library - August 1st, 2022
- STAND UP AND SPEAK OUT! - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 31st, 2022
- War News And Gefilte Fish - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 31st, 2022
- Blinded by Hate | Michael Laitman | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - July 31st, 2022
- Making sense of the sedra: Matot-Masei - Jewish News - July 31st, 2022
- At least 9 cities in the Twin Cities metro targeted with antisemitic, racist flyers - Bring Me The News - July 28th, 2022
- The God Squad: From the mailbag | Opinion | pressrepublican.com - Plattsburgh Press Republican - July 28th, 2022
- Free Online Bible Library | Talmud - BiblicalTraining.org - July 27th, 2022
- Rebuilding Together - Jewish Journal - July 27th, 2022
- Twenty years after Ben and Marla and the Hebrew University bombing - The Times of Israel - July 27th, 2022
- Woven together: Lessons from bringing Israeli rabbis to the U.S. - eJewish Philanthropy - July 27th, 2022
- The God Squad: From the mailbag | Opinion Columns | union-bulletin.com - Walla Walla Union-Bulletin - July 27th, 2022
- Respect Yourself - Respect Others - aish.com The Color of Heaven - Aish.com - July 27th, 2022
- Abortion is a Jewish right and a rabbi says hers was a blessing - Business Insider - July 27th, 2022
- The Flood and Canaan: God's Patience Revealed - Patheos - July 27th, 2022
- Pinchas and the broken vav | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle - thejewishchronicle.net - July 27th, 2022
- PJ Library Focuses on Widening its Reach - Publishers Weekly - July 27th, 2022
- The Three Weeks And A Message Of Peace - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 27th, 2022
- Jewish people have a different set of priorities - The Jewish Star - July 14th, 2022
- With Biden in Israel, we must spread the blanket of peace far and wide - JNS.org - July 14th, 2022
- Shaming women who have abortions is not a Jewish ethic - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - July 14th, 2022
- Rabbi, get thy head out of their tents - The Times of Israel - July 14th, 2022
- Advocating for respect and unity - The Jewish Standard - July 14th, 2022
- Politics and the Parah Adumah - Jewish Journal - July 10th, 2022
- Mass prep 3 points/30 seconds: What was the Samaritans mercy? Understanding the Greek - Aleteia - July 10th, 2022
- Don't Use Judaism as a Weapon in the Abortion Debate - Jewish Exponent - July 10th, 2022
- Why Being Firstborn is a Blessing and a Curse - aish.com Spiritual Odysseys, Featured, Spirituality - Aish.com - July 10th, 2022
- David Halivni's Great Light | David Novak - First Things - July 8th, 2022
- What Happened to the Truth? - aish.com Personal Growth, Featured, Spirituality - Aish.com - July 8th, 2022
- Q & A: Offering Tefillin To Passersby (Part VII) - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 8th, 2022
- The 8 Genders of the Talmud - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - July 4th, 2022
- Is It Proper To Go On Vacation To A Place With No Minyan? - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 4th, 2022
Comments