Jewish Fulbright scholar teaches English in Taiwan

By Dan Bloom

Danny Bloom
Danny Bloom
Sara Goldstein
Sara Goldstein

CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — If there’s a Jewish story everywhere, as the motto of this publication puts it, there are some good Jewish stories in Taiwan, too, as I’ve reported over the past few years, from Professor Chiang, the
Yiddish specialist at Wenzao University, to an annual Passover seder held in a small hotel dining room in Taipei.

I recently caught up with Sara Goldstein, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Taiwan this summer to teach English to elementary school students in the central part of the country for a year as part of a Fulbright scholarship program.

Under the Fulbright scholarship program, recent college graduates and young professionals can work overseas as English teaching assistants in primary schools and universities.

A recent alumna of Clark University in Massachusetts, where she earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees, Goldstein will represent the U.S. as a kind of cultural ambassador helping to enhance mutual understanding between Americans and the good people of the island nation of Taiwan.

In a recent email interview I asked Goldstein a few questions about the program and her new Jewish life in Taiwan.

A 2010 graduate of Jack Barrack Hebrew Academy in Pennsylvania, the Fulbright goodwill ambassador is full of excitement for what the new school year will bring.

When asked what inspired her to want to become a teacher, Goldstein said that her passion for teaching and working with kids came from a multitude of aspects in her life.

“My mom is a kindergarten teacher, so I always have been familiar with classroom life, the flow of a school year from a teacher’s perspective, and the joys and challenges of spending all day every day with little ones,” she
said. “When I got older and had more and more opportunities to be with kids, I realized how much I love it and how much I wanted to keep learning about how to work with children.”

Teaching is more than just about the classroom, she noted.

“That way I have come to think about my devotion to teaching is that ‘teaching’ is simply a mode through which I can make change. Whether or not I am a classroom teacher for five years or 35 years to come, I know I have the
interest, skills, and dedication to pursue various forms of work relating to children. That said, the values of wanting to care for the next generation, to treat everyone with kindness, and to engage in ‘tikun olam’
(a Hebrew phrase meaning ”to repair the world”) on a daily basis and with a broad, long-term goal in mind do indeed come from my Judaism.”

Fortunately for Goldstein, she has found a small but active Jewish community of expats living in Taichung.

“I’ve actually found a tiny Jewish community here,” she told San Diego Jewish World. “I have been emailing with one of the group’s organizers and am now on their mailing list. He told me that there are 10 families, all
of them from Taichung, who get together for Jewish holidays. I have also found a Taiwanese ”language partner” who is interested in learning Hebrew, so we will exchange Chinese and Hebrew lessons.”

Far from home, Goldstein says she ”davens” (prays) on her own twice a day, which she says is an important part of her own personal, individual religious practice.

“At home I am Shomeret Shabbat, but it has been much harder to observe Shabbat that way while I’m abroad and traveling,” she said. “However, I am very intentional about everything I do on Shabbat here and I try to be
mindful of the day, placing a high value on awareness and intentionality in my mind since I cannot always do so through my actions and observance here in Taiwan.”

​Goldstein’s approach to life is that there is no challenge she cannot meet.

“Of course, simple things have been a bit challenging, like the fact that I couldn’t bring a Tanach with me to Taiwan ​ because it was too much weight in my suitcase.​ But it’s all a balance,” she said.

I downloaded a free app from Milon Morfix and it gives me a new Hebrew word every day, so between that and the people I am meeting here, I have connections to Hebrew and also to a group of ​local Jews and I am excited to get to know the Taichung Jewish community more.”

Goldstein studies mindfulness and meditation, and she hopes to make use of these practices in Taiwan during the coming school year.

​”I am looking ​ forward to seeing how I can incorporate aspects of mindfulness, such as breathing exercises, into my classes with my students,” she said. “But for ​the Fulbright program’s ​ orientation and ​ training I have not had the opportunity to do much. I cultivate mindfulness on my own, though, and strive to be in the moment at all times. I am very grateful for everything in my life, from the fact that I have the opportunity to be here, to all the blessings I encounter each day, to the dark cloudy sky during a morning thunder shower. I try to be aware of this
as often as I can, and to thank G-d for it, which is my version of mindfulness on a daily basis.”

​Always interested in Jewish names and stories from Europe, my last question for Sara was about the Goldstein name and where her ancestors came from.

“We actually don’t know the origin of the name,” she said. “My mother’s family is from Austria and Poland, and my father’s family is from Russia. But here’s an interesting story for your readers: ​ My paternal great-grandmother was actually born on a boat in Cyprus, on the way from Russia to ​America.”

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Bloom, based in Taiwan, is an inveterate web surfer who enjoys tracking down Jewish stories everywhere.  He may be contacted via dan.bloom@sdjewishworld.com

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