The Chinese Convert to Judaism: "I Always Believed There Was a God – But It Took Me a Long Time to Find Him"

Until 2008, the only Jew Yaakov Akiva Friedman – a financial analyst living in Pardes Hanna and a righteous convert from China – knew was Baruch Spinoza. "Even though he was excommunicated, he was one of my favorite philosophers," Friedman, formerly Hao Jiang, smiles.

His knowledge of Judaism then was almost nil, and despite considering himself a believer, he never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would find his God in Judaism and become an integral part of the Jewish people.

But in the summer of 2009, everything changed.

By "chance" (letters of Hashem), Friedman (30) met an Israeli friend on one of the social networks through whom he learned about Israel and the Israeli and Jewish mentality, which fascinated him at the time, just as much as Christianity and Islam did.

Friedman was then a young student in the Faculty of Financial Analytics in the U.S. where he had come to study at a university and where he also met his wife, Eliana Sara Friedman (formerly Ou Jinshen Jiang).

Today, the two are parents to three delightful daughters, aged two and a half to five and a half, and split their time between raising them (on the path of Torah education of course) and nurturing the Jewish soul within them, which they received about a year ago when they went through the Orthodox conversion process.

Jiang was born in a small Chinese village, but at a very young age, his parents moved for business to a more central city named Qinaungdao, leaving young Jiang to be raised by his grandparents. "Like every Chinese person, I grew up with no idea what a Jew was and why anyone would want to hate them so," he recalls. "For as long as I can remember, I knew there was a God, and whether He helped me or not – it wasn't my problem."

"I Knew There Was a God, But Sometimes I Almost Forgot He Existed"

According to Friedman, the recognition of the divine reality was always there – but something was nonetheless missing: the essence. "I simply knew who He was and where I could find Him, and that's about what mattered. Yet, it took me a long time to truly find Him. I always pondered questions like 'Who am I?', 'Why am I here?', 'What is my purpose here?', 'What is the importance of this world?' and so on, but sometimes I almost forgot He existed."

At age 20, Jiang arrived in the U.S., but it turns out that academic studies were merely an external 'excuse' for the inner need to search, research, and trace his true place in the world. "The journey to the U.S. was a different kind of acquaintance for me, with various ideologies that I never had the opportunity to encounter. Christianity and Islam were part of them. They both intrigued me then very much, but as I delved deeper into them – I found Judaism. Because that's where everything began. Faith started with Abraham, our forefather."

What do you mean "I found Judaism"?

"My initial encounter with Judaism was when I thought to myself, 'If these two religions do not ignore the existence of Judaism and acknowledge that everything begins from it, then why should I be the one to ignore it?' I started learning and comparing everything I learned to what I knew about God, faith, and the philosophy of life, from a personal perspective. After a careful comparison that lasted many months, I found that Judaism is a much more intellectually profound religion."

"I Read the Book and Started Crying Like a Madman. I Felt My Heart Burn"

Among his many professional studies, Jiang found himself devouring different explanatory books – historical and religious – about Judaism. Among everything he learned, there was also the Book of 'Deuteronomy'. "I still remember one night I read the book and started crying like a madman. It felt as if every word in that book was ironing on my heart, and I was like engulfed in flames. At that moment, I knew that my soul had finally found the highest connection possible through words."

How did your close circle react to the transformation in your life?

(Smiling) "Luckily, both our families are very supportive and received the step with complete understanding. Of course, the customs and traditions were entirely new to them, but they did their utmost to understand our actions and the meaning behind them. On the other hand, I can say that I received negative reactions from some of my Christian friends, who, in their eyes, I became 'overnight' a murderer of that person, and even murdered him with my own hands.

"I still laugh about it to this day when I remember it. But apart from that small group, most were very positive and greatly respected my decision to become Jewish, even though they didn't know Jews or Judaism up close. Even my Catholic friends expressed their strong support for me – when they realized I chose a Jewish way of life. They admired me and believed that I was doing something sacred and right. Hashem treated us with kid gloves, so our process couldn't have been better."

Regarding his connection to the land and acclimatization, Friedman says, "During our first six days in the land, one of my new friends took me to another city to buy a second-hand fridge. On our way back, the sun was hanging above, and I started crying. My friend asked me, 'What happened?' I answered, pointing at the land, 'It is beautiful, isn't it?' I feel like I waited to see the land, to kiss it, and to live the historical moments I read about in books. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel there's something internal and deep about my feeling that ties me to this land and the people who live in it."