Way back in 2007 I wrote a blog post about the weird Chinese trend of loving all things Jewish. Kind of the reverse of Jewish girls getting yin-yang tattoos is Chinese people buying books called The Eight Most Valuable Business Secrets of the Jewish. I ended that blog post with the following sentence: Am I crazy or does it seem like the Chinese are doing pretty well figuring out how to “be the best and make a huge company” without the help of me and my silly old Talmud?
Well now it’s time for me to eat my words, because it turns out they DO love the Talmud in China (well, Taiwan, anyway). They love it so much, they made a Talmud Hotel.
Talmud Business Hotel Taichung Provides A Unique Travel Experience For Both Business and Leisure Visitors.
Talmud Business Hotel Taichung is a Business hotel that is named after a holy book contains a collection of ancient rabbinic writings on Jewish law and traditions. The word Talmud has the following meanings: “Instruction, Learning, Teach and Study”. Inspired by the Talmud theory, the owner uses red interior to add a splash of fashion and professionalism. In each room, there’s also a copy of “Talmud-Business Success Bible” for anyone who would like to experience the Talmud way of becoming successful.
If I was going to make a Talmud-inspired hotel (and I really can’t imagine a situation where I would do that, but just go with me here) I’m pretty sure the décor would be a lot more blacks and browns. There would be a constant stream of people arguing with each other in the lobby, and you would worry about whether Rabbi Eliezer was going to show up and mess up the hot water. And you wouldn’t get a complete set of Talmud for staying there, because you could never fit it in your suitcase.
Talmud
Pronounced: TALL-mud, Origin: Hebrew, the set of teachings and commentaries on the Torah that form the basis for Jewish law. Comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemara, it contains the opinions of thousands of rabbis from different periods in Jewish history.
