User:Rufinsky/Yobbi Ensel

Yobbi Ensel is an Indonesian rabbi. He was previously a Protestant, a belief that his family adhered to. In 2001, he started his own Jewish religious rituals and was supported by his family. He was once the pastor of in a church in Manado, North Sulawesi.

Biography
He made the conversion consciously after studying Hebrew on a self-taught and reading the Torah and other Jewish religious teachings. The Jewish ancestey in his body came from his late father, Jonathan Hattie, a descendant of Portuguese Jews born in 1942 in Sanger Siau, North Sulawesi. Hattie, a member of the Indonesian Armed Forces, served in Toli-toli, Central Sulawesi, and retired in 1989 with the rank of first sergeant. He died in Manado. Yobbi is the fourth of five children. His other four siblings are Protestant and Muslims.

From his father's lineage, Yobbi's ancestors were from Portugal. Around 1514 came to the oldest village in the Karakelang Talaud Islands, Kampung Ruso, North Sulawesi, bordering the sea with the Philippines. The name of Kampung Ruso or Roso is taken from the Jewish clan descended from Jacob. Then from there his ancestors came with the Portuguese and were forced to go to Minahasa in the 16th century or the beginning of the Portuguese to the archipelago.

His mother, Irene Andasia, is of Portuguese descent from his grandfather, Ayub Andasia, who was born in 1514 in the Karakelang Islands, North Sulawesi. Then Yobbi's grandmother, Ribbka Bala, of Portuguese descent was born in 1920 in Sanger, Kolongan Mito, North Sulawesi. Andasia is a Jewish clan in Andalusia, Spain, living in the 16th century.

His maternal grandfather was named Masone. At that time the name of the Jews in North Minahasa did not use the surname. Masone later became a family surname for his descendants. Yobbi's mother's grandmother was from Belarus, surnamed Bala. He forgot what year the Portuguese came to the archipelago. One of the Bala clans joined the Portuguese entourage and anchored at Mulang Harbor, Southeast Minahasa.

The traces of Yobbi's ancestors can be seen from the wheat plantations of the Spaniards in Southeast Minahasa. It was only in the 1600s that the Dutch entered Siau Island or Sanger/Sangihe. So there are also Jews surnamed Sanger in Minahasa. To Yobbi's knowledge, Sanger was inhabited by various ethnic groups, such as the Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Dutch. That's why around 1500 or 1600's Minahasa was one nation and had signed a cooperation with Britain. Then Minahasa joined Indonesia. This story is in the film Benteng Muraya which was made in Tondano.

His wife, Yulita, a woman of Minahasan descent, supports Yobbi's beliefs and follows the teachings of Judaism. According to Yobbi, embracing Judaism does not have to be of Jewish blood (goy), but on the basis of awareness. Likewise, his decision to become a rabbi or guide the people through special schools and training organized by the Jewish community in Manado. He said the position of the Rabbi is the same as that of the ulama in Islam.

Yobbi makes a living by being an online driver. He has a brother who is an ustad in the mosque. During Eid, Yobby often visits his house. Yobby also brought him a drink as was the tradition of people of different religions in Manado.