![Lupe Fiasco - Old School Love ft. Ed Sheeran [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/4/4999-f0c40110f4da4838b496859c6b9e1259.jpg?1561828548)
- Feb 28, 2009
- 19,373
- 5,583
Black Spirituality Religion : Black Jews-Israel/Palestine
- Thread starter cherryblossom
- Start date
- Replies 7
- Views 4K
- Feb 28, 2009
- 19,373
- 5,583
Jewish Life
Black Jews: A Minority Within a Minority
Donna Halper
Aaron Freeman is a Jew and very proud of it. The Chicago-based talk-show host and comedian is also African-American. He converted to Judaism and is a member of a Reform congregation. Rabbi Sholomo Levy is also a Jew, also African-American, but he is not a convert -- like his grandfather, and his father before him, he chose to become a rabbi. His New York congregation is somewhere between Orthodox and Conservative in its customs; when he is not serving that congregation, he teaches college courses and gives lectures on religious tolerance.
There is no firm estimate on how many American Jews are black, but several sociologists have placed the figure at about 50,000. As Rabbi Levy writes on his Web site, "We exist both within our own congregations and in predominately white congregations. Some of us have converted to Judaism, others are products of intermarriages, and yet others have been in this way of life for generations. The amount of diversity within our group is as varied as the colors in a rainbow."
No matter what one's ancestry is, raising children in our complex world can be a challenge. The majority of black Jewish parents confront the same problems that any Jew would face. There are, however, several issues which are unique to those who are both black and Jewish; this holiday is an excellent time to examine them.
When I was in high school in the 1960s, I found that a black classmate of mine was a Jew. She and I had a number of discussions about it -- her love for Judaism was very strong, she always wore a beautiful Star of David, yet people were amazed, and often incredulous, that she was Jewish. Naturally, this bothered her -- she wondered why people had any doubts about her Jewishness. Years later, the reaction towards black Jews is often the same.
"My own kids have gone through some of it," Rabbi Capers Funnye told me. Rabbi Funnye, who is a member of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and a frequent guest speaker on talk shows, recalled how teachers were surprised that his children would be out of school on a Jewish holiday -- the existence of black Jews even 15 years ago was still relatively unfamiliar. And in 1995, when a history of the Jews of Chicago was written by a noted historian, the sizable black Jewish community was not even mentioned. (I called the author and asked him about it -- he claimed he had never heard of any black Jews in Chicago...)
In some ways, however, things have changed in the past 15 years: for example, there is much more awareness of Ethiopian Jews, and in the United States, several organizations, such as the National Alliance of Black Jews, have been formed to make Jews of color better known. There are entire Web sites devoted to rabbis and lay people who are black and Jewish. But the general belief persists in most parts of the USA that a Jew is usually Caucasian, with the exception of a few celebrity converts like the late Sammy Davis Jr. Black Jewish parents sometimes find themselves having to prepare their kids for being questioned about whether they are 'really Jewish'. "My kids learned to handle it," Rabbi Funnye said, "but a sense of humor helps.".....
http://www.ujc.org/page.aspx?id=26506
Black Jews: A Minority Within a Minority
Donna Halper
Aaron Freeman is a Jew and very proud of it. The Chicago-based talk-show host and comedian is also African-American. He converted to Judaism and is a member of a Reform congregation. Rabbi Sholomo Levy is also a Jew, also African-American, but he is not a convert -- like his grandfather, and his father before him, he chose to become a rabbi. His New York congregation is somewhere between Orthodox and Conservative in its customs; when he is not serving that congregation, he teaches college courses and gives lectures on religious tolerance.
There is no firm estimate on how many American Jews are black, but several sociologists have placed the figure at about 50,000. As Rabbi Levy writes on his Web site, "We exist both within our own congregations and in predominately white congregations. Some of us have converted to Judaism, others are products of intermarriages, and yet others have been in this way of life for generations. The amount of diversity within our group is as varied as the colors in a rainbow."
No matter what one's ancestry is, raising children in our complex world can be a challenge. The majority of black Jewish parents confront the same problems that any Jew would face. There are, however, several issues which are unique to those who are both black and Jewish; this holiday is an excellent time to examine them.
When I was in high school in the 1960s, I found that a black classmate of mine was a Jew. She and I had a number of discussions about it -- her love for Judaism was very strong, she always wore a beautiful Star of David, yet people were amazed, and often incredulous, that she was Jewish. Naturally, this bothered her -- she wondered why people had any doubts about her Jewishness. Years later, the reaction towards black Jews is often the same.
"My own kids have gone through some of it," Rabbi Capers Funnye told me. Rabbi Funnye, who is a member of the Chicago Board of Rabbis and a frequent guest speaker on talk shows, recalled how teachers were surprised that his children would be out of school on a Jewish holiday -- the existence of black Jews even 15 years ago was still relatively unfamiliar. And in 1995, when a history of the Jews of Chicago was written by a noted historian, the sizable black Jewish community was not even mentioned. (I called the author and asked him about it -- he claimed he had never heard of any black Jews in Chicago...)
In some ways, however, things have changed in the past 15 years: for example, there is much more awareness of Ethiopian Jews, and in the United States, several organizations, such as the National Alliance of Black Jews, have been formed to make Jews of color better known. There are entire Web sites devoted to rabbis and lay people who are black and Jewish. But the general belief persists in most parts of the USA that a Jew is usually Caucasian, with the exception of a few celebrity converts like the late Sammy Davis Jr. Black Jewish parents sometimes find themselves having to prepare their kids for being questioned about whether they are 'really Jewish'. "My kids learned to handle it," Rabbi Funnye said, "but a sense of humor helps.".....
http://www.ujc.org/page.aspx?id=26506
In the Spirit of Sankofa and the Truth!
cherryblossom,
Thank you my sister friend for this thread. Here is what this does for me, it causes me to know how important it is that the truth to be told, and told quickly. It is shameful that we find it necessary to fight for inclusion to a birthright. The Falash Mura, Beta Israel, had to do the exact same thing.
Although the Bible is clear in referencing the birth and nativity of Jews in juxtaposition to Proselytes, this rejection continues by so-called Israel and its Rabbis. Also, to adopt the traditional lifestyle of Judaism, during the post Christ period, squarely opposes Scripture and sadly reflects that the Ben Ammi group is disjointed and misguided.
This is truth: All Jews are Israelites, but not all Israelites are Jews
cherryblossom,
Thank you my sister friend for this thread. Here is what this does for me, it causes me to know how important it is that the truth to be told, and told quickly. It is shameful that we find it necessary to fight for inclusion to a birthright. The Falash Mura, Beta Israel, had to do the exact same thing.
Although the Bible is clear in referencing the birth and nativity of Jews in juxtaposition to Proselytes, this rejection continues by so-called Israel and its Rabbis. Also, to adopt the traditional lifestyle of Judaism, during the post Christ period, squarely opposes Scripture and sadly reflects that the Ben Ammi group is disjointed and misguided.
This is truth: All Jews are Israelites, but not all Israelites are Jews
In the Spirit of Sankofa!
Bump
Bump
- Feb 28, 2009
- 19,373
- 5,583
Similar threads
Black Spirituality Religion :
Black Christians, don’t demonize African spirituality ( Darnise Martin )
Black Forum Topics
Latest profile posts
TractorsPakistan.com is one of the leading tractor exporters from Pakistan to Africa and the Caribbean regions.
