Israel At Sixty Years

    I'd been meaning to write about this for the last month and a half, but it's been hectic in our home with our house being remodeled to be more handicap accessible for Micaiah ben Malachi.

    This year is the sixtieth anniversary of the Nation of Israel as a State.  Israel became a Nation State as of May 14, 1948.  Many Jewish communities of the Diaspora here in the United States and around the world held their celebrations, or are still holding celebrations.  On May 7, Micaiah and I had the opportunity to attend one of the celebrations, which was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The only way Micaiah and I could attend was to have someone drive us to it since we don't drive.  Since Jews and Non-Jews were invited to attend, we invited our closest neighbor to come with us; he obliged.  Of course, when we first extended the invitation to our neighbor, he was reluctant, fearing that he would stand out like a sore thumb as a Christian in a sea of Jews.  I believe he also feared that people would make suggestions that he should convert to Judaism.  Upon assuring him that neither would be the case, he was more willing, and seemed happy to have been invited.

    At the celebration, there was music and dancing at one end of the venue, trivia games being played at one or two other tables, and many vendors selling small samples of Jewish foods, artifacts, and T-shirts that read, "Israel @ 60".  There was also a tourism booth and a Jewish organization; both of which handed out free brochures, outlining the services they provided for Jews and non-Jews alike.  Many of the items for purchase cost more than what we could afford, but Micaiah and I did buy ourselves the T-shirts mentioned above.  One of the other things for sale were shofars of different sizes.  For any non-Jews who run across this blog entry, a shofar is made of a ram's horn and is blown on Rosh Hashanah.  Since I can only see by touching the items, I got to feel the different shofars lying on the table.  Even though we couldn't afford one, I was fascinated by the fact that shofars came in different sizes and shapes.  Some were as small as large glasses in length and circumference while others were as long as my arm and as big around as the average pitcher.  I also  never knew that some shofars were spiral-shaped.  I always thought that they were only straight like a tube.  Not only was the fascination because I had never seen one before, but the shapes and sizes are not changed when the ram's horn is cut off of the ram.  Though the shofar is coated to preserve the horn, the original shape is how G*d made the horn develop and grow.  Whenever I examine something that is naturally made as opposed to manmade, I reflect on the fact that the item is how G*d made it.  How G*d creates things never ceases to fascinate me.  After looking at the shofars, we participated in some of the Jewish trivia game.  Some questions were on Jewish history as a whole or about Jews in Minnesota, philosophers, holidays, etc.  While Micaiah was able to answer many of the historical questions, one of the questions was to name the five leavened items prohibited during Pesach (Passover).  Since bread is our main staple, and bread is made of wheat or rye, we could only name two of the five.  The other three are sfelt, barley, and oats.  We don't eat or drink anything with barley or sfelt in it, and the only time we eat anything that contains oats is when we eat cereal.   

    For the most part, it was nice to be able to attend a Jewish gathering, especially the celebration of Israel's sixtieth birthday.  Most people didn't question whether or not Micaiah and I were Jews since we were wearing our kippot.  I think, too, that it was a good experience for our neighbor.  Even though one person at the tourism booth asked him if he was a Jew and our neighbor admitted that he wasn't, the lady making the inquiry made him feel welcome.  She impressed on him that he was welcome to tour Israel even though he was a Christian, and didn't make any suggestions for him to convert.  There was one lady who asked us what congregation Micaiah and I were affiliated with, though.  We told her that we didn't officially belong to a congregation but that we had connections with a rabbi who officiated our conversion.  At that, she asked us whether or not we had met or heard of Rabbi Funnye, who has a congregation in Chicago.  We told the lady that we had read various articles about him, but that we had never met him or talked to him.  We also told her that we lived here in Minnesota.  Still, she kept insisting that Micaiah and I establish connections with Rabbi Funnye and his congregation.  On the surface, she thought that she was helping us find ways to be more connected to the Jewish community.  Beneath the surface, however, her referral was no better than calling  "a spade a spade".  Rabbi Funnye is a controversial rabbi in Chicago who associates himself with the Black Hebrewites.  Micaiah and I are not Hebrewites; we are Jews!  We also felt that her referral was a form of racism.  Why couldn't she have referred us to a Jewish congregation that was integrated or was primarily White?  All of Rabbi Funnye's congregation is Black.

    There were many things to see or buy at the Israel At Sixty celebration, but I wish that there was more to the party.  The party was held during a weekday evening for only four hours.  I feel that the party should've been an all-day event held on a Sunday.  The music and dancing should've included everyone in which people were taught the dances and songs instead of groups of people dancing and singing for an audience.  A large cake decorated with a picture of the Israeli flag drawn into the frosting with sixty lit birthday candles on a table in the center of the activities would've also been very nice.  Of course, people who attended would get a piece of cake as they passed by.  All these things that weren't there at the party would've made the celebration more inclusive and festive.

Makedah bat Leah

The Sting Is Still There

Yesterday, my grandson who is 4 was helping me pile brush from our recent yard cleaning project.  I happen to notice a group of people walking down the street towards the local convenience store "Kwik Trip".  They were white which is not usual in a community 90% white.  There was a little brown haired boy probably about 10 years of age.  He was looking back and yelling "Nigger, Nigger, Nigger".  My assumption is that he was addressing a Somali. I did not see who he was yelling this slur.  Anyway, the group passed our house.  It has a complete family.

On his last "Nigger" slur, I yelled "You'd better watch out what is coming out of your mouth.

The father apologized and the mother said they did not see us until they came around the corner of the house. 

 

I was angry.  My grandson did not know what the slurs meant. But I did.  All day he had been whining about working in the yard.  I told him "Don't you dare cry in front of those white people".  It was humiliating to have to endure these comments and especially in front of my grandson.  The people did apologize for the slur, but they did not make any effort to tell the child that it was wrong and a very painful comment.  Shabbat is starting and I looked at my tattered Megan Star flag waving in the breeze.  This symbol means a lot to me.  It is not only a symbol of my identity but also where we have been.  The Blacks and Jews have suffered equally in the past.  Racial slurs,discrimination and death.  Our history has been one of isolation and segregation. 

 

For millenniums we have been the outcast of the human race.  People have been taught to hate and despise us.  Many having never met or spent time trying to know us.  They teach this same prejudice and racism to their children.  Makedah and I know most of this town does not want us.

Likewise, we are also aware the only reasons we are here is the will of G*d and the assistance of the federal government.  If the laws against discrimination, hanging and segregation of Blacks, Asians, Hispanic and other non-white were removed, Makedah and I could not live in a 90% white Christian community.  Each day we leave our homes to do business with people who do all they can to make us feel unwelcome.  The Somalis and Asians have walled themselves within their respective communities.  They do business with their own people while working for the white man.  The Somalis have converted a old building with this cities help and Christian well-doers into a Mosque.  However, there is no place for Makedah and I to worship.  Our home has become the only Temple we know.

 

I had hoped people seeing that even if we are a three race family ( I am Black American and Native American and Makedah is Asian American) and Jewish; it did not mean we were terrible people.

However, what I heard coming from that boy's mouth and others since we have been here.  I do wonder what kind of world my grandson will grow up in.  He has no role models except "black and or Hispanic thugs" in his inner city neighborhood or on television.  There are no white and accepting Jews in this community and neither are there any in his neighborhood who would embrace him and us and make us all feel welcome.  Several time we have been asked to pull up and move to a urban area to find Jews. But the urban areas of this country are dangerous.  Unemployment is high among minorities and housing is segregated by race in most cases.  Even the Jews in urban areas are not welcoming to minority Jews.  There are always questions about whether or not we are Jewish and other challenges to our Jewish identity.  Most Jews in America are white.  Many are as prejudice,bigoted and racist as their white non- Jewish counterparts.

 

I want my grandsons to grow up in a world in which they do not feel cursed because they were born with brown skin like their grandfather.  If they choose to become Jews, my hope is there will be a Jewish community waiting and willing to accept them without question.  I would like to know if they need support, there is a Jewish community willing to help them feel good about being Jewish. It hurt me deeply to hear the words "Nigger,Nigger, Nigger".  It hurts me even more that Makedah and I must deal with it alone.  

 

 

Reach Out To All Jews

The house is quiet, the grandchildren are asleep and so is Makedah.  I wonder at times how much we can depend on other Jews.  We live in a small Midwestern community that is about 90 per cent white Christians.  The other 10 percent is made up of Hispanic Christians, Arabs, Asians and Somalis.  In the seven, going on eight years, we have no contact with other Jews.  Occasionally we get letters and other mail requesting money to support one Jewish Day School or other causes.  So far none of them have ever invited us to their houses of worship.  How can we depend on them coming to our aid if we need them?  When we sought them out for conversion, none open wide their doors to welcome us.  Makedah and I have yet to be invited into their temples or synagogues.  Sometimes, I feel like screaming.  We are disabled, we are of two races, we live seventy miles away from your temples and synagogues.  We are Jews and we need the Jewish People to reach out and embrace us. 

 

Each day we leave our home, we aware, we are ambassadors of the Jewish People.  Very few people here know anything about Judaism or the Jewish People.  However, their anti-Semiticism simmers just beneath the surface.  Where are the Jews when the holidays come around? Every Shabbat we spend alone.  Even other holiday are no different.  It is the two of us trying hard to adhere to rituals.  We would never give up our faith in G*d or Judaism.  But, we both feel cut off from other Jews.  Makedah and I are like the leafs on a tree.  We grows and mature.  But, neither she nor I can survive without the tree and it roots.  Individually,each Jew make up the leaves of the tree, while Judaism is the truck of the tree and its roots is the Jewish people. Each of us need one another if the tree is to live to its fullest.  It does not matter if we are Reform, Conservative, Orthodox or Reconstuctionist Jews.  It does not matter if we are converts from another religion or born Jewish.  What matters is can we count on one another. 

 

G*d made a covenant with Abraham and his descendents to be the ones who are to carry the torch.

There are many who want to extinguish this flame.  Some are the children of Amalak and others are the descendents of Mohammed.  However, our own indifference, apathy, racism and elitism will also smother out the light that we are entrusted to carry to the world.  How can we show the way back to belief in G*d, if we are blind to the suffering of our own people?  Makedah and I know the day of systemic punishment for Jews will come in our time.  We know the importance of gathering all our people together.  Whether we live in small communities or huge urban communities, the punishment will be the same.  If we are to overcome this terrible time of tribulation, we must forget denominations and reach out to any and all Jews, not matter their location, race or other factors.

Judaism drawing more black Americans

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ajc.com > Living Judaism drawing more black Americans Blacks make up a signicant portion of people learning about Judaism in Atlanta By RACHEL POMERANCE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 06/18/08 Pamela and Jim Harris have gotten used to the stares. It's not that people have never seen traditional Jewish garb before. They've just rarely seen it on a black couple. "For a black male to put on a kipah and go wandering around in a predominantly black community, you get the strangest looks," said Pamela Harris, referring to the traditional Jewish head covering. Soon the Harrises, former Christian evangelicals, will complete their conversion to Judaism. If their choice seems unusual, it's apparently becoming less so. At Congregation Shearith Israel, a conservative synagogue in Virginia-Highland, where Pamela Harris works as the senior nonclerical staff member, at least eight of the roughly 20 people learning about Judaism with Rabbi Hillel Norry are black. At the Marcus Jewish Community Center in Dunwoody, roughly 20 percent of the nearly two dozen people enrolled in Steven Chervin's introduction to Judaism classes are black. Although there are no sound statistics on the subject, anecdotal evidence suggests that, in the past 15 years, increasing numbers of black Americans are exploring Judaism, said Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research in San Francisco. "Ten years ago, it was almost unheard of that a black person would come in and want to convert," said Rabbi Ilan Feldman, who is working with the Harrises and two other black people pursuing conversion. Until their conversion courses intensified last year, the Harrises led a weekly learning/support group in Decatur for about a dozen African-Americans interested in Judaism. So what's going on? Tobin cites three major trends. One, people are increasingly switching religions, he said. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released a survey in February that found 28 percent of American adults have left the faith they were raised in for another one or none at all. The Internet, too, has played a role, allowing people to readily access information on different faiths, he said. And racial barriers have been breaking down over the past 40 years, with intermarriage leading to multiracial families and communities, he said. American Jews now marry non-Jews at a rate of nearly 50 percent. Plus, there are more instances of interracial adoption and conversion, said Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University. That's contributed to more ethnic diversity, especially within the Reform movement, Judaism's largest and most liberal branch. "It's a safe assumption that the number of black Jews in America is growing because of integration by both Jews and blacks," said Chaim Waxman, senior fellow with the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, a think tank in Israel. Next year in Cincinnati, the first black female rabbinical student will be ordained through the Reform movement. 'I felt this is my place' Latesha Jones' introduction to the faith came through Jewish friends she met after moving to Atlanta from Richmond. Though she was born into a Baptist family, the 29-year-old said she felt more at home in a synagogue. Before long, she was studying Judaism and decided to convert, changing her name to Elisheva Naomi Chaim. "I felt welcome," she said. "I felt like this is my place." But not everyone felt comfortable with her decision. Chaim cites more than one awkward conversation with family members. They asked which God she was serving, and whether Jesus Christ was involved. When she explained that she was not worshipping Jesus, her aunt told her she'd go to hell. "They're coming around one at a time," Chaim said of her relatives. Her mother now says that as long as Chaim is "doing something spiritually," she doesn't have a problem. It's not always easy at synagogue either, said Chaim, who attends Conservative and Orthodox synagogues in Sandy Springs. "There are some that will look at me strangely because I'm black, but I try not to let that get under my skin." Once she talks to them and shows a knowledge of Judaism, she said, "their attitude changes." They'll say, "Welcome to the tribe" or "I have a lot of respect for you," given the historic persecution of Jews, she said. Under the radar Since the turn of the century, there have been black congregations around the country that identify as "Hebrew Israelite," that is to say, as descendants of the biblical patriarchs, said Lewis Gordon, founder of the Center for Afro-Jewish Studies at Temple University. But often these groups don't consider themselves Jewish, despite some of them having similar traditions. The 2000-01 National Jewish Population Survey, conducted by the United Jewish Communities, North America's central Jewish fund-raising organization, found that 1 percent of Jewish adults, or 37,000 people, identified as black or African-American. An additional 1 percent of Jewish adults called themselves biracial or multiracial. However, that was based on a total estimate of 5.2 million Jews in America, a number that Tobin and other key Jewish demographers have called too low. Tobin believes the number of black Jews in America exceeds 150,000. The notion of black Jews is hardly new. The Jewish history of worldwide migration has led to Jews of every ethnicity. But much of the black Jewish experience in this country has flown under the radar of other Americans, Gordon said. That's because many black Jews historically practiced privately or in segregated communities, he said. The population was "swept up in the tides of racism in scholarship and institutions" that saw Jews as exclusively white, even though American Jews of European descent did not consider themselves white until recent decades, Gordon said. "There have always been communities of either black people who are already Jewish or black people considering coming to Judaism. What is different is that institutional structures are changing," he said. "There is an increased effort to creating a welcoming environment for them." Gordon speculates that as many as 1 million black people in the United States have Jewish roots, among them African-Americans, African and Caribbean immigrants and Afro-Latinos. Which is why Gordon thinks that, among the rising numbers of black Americans coming to Judaism, some of them are simply returning to it. Coming home That's how Sivan Ariel sees her experience. Born to a Catholic family in the Virgin Islands, Ariel now believes her biracial grandmother practiced Jewish customs she learned from her mother. "She would always talk about the laws of God" and the Exodus story, Ariel said. Her grandmother would light white candles, which now remind Ariel of those lit on the Sabbath. "She was the only person I knew that actually did that, so I wondered if it was actually witchcraft," Ariel said with a chuckle. Ariel left Catholicism when she moved to Atlanta for college and joined a Pentecostal church for a while. But she never felt comfortable there, and she began a spiritual search that led her to convert to Judaism. "A long time ago, religion was not something that you thought about," Pamela Harris said. "You went to whatever church that Mama and Daddy went to." Ariel, referring to her experience and those of other black Jews, said, "Some of us know beyond a shadow of a doubt we're here because we're home." Rabbi Norry called this an "unprecedented time" of interest in Judaism. "Business is booming," he said. "On any given Shabbos, there's 10 non-Jews at our service, visiting or studying to be Jewish." Still, he asks every convert: "Why would you ever want to be Jewish? Don't you know how many people hate us?" The black converts respond differently, he said. They look at him as if to say: "Welcome to my world." And yet, for Pamela Harris, race was always beside the point. In fact, her Jewish identity trumps her racial one. "My community is the community of B'nai Israel," she said, using the Hebrew expression for the children of Israel. "I was on a quest for a relationship with God," she said. "That search has nothing to do with race or creed or color or even your religious preference. It has to do with fulfilling a deep need."

What is the Greatest Unresolved Challenge Facing Liberal North American Jewry?

What is the Greatest Unresolved Challenge Facing Liberal North American Jewry?

"We have to be lifelong learners as well as doers. Not all of us can be learned but we all can be learners, coming to a richer understanding of the choices we must make as Reform Jews."

    Robert M Heller

 

Eilu V'eilu is produced by the URJ Department of Lifelong Jewish Learning.
Eilu V'eilu: Volume 27, Week 4

 

I thought this was a very engaging question to ask.  "What is the Greatest Unresolved Challenge Facing Liberal North American Jewry?"  I believe that the question is too narrow in scope.  There are numerous challenges that will determine whether or not Reform Judaism will have a secure future.  In Heller's rebuttal, he places much emphasis on attracting more donations by philanthropists to congregations and other organizations as a method of providing a strong future.  He feels economic support will allow these entities to help themselves and the result would be a strong and inviting branch of Judaism.  I strongly disagree with Robert Heller.  The American Reform Judaism can be revitalized if it choose to lead the Jewish and non-Jewish world, rather than be a "follower" branch of Judaism.  Instead of talking and debating about change, it must become doers of change in the Jewish Diaspora in America and the world. 

One of the great challenges facing liberal North America Judaism is Interracial integration.  The face of American and world Jewry has changed.  No longer can Jews be recognized by their manner of dress, traditions, rituals, and or skin color.  Jews can be found in all the major racial groupings and sub-racial groups.  However, Euro-American and European Jews largely refuse to accept and endorse Jewish interracial couples, Jewish interracial families, Jewish interracial children and multi-racial families. Over many years of personal observation, I have noticed in the Reform Magazine, a leading publication produced by the Reform Movement, there are People of Color in their advertisements for various camps, trips to Israel, whatever. There have been featured stories of examples of Jews of Color.  However, for Reform Judaism to resolve the problem of "Interracial integration, examples of Interracialism must be everyday and common place not examples of such "supposedly non-biasness.

Another issue is the need for Jews of Color in Israel and the Diaspora, whether in the Reform branch of Judaism or the three other remaining branches of world Jewry to be accepted and included as "Jews".  We do not want to be labeled as " Jews of Color".  Often Jews of Color must seek friendships and relationships outside of Judaism to feel accepted as equals.  It is most difficult for the progeny of interracial Jewish families who grow up Jewish.  When they are ready to date and marry, they must again look outside Judaism for a partner. Many are force to choose between being  Jewish or whatever white society tells them they are. They often cannot have both. The Reform Movement must take the first step toward the goal of not only inclusion but endorsement of such individuals, couples and families in the publications we produce and in our community. Interracial individuals, families and relationships should not be seen as the last alternative but the first in mainstream Judaism.  It is important the second largest and most influential Jewish population outside the State of Israel, take the lead in overcoming these barriers to equality.

The issue of economic disparity within our Jewish communities, is another challenge that face Liberal North American Jewry.  One community maybe well off, while others are destitute.  One community maybe able to afford two or more Rabbis, while another cannot afford to pay rent on a room to be used as a place of worship. We must remember our communities are made of individuals.  Many with well paying jobs while other unemployed or living on some kind of pension such as welfare, Social Security, Social Security Disability, whatever. Our temples and other places of worship charge membership dues.  This is unfair.  No one should be required to pay money to be a member of any house of worship.  Yes, there must be a way to pay for staff and other needs of the place of worship.  But there must be equally a concern to care for the needs of the individual so he or she may become a contributing member of the Jewish community.  Instead of building newer and more elegant houses of worship, put the tzedakah into building strong individuals.  It has been said, "Why feed the soul of a man today, what about tomorrow and the next days to follow? Make sure the man can feed himself today, tomorrow and the days to follow.  Not only have you saved his sense of respect and self worth, but you have planted a seed that the entire community may oneday benefit from."

Finally, Liberal North American Jewry must come to grip with the fact that it has largely placed a wall between itself and the impoverished, non-whites and those deemed inferior who seek to convert.  Our congregations are largely "white", middle to upper class incomes, college educated and conservative.  Whether intentionally or unintentionally, membership standards have been kept high to keep out "social undesirables".  In order to make sure that Reform Judaism in North America does not decline, our communities as well as clergy must begin to represent and reflect the diversity not found in any Jewish community.  This is true whether it is Reform, Conservative, Orthodox or Reconstructionist Jewish communities..  Our rituals and even way of worship must begin to incorporate the various way other groups observe Jewish holidays, etc.. I am not saying discard all the social traditions and rituals.  I am saying, promote both in our communities and places of worship. We must be willing to open our communities to change.  We cannot and should not expect those who convert to Judaism to leave their cultural and assume being "Jewish" and "Jews", if there is no place for them in the Reform communities. The greatest challenges that face Liberal North American Jewry is Interracial integration, giving Jews of Color a avenue to drop being "Jews Of Color" and be Jewish, economic disparity within our Jewish communities and finally removing congregational and social barriers to conversion.

The question posed in the beginning of this commentary is symptomatic of the approach that is and will hamper the Reform Movement especially in America.  It examines one aspect of the problem without dealing with the entire problem. I strongly agree with Robert Heller's statement, ..."We have to be lifelong learners as well as doers. Not all of us can be learned but we all can be learners, coming to a richer understanding of the choices we must make as Reform Jews."