Posted on 07/23/2012 8:22:36 AM PDT by Cronos
The ordination took place on a sun-drenched Sabbath, in a synagogue used many decades ago by Lithuanian Jews. But on June 23, it was 200 mostly black worshippers, many in brightly colored African dress, who were on their feet, eyes fixed on a procession of eight white-robed rabbis with ceremonial miters crowning their heads as they strode, single file, down the aisle separating the men’s and women’s seating.
..For many mainstream Jews, this is a ceremony that might seem alien. But today, the differences between them and these black Jews, who have long been ignored or dismissed as inauthentic by the Jewish establishment, seems more like one of culture and ethnicity than Jewish identity.
The ordination pageant is rooted in biblical imagery. But that is not unusual for a movement whose modes of worship are at once traditional and steeped in black religious expression. The earlier three-hour Sabbath morning service, or shacharit, for example, was based on the Orthodox ArtScroll prayer book. But the inspirational preaching, punctuated by frequent cries of hallelujah, emet (truth) and ken (yes) from the worshippers, would be unusual in most synagogues. Even more so the joyful music of the choir, and its full rhythm section of keyboard, guitar and drums to sanctify the day.
Yahath, the movement’s newest cleric, began studying Hebrew and attending Sabbath services in the early 1970s. “When I returned from Vietnam in 1972,” he told the Forward, “I knew Christianity didn’t satisfy me. I was searching spiritually, until a friend talked to me about the idea that black people in America were connected to the Israelites in the Torah. That was the beginning.”...
(Excerpt) Read more at forward.com ...
for ethiopian Jews that’s a different case — they are genetically descendents of Jews. For many of those mentioned in the article, this is not the case. They are not genetic descendents of Jacob.
that was my understanding
Otherwise you must convert. -- I don't understand that -- Jonty corrected me that a person who is not genetically descended from Jacob can become a Jew. I'm confused by your statement montag -- what of someone who is not descended from Jacob -- can they convert?
A Jew is born to a Jewish mother or converted ACCORDING TO HALACHA (Jewish law). DNA does not have direct legal status in Jewish law, nor do conversions not in accord traditional religious law.
It must be noted that each case is handled individually, but, generally, in cases where there is doubt as to the status of one’s mother, there is sometimes a kind of abbreviated conversion. This would be the case of certain Ethiopian (and other) Jews who are serious about their Judaism.
It should also be noted that a status granted by the State of Israel does not confer status under Jewish religious law.
the first one I understand. The second -- is it possible for a black person with no Jewish heritage or genetics to convert according to HALACHA?
Falashas. Read “The Sign and The Seal”.
Falashas. Read “The Sign and The Seal”.
Anyone from any ethnic group can convert according to Halakhah. Technically there are some restrictions placed on certain historical groups (male Moabites and Ammonites), but since we no longer know who belongs to these groups (or even if they still exist) no one is disbarred ethnically from converting to Judaism.
Absolutely, the same as any other non-Jew who may convert. These days, almost any Orthodox community of some size has a few black converts.
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2001/02/African-American-And-Orthodox-Jewish.aspx
thanks, both those posts give me more information. what about acceptance by the wider, non-reform Jewish community?
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