Tag Archives: Orthodox Jews

No I’m Not Cursed

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This week we read Parshat Noach, which contains one of the most well-known stories in the entire Torah.  What a lot of people don’t realize is that this popular story also contains the curse of Ham (or the Hamitic Myth as it is sometimes called), something many use to justify racism towards and the oppression of black people.  And while granted this justification has fallen out of favor for many in the mainstream American and liberal Jewish community, for those who believe in a more literal and traditional interpretation of the Torah it is still as valid as ever.

My sister has been asked at Shabbat meals “So how do you feel about the curse of Ham?”, I’ve had people justify comments about the inferiority about black people with “It’s in the Torah.”  Except, no…folks, it’s not.

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Are You a Convert?

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I can’t count how many times people walk up to me and blurt out “So did you convert?”  It’s always a disconcerting conversation starter.  Why? Maybe, because people use it instead of “Shabbat Shalom”, “Chag Sameach”, “Hi, are you new?” or “Hi, I’m ____.”  Let me give you a hint.  This is not an appropriate opening for a conversation with a Jew of Color.  It’s rude. Continue reading →

We Don’t All Look Alike

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Since many of us are going to synagogue more in the next couple of weeks than we do all year…I figured I’d dispense a little advice.

Dear White Jews,

We don’t all look alike.  Yes, I know you remember seeing that one black woman at shul three months ago.  Or that Latino guy in the black hat…or the Asian lady and her kids at the local kosher grocery story.  But I am not that person.  I know, I know you don’t expect there to be more than one of us.  That’s why we’re trying to spread the word…there are more of us than you think. Continue reading →

We Can Do Better

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Honestly, I actually intended for this post to be about another subject entirely, but a friend brought an article to my attention to which I hadn’t seen before and I felt the need to respond….

Blogger, Failed Messiah posted about a Chasidic newspaper “Der Yid” and its uses of both the “n word” and “shvartze”

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2012/08/hasidic-newspaper-uses-the-n-word-234.html

Failed Messiah also provides a rough, summary translation of the article in question.

“As if it (the Olympics) were the most important thing in the world, they [secular Jews, Zionists] even forgot about Iran… The ones that call themselves Am HaSefer (People of the Book) were busy during the 2 weeks [of the Olympics] with a untranslatable awe of every black nigger who ran with a few sec. faster than the other.

And they [secular Jews, Zionists] are the one’s that keep on writing, [that] the Haradim are giving insufficient education to their kids….[as] if to be busy for weeks with lame sports matchup’ of a few black niggers that run almost as fast as a monkey or a different animal – if that means advanced, then we’d like to stay behind.”

For all of you who aren’t aware Der Yid is the largest Yiddish paper in the US, founded by Satmer Chassidim, but read by many in the Yiddish speaking charedi world.

I wish I could say I’m surprised, by this….but instead I find myself merely disappointed.  Disappointed that racism is so accepted in the community that they are willing to use such extreme language in community publications.  Disappointment in the utter lack of embarrassment in printing the “n word”, shvartze, or comparing black people to animals because the publishers know that such racism is prevalent and accepted in their community.  Disappointed that these words get tossed around with such frequency that no one would bat an eye at their usage. Continue reading →

Welcoming the Stranger

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A recent trip out-of-town made me think about “welcoming synagogues” and what that really means.  So often  Jews of Color, LGBT Jews and others feel like outsiders when they step into a place that should be accepting to every Jew regardless of race and/or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or socio-economic level.  There’s an assumption that they’re a “stranger” or “other” and don’t belong.

As a Jewish diversity advocate I’ve worked and continue to work with others to make Jewish spaces more welcoming for people of color.  However, part of the challenge is to articulate what being “welcoming” really means.  In fact, when asked I often quote Justice Stewart and say “I know it, when I see it.”  It’s not that there aren’t concrete steps that synagogues and Jewish organizations can make to become more inclusive, but that the end result might not merely be boxes checked off of a list.  The challenge is that implementing the steps are not the end goal, true inclusion is.

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