#miriam's posts

[returnofthejudai]

MJL promoting a piece by a BHI

MyJewishLearning published yesterday an article written by a Black Hebrew Israelite (BHI for short) - for those who are not familiar with them, they are an evangelical Christian movement that promotes antisemitic ideas.

"Feeling at Home Among 900 Black Jews at an Ethiopian-Israeli Wedding: As I look around the room, for the first time in my life I feel like I belong to the Jewish people."

The author claims to suffer with racism from within the Jewish community, but the article reads in a very weird way. So I decided to check (and I've seen that a few others on Facebook did as well), and found her page on a BHI website: Celeste Jackson; and her mom, Mother Anna "Levy". Their "synagogue" is a BHI church in Saint Albans, NY.

There is racism in the community, and pieces like these (be it by Celeste Jackson or Nylah Burton, et al) make it harder to address that because they provoke a growth of scepticism toward those who actually face racism in the Jewish community. The reference others have often is non-Jews faking being Jewish for the sake of identity politics (Nylah), or whatever BHIs are doing (Celeste). Which makes easier for detractors to claim that when Jews facing such issues come forward with complaints, they are lying, just look at these *points to the LARPers*.  

It is doubtful if Tali (the Ethiopian Jewish friend) is aware that Celeste is a BHI. Both in Israel and abroad, Ethiopian Jews do not buy into BHI claims, and there is at least one video available on YouTube of such confrontations.

Please be careful with what you share, since Jewish publications clearly have missed the mark big time and keep ignoring Jews who come forward with complaints. I wrote an email to MJL (about racism, my experiences within the community, the effects - on Jews actually facing racism - of publishing an article by this con artist), and would encourage anyone interested in writing to them write as well, the email is [email protected]

[returnofthejudai]

What's your view on messianic jews? I really like your blog but I wanted to know your views on that before I follow?

They’re evangelical Christians, no matter which name they use to call themselves.

[returnofthejudai]

So, I wasn’t raised even remotely Jewish, but I’ve recently discovered that my maternal grandmother was born Jewish. She was born and raised in the American South in the 1920s and hid her Jewishness from my mother and I to protect us from antisemitism. Arguably this might mean that I am Jewish according to some people (right?), but since I wasn’t raised Jewish it would feel wrong for me to call myself Jewish. On the one hand, I want to acknowledge and learn more about my Jewish roots. On the other hand, I don’t want to appropriate an identity and experience that isn’t mine, nor do I want to barge into Jewish space when I haven’t lived a Jewish life. I’m not religious, so I don’t plan on converting, but I do want more of a connection to Jewish culture and history. So I guess my question is…what now? What’s a good way to refer to myself? Of Jewish descent? Part Jewish? Matrilineally Jewish? And do you know of any good resources for people such as myself? I just want to go about re-connecting with my Jewish heritage without stepping on anyone’s toes.

Miriam's answer [the question was sent as a submission; the person asking is named Jacob]:

Arguably this might mean that I am Jewish according to some people (right?)

It makes you fully Jewish according to Jewish law.   

but since I wasn’t raised Jewish it would feel wrong for me to call myself Jewish.

It's not wrong, if your maternal grandmother is Jewish you're Jewish.

I don’t want to appropriate an identity and experience that isn’t mine, nor do I want to barge into Jewish space when I haven’t lived a Jewish life.

You're Jewish, there's no appropriation. You belong in Jewish spaces as much as any other Jew.

I’m not religious, so I don’t plan on converting

No need to convert. But talk to a Rabbi and provide the necessary information about your grandmother's Jewishness. 

What’s a good way to refer to myself?

Jewish.

And do you know of any good resources for people such as myself?

There's plenty, but depends on what you're looking for. I've heard about some books for beginners that get good reviews and can be sometimes found in libraries:

* Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History 

* The Book of Our Heritage: The Jewish Year and Its Days of Significance (it's made of multiple volumes)

[returnofthejudai]

My family has a Jewish background on my dad's side, and my great-grandparents were all Jewish. Should I get tested to see if I am a carrier for Tay-Sachs if I am not immediately related to any Jewish family members?

I’d say it’s advisable to get screened. From JScreen FAQ:

Should I be screened if I’m not Jewish or if I have converted to Judaism?

Yes. JScreen’s panel includes more than 200 genetic diseases that are commonly found in both the Jewish and general populations. Therefore, the JScreen panel is applicable for those with Jewish and non-Jewish ancestry.

Only one of my parents is Jewish. Is this program right for me?

Yes. Having even one Jewish grandparent puts you at increased risk for carrying one or more of the Jewish disease genes.

I’m taking it from this particular group’s website because I knew the answers were right there, I’m not paid by them to advertise their work or anything :)

[returnofthejudai]

Hi, I'm Jewish because my grandparents are (they are Ash) and they raised their children, including my mother, as Jewish. However, by the time I was born she had stopped practicing and dragged me through different non-jewish religions until I started living with someone else. I'm 21 now and I feel like she robbed me from learning about my culture. Is it too late to convert? And can I really call myself a Jew if I don't currently practice?

A few points:

- No need for conversion, you are fully Jewish according to Jewish law.

- Practice and status are two separate things, you are still fully Jewish even if you’re not practicing.

- The choices made by your parents / mother as a minor don’t change your status as a Jew according to Jewish law (i.e. you’re still a Jew).

The “according to Jewish law” has to be made very clear - and I think this is worth mentioning -, since there are ways in which someone fully Jewish can still face trouble for such upbringing, but that is not in accordance with Jewish law. For example: under the Law of Return, such individuals are not considered Jewish because of Israeli secular law (which conflicts which Jewish law). People in this situation (halakhically Jewish but family practicing another religion) have been instructed to not mention it to Israeli authorities when making aliya because of this. One of such examples - Is she Jewish? Rabbinate says yes, Israel says no (JTA).

[returnofthejudai]

So my mom decided to change our Passover tradition of using a feminist Haggadah, and is using a Harry Potter Haggadah. I just wanted your thoughts. I don't think it's a good idea. I think commercializing this time is gross. Idk, I could be wrong, and I would love to hear your thoughts.

Is it the one by Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg? I haven’t seen the haggadah itself, but heard about it. If it’s a kosher haggadah - and I’m inclined to think it is -, I don’t see the issue. 

If it’s not to your taste, just skip on the haggadah and pick up one you like. At my “family” (more like late “adoption,” we have no biological relation but they’re like family to me), most of us use a different haggadah from the next person, some follow in English and others in French, and we all enjoy the holiday together.

[returnofthejudai]

I don't know if this is something of discourse, and pardon me if it is, but if my maternal grandmother's maternal grandmother was Jewish, would that make me ethnically Jewish? I know that there is a lot more to Jewish culture than that, and I would never claim to be fully Jewish because of it (the rest of my family is Irish), but I was curious.

If you can prove an unbroken maternal lineage, you’d still be considered Jewish. Jewish status does not expire. I’ve heard about in the USA Rabbis only accepting proof up to grandmother, sometimes great-grandmother, and at the same time there’s someone (also in the USA) who released a book after she was able to prove an unbroken chain of grandmothers going back to Spain several centuries ago and then getting recognised as a born Jew based on that. If you can do that, I do not know an Orthodox Rabbi who would not recognise you as a Jew.

[returnofthejudai]

My grandma has always been-literally-the black sheep of the family. What photos we've found of her family all show the same dark curly hair and swarthy complexion, & as children, my uncles were taunted for "looking Jewish". We initially suspected North African or even Aborigine Australian heritage but recently we stumbled across headstones of her family buried in Jewish cemeteries! Her family all had distinctly Polish/German/Ashkenazic-sounding surnames, which was our first clue, (part 1)

(part 2) coupled with very strong Hebrew given names. Then we found the immigration records from Germany. In England they lived in what was then the Jewish ghetto and her parents converted to Protestantism as adults, hence the lack of Church records prior. We’re in America now so we can’t search the physical synagogue records & when we raise the matter with her she clams up. I don’t believe she was aware that her parents were converts and she’s now a very devout Christian, so I think the (contd)

(pt 3) topic makes her uncomfortable. She and her sisters mostly weren’t raised by their parents so I’m not sure what she would know anyway. We suspect her parents converted out of fear of antisemitism-if they were Jewish at all, that is. The records only go as far back as their arrival in Leeds from Germany in the 1880s. Do you have any advice on tracing my family tree? How can I be definite if they were Jewish? I’m not looking to make aliyah or anything, I just want the truth about my family.

Would anyone be able to help anon?

I heard that FamilySearch (a Mormon website) has a lot of information on tons of people, but I’m not sure how they choose their targets in order to put them on record, but maybe it’s a possibility to check out if they’d have information on anyone in your family tree and go from there? I’m really bad at this, hope other people can be of better help than me. Edit: blunderpuff said: 

There's a Facebook group called "Tracing The Tribe" that has a bunch of smart genealogy-minded people. Sometimes people on that group have hit dead-ends on their own families (thanks, Russian Empire 1890!), so they might jump at the chance to help go through yours, especially since it sounds like you've got some decent information already.