Jews of Color

First of all let me clear up something Jews come in all colors and are from many different backgrounds and cultures. Contrary to popular believe the majority of Jews in the world are people of color. Most Americans think being Jewish is synonymous with being white, but that is not the case at all, with the exception being in the United States. Being that I am a black woman who happens to be Jewish I get that look and the question “how is that?” Even from other Jews (usually American) you do not know the true history of their own people. When I meet Israeli Jews or Ugandan (yes that is an African country) or even Asian Jews no one even bats an eye at the fact that I am black and are more surprised that I am an American. I am in no way the expert of all things Jewish and do not claim to be, but I do know that being a Jew is more then just a religion it is a culture that like most cultures has many sub-cultures within it. The one thing that all religious Jews have in common is the belief in this prayer.

“Sh’ma Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai eh-chad”
“Listen Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one”

Anyway, enough of the theology lesson, if anyone has a question feel free to ask and if I can not answer it. I will ask my Rabbi and get back to you as soon as I can.

Why Judaism??

When I tell people that I am going through a conversion to become Jewish the first thing they alway ask is...Why Judaism?? The answer I usually tell everyone is that is how the good Lord made me...LOL. I know in my heart that is the honest truth, but I had a bit of a journey to go through before I finally came to that conclusion. This is my story in a nutshell:

I was raised in a Christian home more specifically Catholic and exposed to all of the things a good Catholic girl ought to be exposed to. I just NEVER felt comfortable in a church or in all the bible classes I was made to go to. I mean I loved the things that I was learning, but I never felt like I really got IT. My soul was enraged and nothing I did would ever quiet it. I never felt that peace that I heard some people describe once they are inside of a church or after a service. I just felt sad and empty like my soul was never fulfilled. I talked to my family about it and they always looked at me like I was weird. *sigh*

When I became old enough to learn about things on my own I began to research other religions I went through several transitions tried everything from other Christian denominations, Hinduism, Wicca basically anything I could get my hands on. The one faith that I always seemed to gravitate towards was Judaism. I kept running away from that urge though, because who ever heard of a black Jew…lol.

One day I just said the heck with it and I just started to read anything about Judaism that I could get my hands on and I also found an online forum that catered to Jewish women of color. I asked them tons of questions and really started to interact with them. After a few months I finally decided to take the plunge and called a Rabbi...actually several Rabbi's, but there was only one I felt brave enough to face.

Let me give you a little background on converting to Judaism, as a person seeking a conversion you have to seek out the Rabbi, because Jews do not proslestyze non-Jews. The Rabbi was nice enough to invite me to come into speak with him face to face after a brief phone conversation. I was nervous about his reaction to me, but when I met him he was very warm and welcoming answered all of my questions and invited me to a worship service. The moment I walked into my first Shabbat evening worship service my soul quieted and I knew I was finally “home”. I knew right then that I was born to be Jewish I was just birthed into the wrong family…LOL.

My family’s reaction to the news of my impending conversion was better then I thought. They were very cool about it and they teased me about it at first, but I knew they meant well. I have never looked back and do not regret my decision at all. I love my synagogue, it very multicultural so I see all sorts of people even a few with faces like mine. Everyone has welcomed me with open arms and I started learning Hebrew. My son goes to religious classes every Saturday and he is doing very well. I am still not sure if I want to convert him officially or if I want to wait and let him make his own decision, but I have time to figure that out.

I don't want to offend anyone, because I do not believe in certain aspects of other religions. To be completely honest I feel Christianity and other religions are wonderful, and I still incorporate a lot of the Christian holidays into my life because of my family. I just know for a fact that being a Jew is the only life for me.