100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials may be under copyright. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission. If you have questions about the collection, please contact the Bentley Historical Library at bentley.ref@umich.edu

September 05, 1975 - Image 28

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1975-09-05

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

28 Friday, September 5, 1975

LAWN

Sprinkling Systems

Expert repair & Installation

541-0903

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

MOVING?

Yeshiva U. Prof Queries Existence of Black Jews

NEW YORK — Accord-
ing to a Yeshiva University
talmudic scholar, blacks
who consider themselves
Jews solely by virtue of

HAPPY NEW YEAR

May It Be Thy Will
0 Lord Our God,
And God Of Our Fathers
To Bless Us All This
Coming Year With The Joy
Of Long Life And Lasting Peace
Throughout The World.

their heritage and deport-
ment should not, with one
possible exception, be recog-
nized as Jews under Jewish
law, although those who
have converted according to
halakhic traditions should
be accepted into the commu-
nity without discrimination.
"Judaism is color blind;
skin pigmentation is un-
known as a halakhic con-
cept," writes Rabbi J. David
Bleich, on the talmudic fac-
ulty of the Rabbi Isaac El-
chanan Theological Semi-
nary, an affiliate of Yeshiva
University, and assistant
professor of philosophy at
the university's Stern Col-
lege for Women.
His article, entitled
"Black Jews: A Halakhic
Perspective," appears in the
current issue of Tradition,
published by the Rabbinical
Council of America.

"The question of recog-
nition of Black Jews as
members of the Jewish
community . . . is simply
one instance of the much
broader question: 'Who is
a Jew?' " Rabbi Bleich
states.

Black Jews — black
groups and individuals who
claim to be Jewish by virtue
of genealogy or conversion
— have been an historic re-
currence. They range from a
community of Ethiopian
blacks whose reference in
Western literature dates
from the Ninth Century, to
slaves who identified with
the Children of 'Israel, and
to a variety of religious sects

in the 20th Century who
claim to be the only true
descendants of the early
Jews, Rabbi Bleich writes.
Of the groups and individ-
uals claiming to be Jews,
Rabbi Bleich reports the
only ones who have a fairly-
well substantiated claim to
Jewish ancestry (and who
have been accepted without
conversion by some rabbinic
authorities) are the FalaS-
has, the Black Jews of
Ethiopia.
They are said to be de-
scended from the tribe of
Dan and have been recog-
nized by many renowned
rabbis and scholars
throughout the- ages as
being Jewish, according to
Rabbi Bleich.

Except for the Falashas,
Dr. Bleich says, all con-
temporary sects of Black
Jews are known to have
been descended from gen-
tiles, and thus the "Jew-
ishness of such groups is of
fairly recent origin" and
any claims that they are
descended from the lost
tribes "must be dismissed
as sheer fabrication."

The appeal of Judaism to
blacks during this and the
last century is explained, ac-
cording to Rabbi Bleich, by
the "Old Testament ac-
counts of the persecution
and election of the people of
Israel, a ready appeal to an
enslaved people. Recently-
emancipated Negroes saw a
commonality of experience
and anticipation between
themselves and the Israe-
lites of the Bible."

Jewry's Treasure

By Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu

In "Israel Among the Nations"

Best Wishes
To The Entire Jewish Community For
A Happy, Healthy & Prosperous

Learning was for 2,000
years the sole claim- of dis-
tinction recognized by Is-
rael. "The scholar," says the
Talmud, "takes precedence
over the king." Israel re-
mained faithful to this pre-
cept throughout all her hu-
miliations. Whenever, in
Christian or Moslem lands,
a hostile hand closed her
schools, the rabbis crossed
the seas to reopen their aca-
demies in a distant country.
Like the legendary Wander-
ing Jew, the flickering torch
of Jewish scholarship thus
passed from East to West,
from North to South, chang-
ing every two ar three
hundred years, from one
country to another.
Whenever a royal edict
commanded them to leave,
within three months, the
country in which their fath-
ers had been buried and
their sons had been born,
the treasure which the Jews
were most anxious to carry
away with them was their
books.

The Shofar

The shofar was sounded
on several occasions in an-
cient times. They include:
the announcement of the
New Moon (new month); the
proclamation of the Jubilee
of Yom Kippur of the Fif-
tieth Year (The year of the
return of all lands to their
original owners); the call to
arms; the announcement of
victory; and Rosh Hashana.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

When a Black Jew has
converted, he must be
treated the same as a na-
tive-horn Jew, as must any
proselyte, Rabbi Bleich re-
ports. "The Torah expressly
forbids any type of discrimi-
nation whatsoever."

• HOUSEHOLD SALES • •

IN YOUR HOME • .

• MARION GASPAS •

: •

626-6795

626-8402 . .


IRENE EAGLE
626-8907
. : - 626-4769



A HAPPY, HEALTHY
AND PROSPEROUS
A ak NEW YEAR

4151 Stirling Road
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33314

"Home of
Young Israel of Hollywood"

vngiss

F ORMALWEAR CENTER

Let Gingiss
Formalwear add:
that touch of
elegance to
your special
occasion.
Wedding,
Bar Mitzvahs,
.Proms, Banquets,
For personalized
service and a
huge selection
visit Gingiss
Formalwear.

Pictured are two of many styles available

ON WOODWARD AVE.

(2 Blocks South of 14 Mile Road)

576-1206

A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION
Ask About Our Out-of-Town Service For Guests and Ushers

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM



ging*

FORMALWEAR

MR. AND MRS. DON KOHN, BRIAN, AND ENTIRE STAFF

The Residents of

HAUERIM
HOUSE

sponsored by the association

for Jewish retarded

Wish All of Their
Friends in the
Community
A Happy, Healthy
and Prosperous
New Year

. •

.

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan