DOCSLIB.ORG

Shalom from India

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Shalom from India Supporting Isolated, Emerging, and Returning Jewish Communities around the Globe “All of Us” Volume 25 Number 1 Spring 2018 Shalom ULANUfrom India Text and photos by Judi Kloper KOne week was too short for a return visit to the Bene Ephraim community in Kottyreddypalem, a village in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where I was warmly welcomed as an auntie returning “home.” We greeted Shabbat on Friday night, learned about that week’s parsha during Saturday morning’s service, and together we ended Shabbat with Havdalah. I was able to to meet some of the people whom Kulanu, with your help, has assisted with their education and health care, and with many Judaica items, including siddurim, hanukkiyot, and mezuzot. This community continues to need our support for the education of its children—from elementary school to college—as well as emergency health care needs, and for the repair and possible rebuilding of the small synagogue. Currently we need to raise $2000 for tuition fees, uniforms, and books for 12 of the Bene Ephraim children. p Keziyah and her mother Miryam welcome Shabbat. Keziyah is teaching the Bene Ephraim children Hebrew blessings, the Hebrew alphabet, and about the In this Issue: different Jewish festivals. Shalom from India ........................ 1 Your help goes a long Where in the World is Kulanu? ..... 3 way. Please consider ROUGH DRAFT Italy’s Seder Hamishi .................... 4 contributing and go to Kulanu Community Twinning ........ 6 bit.ly/beneephraim. Secret Communities of Ethiopia ... 8 Jews In Côte d’Ivoire .................. 10 To learn more about this community, Artist/Scholar-in-Residence ........ 12 visit kulanu.org/ Kulanu Notes .............................. 14 communities/india. Thank You, Donors ..................... 16 Review: New Children of Israel .. 18 t Moshe Kedari and his wife Computer Technology ................. 19 Malka with two of their grandchil- Volunteer Spotlight ..................... 22 dren, Ruben and Deena, stand with Artist/Scholar-in-Residence ........ 24 Judi Kloper outside their home. continued on next page G Shalom from India: continued from previous page t Sara qMoshe Korahi reciting the blessings u Victoria Prasanthi, before and after reading the week’s Miriam is with her parsha. The community comes together reciting the quiet weekly to celebrate Shabbat and many in blessings demeanor the community have a chance to read the before and bright blessings in Hebrew, transliterated into and after smile, is 17 Telegu, their native language (though some the Torah years old, can read Hebrew). This book that Moshe portion. and with is reading from is a siddur translated many Though the help of years ago into Telegu by Sadok Yacobi, Victoria Kulanu, just leader of the community. Sadok’s daughter Miriam can completed Keziya is now transliterating brachot read the her high school studies. In July she (blessings), Shacharit (morning prayers), blessings in Hebrew, here she is reading begins four years of studying toward an Mincha from a siddur in which the blessings were engineering degree. She enjoys helping (afternoon transliterated into Telegu, the language her only brother, 10-year-old Daveed, with prayers), spoken in this part of India. his homework. Sara extends thanks to all Maariv who’ve helped her, explaining, “We are (evening very poor, so we need a good education. prayers), If we get a good education, we get good some knowledge and we know about our psalms, community and being Jewish, about Israel, and a few who we are, and to know all the world. I holiday can get a good job, and help my family services. members of course. Thank you so much for doing what you are doing to help us.” Mazel Tov, Sara Prasanthi! We are so q David Rajasekhar is 20 years old and proud of you! recently earned a diploma in elementary education. He hopes to be teaching a t class between grades 1 and 5. David Some plans to eventually earn a Master of Arts babies in political science and expressed a desire p Ephraim, age 25, standing with the are not to learn more Torah. David says, “I want to named give great thanks to Kulanu for helping me author, Judi, has been chanting the until get an blessings before and after the Torah they are educa- portions, and helps prepare for Shabbat at least tion to at the small hall that serves as the a few be- community’s synagogue. He finished 12th months come a grade in 2012, and earned a Bachelor old, teacher. of Science degree in chemistry in 2015. depend- This is a He also finished training in electronics ing on if manufacturing and air conditioning the family big help and refrigerator repair to help him find wants to to me have a celebration. This mom asked Judi to and I will sustainable employment. In 2016, name her daughter; Judi was honored and never Ephraim suffered from a dangerous chose the name Shira, Hebrew for “song.” forget.” intestinal blockage; with Kulanu’s The child’s name is now Shira Aksitha (Telegu assistance, he was able to receive name meaning “immortal”). The black dot on excellent medical care and regained good Shira’s forehead and cheek is a Hindu custom health. Ephraim is grateful to Kulanu for that even non-Hindus in India have adopted, the support he and his community have and is placed there to ward off the “evil eye.” received. c 2 Kulanu Spring 2018 Where in the World is Kulanu in this Issue? Yamoussoukro, the political capital Rome, the capital Kulanu is in touch with dozens of LIECH. VADUZ BERN Bobo Dioulasso SWITZERLAND AUSTRIA MALI HUNGARY communities around the world. Garalo BURKINA GORIZIA LJUBLJANA ZAGREB TRIESTE CROATIA FASO Abidjan, the FRANCE FRIULI VENEZIA When we are contacted, we learn GIULIA BOSNIA AND economic capital, HERZEGOVINA SARAJEVO what their needs are and do our GUINEA CROATIA LIGURIAN biggest city, and SEA MONTENEGRO Beyla Cote d’Ivoire ADRIATIC CROATIA PODGORICA SEA best to find ways in which to CORSICA home to the (FR.) ROME help them further their study and Jewish community STRAIT OF OTRANTO Yamoussoukro TYRRHENIAN GHANA GOLLO DI practice of Judaism and build their SEA TARANTO Awaso SARDINIA CAGLIARI communities. You can see on IONIAN SEA LIBERIA Abidjan MEDITERRANEAN REGGIO DI CALABRIA Lamezia Terme, in SEA this map where the communities Fish Town ITALY Gulf of Guinea the Calabria region TUNIS SICILY featured in this issue of Kulanu are NABEUL VALLETTA where the Seder ALGERIA TUNISIA MALTA located. Hamishi is held Côte d’Ivoire, p10 Italy, p4 N K I Z Notes, p14-15 Aswan Ethiopia, p8 India, p1 TURKM. UZB. Communities mentioned in Addis Ababa, TAJIKISTAN AFGHANISTAN Chinese Port Kabul Line of Indian claim Red Control line of New Dehli, Srinagar control capital and home JAMMU AND Kulanu Notes: Sudan Islamabad KASHMIR ERITREA Sea the capital SUDAN base for CHINA Countries are notated by Khartoum Asmara PAKISTAN ARUNACHAL PRADESH NEPAL SIKKIM Kathmandu BHUTAN Itanagar rural secret Gangtok their initals on the world mapAl Fashir Thimphu DJIBOUTI BANGLADESH synagogues Agartala Dhaka Djibouti TRIPURA Aizawl Nicaragua (N) MIZORAM Berbera BURMA SOUTH Addis Kenya (K) Ababa Waw SUDAN Kottyreddypalem, Rangoon PONDICHERRY Bay Zimbabwe (Z) ETHIOPIA Arabian of Juba home of the Sea Bengal Port Blair Cuddalore Indonesia (I) Bene Ephraim Kavaratti ANDAMAN AND SOMALIA LAKSHADWEEP NICOBAR ISLANDS UGANDA KENYA SRI Mogadishu community LANKA Kisangani Kampala Colombo INDONESIA Indian Indian Ocean Nairobi © Copyright Bruce Jones Design Inc. 2006 Kigali Lake RWANDA Victoria BURUNDI Bujumbura Mombasa Ocean Lake Kalemie Tanganyika ZanzibarKulanu Spring 2018 3 TANZANIA Dar es Salaam Mbeya Lake MALAWI Nyasa The Seder Hamishi Italy’s Crypto-Jews Revive a Secret Passover Tradition by Rabbi Barbara Aiello observed Passover complete Some historians believe that the Russian painter with symbolic foods, prayers Moshe Maimon’s most famous work, “Marranos: and blessings. Secret Seder,” actually tells the story of the Seder Hamishi, a special Passover seder held not on the Over the years, the fifth first or second night of Passover, but, as its name night seder became known suggests, on the fifth night of the holiday. Legend as the Seder Hamishi--a has it that during the time of the Inquisition, doubly appropriate name first in Spain, then in Portugal, and finally since hamish is the Yiddish on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia and into word for cozy, homey, and Italy’s mainland, Jews who had been forced into friendly. Christian conversion (B’nei Anusim) were helped, Passing matzah head to Reviving the Secret surprisingly, by their Christian neighbors. head, a crypto-Jewish seder tradition. Photo by Dominick Seders Neofiti, as these newly minted Christians were Pulice Here in Calabria, in the called, continued to arouse the suspicion of deep south of Italy or Inquisition authorities--so much so that garden- what we like to call “the toe of the Italian boot,” ers, maids, cooks, and nannies who worked in our B’nei Anusim continue the tradition of the households of converted Jews were offered a Seder Hamishi. In 2006, when Sinagoga Ner bounty if they could catch their employer clean- Tamid del Sud (“The Eternal Light of the South”) ing the house of chametz (leavened bread), first revived the Seder Hamishi in the town of changing pots, pans, and dishes, or preparing Selinunte on the island of Sicily, friends and fami- pane azimo, or matzah, the unleavened bread lies, both Jewish and Christian, have gathered eaten during the Passover holiday. And then, annually to celebrate this remarkable Passover when the first night of Passover finally arrived, event. Inquisition soldiers, who laid in wait for the sun Each year we hold the Seder Hamishi in the to set, would burst through the doors of what had Calabrian town of Lamezia Terme (formerly once been Jewish homes, checking to see if any of Nicastro) near to Timpone, the old Jewish these former Jews were “judaizing,” in this case, quarter, that is still intact.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Languages of the Jews: a Sociolinguistic History Bernard Spolsky Index More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-05544-5 - The Languages of the Jews: A Sociolinguistic History Bernard Spolsky Index More information Index Abu El-Haj, Nadia, 178 Alliance Israélite Universelle, 128, 195, 197, Afrikaans, 15, 243 238, 239, 242, 256 learned by Jews, 229 Almohads, 115 Afrikaaners forced conversions, 115 attitude to Jews, 229 Granada, 139 Afro-Asiatic persecution, 115, 135, 138 language family, 23 alphabet Agudath Israel, 252 Hebrew, 30 Yiddish, 209 Alsace, 144 Ahaz, 26, 27 became French, 196 Akkadian, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 36, 37, expulsion, 125 39, 52 Alsace and Lorraine borrowings, 60 Jews from East, 196 Aksum, 91 al-Yahūdiyya, 85 al-Andalus, 105, 132, 133 Amarna, 19 emigration, 135 American English Jews a minority, 133 Yiddish influence, 225 Jews’ languages, 133 Amharic, 5, 8, 9, 90, 92 languages, 136 Amoraim, 60 Aleppo, 102 Amsterdam emigration, 225 Jewish publishing, 169 Jewish Diasporas, 243 Jewish settlement, 198 Jewish settlement, 243 multilingualism, 31 Alexander the Great, 46 Anglo-Israelite beliefs, 93 Alexandria, 47, 59, 103 anti-language, 44 Hebrew continuity, 48 Antiochus, 47, 56 Jews, 103 Antipas, 119 Alfonso X, 137 Antwerp Algeria, 115 Anusim, 199 consistories, 236 multilingualism, 199 emigration, 197, 236, 237 Yiddish maintained, 199 French rule, 234 Antwerpian Brabantic, 18 French schools, 236 Anusim, 132, 139, 232 Jews acquire French, 236 Algeria, 115 Vichy policy, 236 Belgium, 199 342 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-05544-5 -
    [Show full text]
  • LCSH Section J
    J (Computer program language) J.G.L. Collection (Australia) New York, N.Y.) BT Object-oriented programming languages BT Painting—Private collections—Australia BT Apartment houses—New York (State) J (Locomotive) (Not Subd Geog) J.G. Strijdomdam (South Africa) Downtown by Philippe Starck (New York, N.Y.) BT Locomotives USE Pongolapoort Dam (South Africa) Office buildings—New York (State) J & R Landfill (Ill.) J. Hampton Robb Residence (New York, N.Y.) J.P. Morgan, Jr., House (New York, N.Y.) UF J and R Landfill (Ill.) USE James Hampden and Cornelia Van Rensselaer USE Phelps Stokes-J.P. Morgan House (New York, J&R Landfill (Ill.) Robb House (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.) BT Sanitary landfills—Illinois J. Herbert W. Small Federal Building and United States J. Paul Getty Center (Los Angeles, Calif.) J. & W. Seligman and Company Building (New York, Courthouse (Elizabeth City, N.C.) USE Getty Center (Los Angeles, Calif.) N.Y.) UF Small Federal Building and United States J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa (Malibu, Calif.) USE Banca Commerciale Italiana Building (New Courthouse (Elizabeth City, N.C.) USE Getty Villa (Malibu, Calif.) York, N.Y.) BT Courthouses—North Carolina J. Paul Getty Museum Herb Garden (Malibu, Calif.) J 29 (Jet fighter plane) Public buildings—North Carolina This heading is not valid for use as a geographic USE Saab 29 (Jet fighter plane) J-holomorphic curves subdivision. J.A. Ranch (Tex.) USE Pseudoholomorphic curves UF Getty Museum Herb Garden (Malibu, Calif.) BT Ranches—Texas J. I. Case tractors BT Herb gardens—California J. Alfred Prufrock (Fictitious character) USE Case tractors J.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Release 15
    BIBLICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE Gordon E. Christo RELEASE15 The History of the Seventh-day Sabbath in India Until the Arrival of Seventh-day Adventists Gordon E. Christo Biblical Research Institute Silver Spring, Maryland Copyright © 2020 by the Biblical Research Institute Silver Spring, Maryland www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org General editor: Ekkehardt Mueller Editor: Clinton Wahlen Managing editor: Marly Timm Editorial assistance and layout: Patrick V. Ferreira Copy editor: Schuyler Kline Author: Christo, Gordon Title: Te History of the Seventh-day Sabbath in India Until the Arrival of Seventh-day Adventists Subjects: Sabbath - India Sabbatarians - India Call Number: V125.S32 2020 Printed in the U.S.A. ISBN 978-0-925675-42-2 Contents Introduction ............................................................................... 1 Early Presence of Jews in India ............................................. 3 Bene Israel ............................................................................. 3 Cochin Jews ........................................................................... 4 Early Christianity in India ....................................................... 6 Te Report of Pantaneus ................................................... 7 “Te Doctrine of the Apostles” ........................................ 8 Te Acts of Tomas ........................................................... 8 Traditions of the Tomas Christians ............................... 9 Tomas Christians and the Sabbath ....................................... 10
    [Show full text]
  • Social Geography-18Kp2g07
    SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY CODE – 18KP2GO7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ UNIT- I SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY: NATURE AND SCOPE OF SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY-SOCIAL STRUCTURE-SOCIAL PROCESSES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Social geography • The term ‘social geography’ carries with it an inherent confusion. In the popular perception the distinction between social and cultural geography is not very clear. The idea which has gained popularity with the geographers is that social geography is an analysis of social phenomena expressed in space. When the term emerged within the Anglo-American tradition during the 1960s, it was basically applied as a synonym for the search for patterns in the distribution of social groups. • Social geography is the branch of human geography that is most closely related to social theory in general and sociology in particular, dealing with the relation of social phenomena and its spatial components. Though the term itself has a tradition of more than 100 years,[ there is no consensus • However, the term ‘ social phenomena’ is in its developing stage and might be interpreted in a variety of ways keeping in view the specific context of the societies at different stages of social evolution in the occidental and the oriental worlds. The term ‘social phenomena’ encompasses the whole framework of human interaction with environment, leading to the articulation of social space by diverse human groups in different ways. • The end-product of human activity may be perceived in the spatial patterns manifest in the personality of regions; each pattern acquiring its form under the overwhelming influence of social structure. Besides the patterns, the way the social phenomena are expressed in space may become a cause of concern as well.
    [Show full text]
  • Genomic Citizenship: Peoplehood and State in Israel and Qatar
    Genomic Citizenship: Peoplehood and State in Israel and Qatar The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:40049986 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Genomic Citizenship: Peoplehood and State in Israel and Qatar A dissertation presented by Ian Vincent McGonigle to The Committee on Middle Eastern Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts March 2018 © 2018 Ian Vincent McGonigle All rights reserved. Jean Comaroff and Steve Caton Ian Vincent McGonigle Genomic Citizenship: Peoplehood and State in Israel and Qatar Abstract This dissertation describes basic genetic research and biobanking of ethnic populations in Israel and Qatar. I track how biomedical research on ethnic populations relates to the political, economic, legal, and historical context of the states; to global trends in genetic medicine; and to the politics of identity in the context of global biomedical research. I describe the ways biology is becoming a site for negotiating identity in ethnic genetics, in discourse over rights to citizenship, in rare disease genetics, and in personalized medicine. The core focus of this work is the way the molecular realm is an emergent site for articulations of ethnonational identities in the contemporary Middle East.
    [Show full text]
  • On Diversity and Identity Among Indian Jews by Prof. Shalva Weil
    A course under MHRD scheme on Global Initiative on Academic Network (GIAN) On Diversity and Identity among Indian Jews by Prof. Shalva Weil Course Venue: Date: 23-31 January 2017 Time: 4:00-7:00 PM Overview The Jews of India represent a miniscule minority residing in harmony among Hindus, Muslims and Christians for generations. India is the only place in the world where Jews never suffered antisemitism, except during the Portuguese colonial period, as will be demonstrated in the course. The three major Jewish communities – the Bene Israel, the Cochin Jews, and the ‘Baghdadi’ Jews – retained their faith in monotheism in a polytheistic environment, whilst at the same time, being influenced by caste and religion in their daily practices. In the final analysis, Indian nationalism and global politics decided their fate. Today, most Indian Jews live in the state of Israel. However, their impact on Indian society was great, whether in the field of the arts, the military, commerce or in the free professions. The course throws new light on the diversity of India’s Jewish communities, spinning the unique narratives of each community. It includes in the discussion the temporary sojourn of 1 European Jews, who fled the Holocaust to India. In addition, it touches upon an increasing global phenomenon of weaving “Israelite” myths whereby the Shinlung of north-east India, today designated the “Bnei Menashe”, are migrating to Israel, and new Judaizing groups are emerging in India, such as the “Bene Ephraim” of Andhra Pradesh. The course provides a critical analysis of the position of the Jews in India both synchronically and diachronically.
    [Show full text]
  • Contents Map: Where in the World Is Kulanu?.....2
    Volume 27 Number 1 Spring 2020 Supporting Isolated, Emerging, and Returning Jewish Communities around the Globe KULANU“All of Us” Contents Map: Where in the World is Kulanu? ....2 Rural South India Torah Study ..............3 A Call to Service ..................................4 A Tale Of Two Torahs ............................6 Board Spotlight: Rabbi Capers Funnye ...........8 Passover in Portugal ..........................10 Volunteer Spotlight: Gitty Gordon .......12 Kulanu Notes ......................................14 Toronto to Ghana ................................17 Thank You, Donors .............................20 Book Review .......................................22 Connect with Us Online ......................24 While volunteering in southern India, Gitty Gordon (from New York) enjoys a chai with Miryam of the Bene Ephraim community. See story on page 12. Where in the World is Kulanu in this Issue? Kulanu is in touch with dozens of communities around the world. If a community contacts us, our first step is always to listen carefully to their needs. Afterwards, we brainstorm, finance, and carry out projects to help them further their study and practice of Judaism and build their communities. This map highlights communities featured in this issue.To see a full list of all our partner communities, visit https://kulanu.org/communities. Portugal India The Philippines Ghana Brazil Ghana, p17 Portugal, p10 BURKINA FASO Belmonte Spain COTE TOGO BENIN D’IVOIRE Sefwi Wiawso, home of the Jewish community Lisbon, capital Awaso Accra, capital
    [Show full text]
  • Traveling with Jewish Taste Any Volunteers for a Sojourn in Knoxville, TN? Locals Aware of the Tribe’S Frankfurters by Carol Goodman Kaufman
    Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Pittsfield, MA Berkshire Permit No. 19 JEWISHA publication of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, serving V the Berkshires and surrounding ICE NY, CT and VT Vol. 25, No. 1 Tevet / Shevat 5777 January 23 to February 26, 2017 jewishberkshires.org India’s Bene Ephraim Jews – Tu B’Shevat 5777 Living at an Intersection of Multiple This is Not a Tree Identities By Sara Feldman, Special to the BJV PHOTO COURTESY: LARRY FRANKEL LARRY PHOTO COURTESY: The Bene Yacob Synagogue in the village of Kotta Reddi Palem, near Chebrol An olive tree situated in an Israeli landscape – a familiar image. But is it real? If it’s in a photograph by Larry S. Frankel, any answer you choose – yes, no, maybe, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA – For two goodbye to it. We sang “Eshet Chayil,” or all of the above – is probably correct. The Great Barrington-based visual artist months this past summer, I attended heard the weekly parasha, and blessed manipulates notions of truth and time to create composite images, like the one weekly Shabbat services in the syna- the meal with hamotzi. We drank grape above, that challenge perceptions of reality. For more on Frankel’s work, please see gogue on Friday nights and Saturday juice from a Kiddush cup and ate ko- page 20. mornings. We lit candles to welcome sher chicken. Shabbat and smelled b’samim to say I had intense conversations with my close friends and community members about Jewish identity, the Heartbreaking Loss, Formidable Inside meaning of God, and Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham Research Online
    Durham Research Online Deposited in DRO: 10 February 2015 Version of attached le: Accepted Version Peer-review status of attached le: Peer-reviewed Citation for published item: Egorova, Y. and Perwez, S. (2012) 'Old memories, new histories : (re)discovering the past of Jewish Dalits.', History and anthropology., 23 (1). pp. 1-15. Further information on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2012.649272 Publisher's copyright statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor Francis Group in History and anthropology online on 21 February 2012, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/[Article DOI]. Additional information: Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Durham University Library, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3LY, United Kingdom Tel : +44 (0)191 334 3042 | Fax : +44 (0)191 334 2971 https://dro.dur.ac.uk Old memories, new histories: (re)discovering the past of Jewish Dalits Authors: Yulia Egorova ([email protected]) and Shahid Perwez ([email protected]) Abstract. The paper explores processes of self-identification and constructions of historical memory among the Bene Ephraim of Andhra Pradesh, a community of former Madiga untouchables who came to practising Judaism in the late 1980s.
    [Show full text]
  • Contents Map: Where in the World Is Kulanu?.....2
    94-2019 19 Volume 26 Number 2 C Fall 2019 s e r le a b Ye rating 25 Supporting Isolated, Emerging, and Returning Jewish Communities around the Globe KULANU“All of Us” Contents Map: Where in the World is Kulanu? ....2 Kulanu Across the Globe ......................3 Indian Communities ..............................6 Kulanu Notes ...................................... 11 Remembering Elaine Berg .................14 Zimbabwe Irrigation Project ................15 Kulanu Global Teaching Fellows ........18 Spotlight: Rabbi Barbara Aiello ...........21 Sukkot in Calabria, Italy ......................22 ROUGH DRAFT Thank You for Your Support ................24 Sar Habakkuk Nwafor, the spiritual leader of the Tikvat Israel Community of Abuja, Nigeria, reading a Chumash. See story about his community on page 20. Photo by Shadrach Mugoya Levi. Where in the World is Kulanu in this Issue? Kulanu is in touch with dozens of communities around the world. When we are contacted, we learn what their needs are and do our best to find ways in which to help them further their study and practice of Judaism and build their communities. You can see on this map where the communities featured in this issue of Kulanu are located. Italy India The Philippines Nigeria Brazil Gabon Zimbabwe MALAWI Nigeria, p18 Italy, p22 Zimbabwe, p15 Philippines, p24 MALI LIECH. VADZ BER SWIZERLAD ASRIA HGARY ZAMBIA NIGER Rome, capital GORIZIA LJBLJAA ZAGREB Manila, capital RIESE CROAIA RACE RILI EEZIA GILIA Community in the Harare BOSIA AD HERZEGOIA BENIN SARAJEO MOZAMBIE CROAIA Jewish community LIGRIA Abuja SEA MOEEGRO Calabria region ZIMBABWE ADRIAIC CROAIA PODGORICA SEA CORSICA meets in (R.) ROME Harare, capital Tablas, Rambon SRAI O Gulf of Guinea ORAO BOSWAA CAMEROON RRHEIA GOLLO DI SEA TARAO and home to SARDIIA CAGLIARI and Mindanao IGERIA IOIA SOH SEA REGGIO DI CALABRIA the Jewish MEDIERRAEA SEA ARICA IAL communitySOH Abuja, capital IS SICILY ABEL VALLEA ALGERIA ISIA MALA SDA CERAL RKM.
    [Show full text]
  • Resurrecting the Jewish Community of Nicaragua by Rabbi Gerald Sussman (Photos by Rabbi Bonita Sussman)
    Volume 21 Number 1 Spring 2014 Resurrecting the Jewish Community of Nicaragua By Rabbi Gerald Sussman (Photos by Rabbi Bonita Sussman) The work that Kulanu does in assisting emerging, returning and isolated Jewish communities is perhaps the most thrilling and significant work I have been involved with in the almost 35 years I have served as a rabbi. As Kulanu volunteers, my wife Bonita and I have journeyed to India, Cameroon, Central America, and even New Guinea, in the service of the Jewish people. The place where I believe we have made the most immediate impact was the Jewish community of Nicaragua. Our work there began in early 2012 when Kulanu received an e-mail from Kurt Preiss, president IN THIS ISSUE Chuppah and Kiddushin.* Four brides celebrate their remarriages in Jewish wedding ceremonies Resurrecting the Jewish Community of to sanctify their unions according to Jewish law and ritual Nicaragua .............................................................. 1 Photo by Bonita Sussman Abuja Igbos Join Kulanu Network ...............4 of CIN, Congregacion Israelita de Nicaragua. Kurt Communities Celebrate Jewish Holidays ....7 had previously met Daneel Schaechter, a Kulanu board member and coordinator for Latin American Our Month with the Lemba in Zimbabwe ....8 communities. The email asked for Kulanu’s help From the Inside: American Pioneers in arranging for the conversion of members of his in Harare .................................................. 12 community. Preserving/Enjoying Ethiopian Music .......14 In June of that same year, Rabbanit Boni and I decided to take the three hour flight from Miami to Managua, Sussman Tribute .......................................18 the capital of Nicaragua, to evaluate the situation. What Thank you Donors ....................................20 we found was a gracious and hospitable community led by Kurt Preiss whose parents had been Jewish refugees Fall Speaking Tour ....................................21 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 President’s Message ................................
    [Show full text]
  • Judaism and Jewish Philosophy 19 Judaism, Jews and Holocaust Theology
    Please see the Cover and Contents in the last pages of this e-Book Online Study Materials on JUDAISM AND JEWISH PHILOSOPHY 19 JUDAISM, JEWS AND HOLOCAUST THEOLOGY JUDAISM Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, based on principles and ethics embodied in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Talmud. According to Jewish tradition, the history of Judaism begins with the Covenant between God and Abraham (ca. 2000 BCE), the patriarch and progenitor of the Jewish people. Judaism is among the oldest religious traditions still in practice today. Jewish history and doctrines have influenced other religions such as Christianity, Islam and the Bahá’í Faith. While Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice, it has always been monotheistic in theology. It differs from many religions in that central authority is not vested in a person or group, but in sacred texts and traditions. Throughout the ages, Judaism has clung to a number of religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, omnipotent, benevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and continues to govern it. According to traditional Jewish belief, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Israelites, and revealed his laws and commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of the Torah, and the Jewish people are the descendants of the Israelites. The traditional practice of Judaism revolves around study and the observance of God’s laws and commandments as written in the Torah and expounded in the Talmud. With an estimated 14 million adherents in 2006, Judaism is approximately the world’s eleventh-largest religious group.
    [Show full text]