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Yes, I've neglected the blog. And I was going so well there for awhile. Facebook drew me in. Sigh. Here is a more thoughtful entry than facebook allows. (You can't seem to edit there.)
A month or so back, a blog that I occasionally read wondered aloud where all the Jewish men of color were. I put in my two cents, but I’ve continued to consider the question. I responded, even though the U.S. South is out of the Jewish mainstream. New Orleans itself is even more of an anomaly in the South. So the question of ‘where are the Jewish men of color’ is different here. Some of my other single friends might well say, where are the single Jewish men at all? Many leave town for larger and more prosperous cities.
[Occasionally, I am thankful when I read the postings at some of my northern sisters blogs and lists. It’s true that when I sashay into an Orthodox shul, they may not legally accept me as Jewish since I’m Reform. But I’m a body in the seats that can read Hebrew. I am welcomed. I’ve been given an aliyah in the local Conservative synagogue. And, of course, the three Reform synagogues here know me. There are no doubt some that consider this Black Jew an interloper, but they keep their mouths shut.]
Realistically, the synagogue area may not be the right gateway. After all, most young Jews are not in the synagogue. That’s what I found when I converted. I was sitting in service with people thirty years older than I was. Which is fine on one level, but not fine if you ever want to find a partner or friend.
[I remember joking that instead of attending a Sisterhood meeting on a Saturday night, I should have been out on a date. Another member commented that she didn’t know that I was interested in that type of thing. That hurt! Why should involvement with Judaism be the opposite with real life?]
I wonder if you might see more Black male Jews if the gateway was the university, or the gym? Certainly, I would have liked to know where my Jewish peers were congregating on Saturday nights.
A month or so back, a blog that I occasionally read wondered aloud where all the Jewish men of color were. I put in my two cents, but I’ve continued to consider the question. I responded, even though the U.S. South is out of the Jewish mainstream. New Orleans itself is even more of an anomaly in the South. So the question of ‘where are the Jewish men of color’ is different here. Some of my other single friends might well say, where are the single Jewish men at all? Many leave town for larger and more prosperous cities.
[Occasionally, I am thankful when I read the postings at some of my northern sisters blogs and lists. It’s true that when I sashay into an Orthodox shul, they may not legally accept me as Jewish since I’m Reform. But I’m a body in the seats that can read Hebrew. I am welcomed. I’ve been given an aliyah in the local Conservative synagogue. And, of course, the three Reform synagogues here know me. There are no doubt some that consider this Black Jew an interloper, but they keep their mouths shut.]
Realistically, the synagogue area may not be the right gateway. After all, most young Jews are not in the synagogue. That’s what I found when I converted. I was sitting in service with people thirty years older than I was. Which is fine on one level, but not fine if you ever want to find a partner or friend.
[I remember joking that instead of attending a Sisterhood meeting on a Saturday night, I should have been out on a date. Another member commented that she didn’t know that I was interested in that type of thing. That hurt! Why should involvement with Judaism be the opposite with real life?]
I wonder if you might see more Black male Jews if the gateway was the university, or the gym? Certainly, I would have liked to know where my Jewish peers were congregating on Saturday nights.
