Beth Shalom, formally Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, is a Black Hebrew Israelite[1][2][3] synagogue in Chicago, Illinois. The congregation leader is Rabbi Capers Funnye. Assistant rabbis are Avraham Ben Israel and Joshua V. Salter.[4] Beth Shalom is affiliated with the International Israelite Board of Rabbis.[5]

The congregation, which has about 200 members, is mostly African American.[6][7] The congregation was started by Rabbi Horace Hasan from Bombay, India, in 1918 as the Ethiopian Hebrew Settlement Workers Association,[8] and was influenced by Wentworth Arthur Matthew's Commandment Keepers.[6][7]

Along with African-Americans, members include Hispanic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews, as well as former Christians and Muslims. As is traditional with Judaism, they do not seek converts, and members must study Judaism for a year before undergoing a traditional conversion requiring men to be ritually circumcised and women to undergo ritual immersion in a mikvah.[8]

The congregation has been described as being "somewhere between Conservative and Modern Orthodox" with distinctive African-American influences; while men and women sit separately as in Orthodox synagogues, a choir sings spirituals to the beat of a drum.[8] It follows traditional Jewish liturgy and laws, including Sabbath and "a modified version of kosher dietary laws".[9]

The congregation is currently housed in a previously existing synagogue purchased from the Lawn Manor Hebrew Congregation, a Conservative temple of Ashkenazi Lithuanian Jews at West 66th Street and South Kedzie Avenue in the Marquette Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.[8][9][10]

References

  1. ↑ Kestenbaum, Sam (2015-10-15). "With new chief rabbi, black Hebrew-Israelites make bid to enter the Jewish mainstream". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  2. ↑ Sokol, Sam (2019-12-17). "Black Hebrew Israelite Leader Condemns Jersey City Shooting". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  3. ↑ Washington, Robin (2019-12-18). "Who Black Hebrew Israelites Are—And Who They Are Not". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  4. ↑ "Divine Law or Sexism?". NPR. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  5. ↑ "Visit Our Synagogues" (PDF). International Israelite Board of Rabbis. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  6. 1 2 Chireau, Yvonne (2000). "Black Culture and Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism, 1790–1930, an Overview". In Yvonne Patricia Chireau; Nathaniel Deutsch (eds.). Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 48. ISBN 0-19-511257-1.
  7. 1 2 Angell, Stephen W. (Spring 2001). "Yvonne Chireau and Nathaniel Deutsch, eds , Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism". The North Star: A Journal of African American Religious History. 4 (2). Archived from the original on 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Koppel, Niko (2008-03-16). "Black Rabbi Reaches Out to Mainstream of His Faith". The New York Times.
  9. 1 2 Chafets, Zev (2009-04-05). "Obama's Rabbi". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  10. ↑ Hecktman, Adam. "Lawn Manor Hebrew Congregation". Archived from the original on 2017-07-01.

41°46′24″N 87°42′09″W / 41.7733333°N 87.7025°W / 41.7733333; -87.7025 (Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken)

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