Are
we really Jews (Jewish): The Legacy of Crypto Jews, Beta Israel, Judaism, and
Kanye West in the 21st Century
October
27, 2022, Washington, D.C.
a photo essay by Yahashua Bin IsraEL (Formerly known as
Quinn R. Foster)
After
discovering and learning that my great grandfather was a “Crypto-Jew” I began
to research the term “Jew”. A “crypto-jew” means a secret Jew, or one that
practices their Judaic faith in secret- largely due to the tortures and murders
of the Spanish inquisition after the fall of the Moorish Empire in Spain/ Al
Andalus. For approximately three years (2018- 2021) I asked pastors, a student rabbi,
and studied men and women if they could help me find the term “Jew” in the Torah
(the Bible “Old Testament”) specifically in the Hebrew. What I discovered was
extremely surprising and informative. In this brief essay, I will share what I
discovered about the term “Jew”, some of the history surrounding the term, some
of the sources of my discovery, and the conclusion I arrived at. The term “Jew”
is largely (for lack of a better term) a “nickname” for the Tribe of Judah, and
Judah is the member of the 12 tribes of Israel who was prophesied to be the one
that would hold onto rulership over time.
Genesis 49
https://mechon-mamre.org/
To begin, my great grandfather was
named Benjamin at birth (around 1804), but his name was later changed to John
(hint hint). We do not know the date of his birth because his mother, who was known
as Fannie Riedoubt, was enslaved in what is today, West Virginia. She was born
a free woman but was kidnapped in Maryland at the age of 15 and was enslaved.
As a bold and courageous woman, she ran for her freedom not once but twice. On
her second attempt she carried my great grandfather in her arms and was
successful. This story is documented in the library of congress, in the New
York Times, and numerous other archives.
Grandaddy Benjamin (which is a name of one of the “12 Tribe
of Israel”) is now commonly known today as John Jamison (J.J.) Moore, the 15th
consecrated Bishop of the AME Zion Church. After his transition from this life,
his offspring continued in the work of the clergy, including my great
grandfather Rev. Dr Isaiah Henri Harrison Moore, my grandmother’s father. Rev.
Dr Moore studied and spoke Hebrew well according to his great grandchildren and
taught us that we are “Israel”.
Going back to grandaddy Benjamin, the name Benjamin
was given to other children in the family (hint hint). According to our family
history, largely shared by my 87-year-old cousin Peggy Arthur in Louisville,
Kentucky, grandaddy Benjamin’s Mother was a “Portuguese Black” born in Haiti.
Her father was a ship captain/ boatman/ navigator. Her family came to the
Caribbean islands by way on Rabat Morocco, after being evicted from Portugal
and Spain.
If you do a little study (as I have) one will discover
that the term “Portuguese Black” was synonymous with “Portuguese Jew”. This
history goes back to Portugal during and before the rule of Moorish Spain/ Al
Andalus by the Moors. While many have heard of the Holocaust that took place in
Germany, less people have heard about the Holocaust that took place in Spain
and Portugal, where tens of thousands of “Jewish” people were brutally murdered
by Christians.
If you study a little further, you will discover that
there are two communities of what is commonly called “Jewish people”. There are
“Jews” of German descent, called Ashkenazi and those of Sephardic descent known
as Sephardic. They both are practitioners of “Judaism”, yet they have different
cultural and historic differences and practices. Additionally, in America there
is a unique relationship between the two. Some may describe the relationship as
one dominant over the other, or one discriminatory of the other. German Jews
speak a type of Hebrew called Yiddish, that mixes German and Hebrew, while
Sephardic Jews speak a type of Hebrew that includes Spanish and Arabic words,
called Ladino.
The rule of Spain and other areas of Europe by the
Moors lasted from approximately 711- 1491. This time period is considered as
the “golden age of Judaism”. Al Andalus/
Moorish Spain had religious freedom (although “Jews” paid a tax). “Jews” were
great helpers in running the Islamic governments and had their own areas of
living called “Mellahs”; which some refer to as “Jewish Quarters”. These were
not “ghettos” by any regard, as were those in Germany. During this time, Hebrew
schools and academies flourished and produced great scholarship! It is also
said that “Jews” opened the door, so to speak, for the Moors to come in and
invade Europe. They were unhappy with the rulership of the Europeans of the
time.
(The Alhambra is a palace
and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic
architecture and one of the best-preserved
palaces of the historic Islamic world. There is evidence to suggest that it was originally a
palatial residence of a Jewish viziers of the Zirid dynasty
(1013-1090). Although there may have been a small fortification on the
Sabika hill as early as 889, it was not until the early eleventh century that a
Jewish vizier named Samuel ibn Naghrillah, or Samuel HaNagid (d. 1056),
constructed a fortress on the hill and made it his residence.)
Before the Moors came
into Spain, archeology teaches that “Jews” were in Spain as far back as the reign
of King Solomon (and possibly earlier), who was the King of Israel. King
Solomon, according to my research never referred to himself or his people as
being “Jewish or as Jews”.
Kings-1 1:30
Even
as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy
son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so
will I certainly do this day.
1
Kings 4:1
So King Solomon ruled over all Israel.
Today, there are Ethiopians that reside in the (Nation)
State of Israel that came from Ethiopia. They have not, in the past,
self-identified as “Jews” but rather as- “Beta Israel”, meaning the “House of
Israel”. There are others in the State of Israel that have been under
leadership of Ben Ammi Israel (an “African American”) that do not identify
specifically as “Jewish” or as “Jews”. Both groups in the State of Israel have
suffered (according to many news reports) discrimination and even sterilization
by doctors.
Now coming closer to
present time, one of the greatest of all Kings was and is Emperor Haile
Selassie I of Ethiopia (a nation in Africa) who lays claim to being a
descendant of Solomon and from the tribe of Judah. Ethiopia is in Africa, where
the melanated dark-skinned people of the earth reside, and some say all humans originate
from. Despite the Emperors claim to being a descendant of King Solomon, Haile
Selassie I espoused the religion of Christianity, but yet and still lays claims
to be of the tribe of Judah.
Song of Solomon 1:5
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the
tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon
Now with all of that
said, in my discovery of my own heritage, from the enslavement of my ancestors
to current day I found a strong internal desire to not only study what I term
as the “Judaic sciences”, but additionally I attempted to search out the term “Jew”
in the Hebrew. I consulted with Christian pastors within my familial circle and
questioned them about the term. Knowing that they attended seminary schools, I
figured they would best understand my questioning.
I also questioned one
Moorish American who may identify as a “Jew”, “Jewish”, or as a “Moorish Jew”.
From my conversations I found that the actual term “Jew” was not readily found
in the Hebrew, but that in the biblical story a man named Jacob had his name
changed to Israel by an angel.
After asking my questions
to the studied persons, I was surprised to be met with a series of- “uhhh”, “well”,
and other pausitory type words that led me to believe that my questioning was
legitimate.
The man said, “From now on, your name
will no longer be Jacob. You will be called Israel, because you have
wrestled with God and with men, and you have won.”
__________________________________________________________________
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לֹ֤א יַעֲקֹב֙ יֵאָמֵ֥ר עוֹד֙ שִׁמְךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל
כִּֽי־שָׂרִ֧יתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִ֛ים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַתּוּכָֽל׃
Said he, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have
striven
(*striven Heb. saritha, connected with first part of
“Israel.” with beings divine and human,*beings divine and
human Or “God (Elohim, connected with second part of ‘Israel’) and human
beings.” )
and have prevailed.”
https://www.sefaria.org/
After enough questioning of others, I came to a
personal conclusion. My conclusion was and is that the term “Jewish” is a nick
name for “Judah”. I explain it like this. Think of a young man name Anthony Jr.
Washington, who is the son of Anthony Senior Washington. Anthony Junior is
called “AJ” by his parents. At his
baseball practice his teammates and coaches call him ‘Washington”. When Anthony
Jr. Washington travelled to Mexico, he met a nice young lady that called him
“Antonio”.
Anthony Jr. Washington may be called different names
by different people who know him from different “walks of life”. However, if we
were to inquire the legal name of this individual as if he were a man “wanted”
by the highest authorities in the land, he would be referred to as Anthony Jr.
Washington, son of Anthony Washington Senior. His birth certificate and legal
documents would indicate the same.
This is the way that I personally see the descendants
or children of “Israel”. The nation known as the State of Israel is not known
as the state of Jews, although it is “said” that Jews or Jewish people live
there and make that their ancestral home.
I
am not conclusive as to when the term “Jew” was first used, but I know that
Jesus was called a Jew, but yet he never called himself or his family Jewish,
according to my study. “Jewish” is what others called him. It is similar in
Christianity. Jesus never said that anyone should be a Christian. Christian is
what others called a group of Jesus’s followers.
After arriving at my own conclusion about the term
“Jew”, I listened to a lecture by one of my favorite Rabbis and heard something
that provided me with more understanding. Rabbi Sholomo Ben Levy is a Rabbi in New York, and
was born in Queens, New York, in 1964. He is the eldest son of Deborah Levy and
the late Chief Rabbi Levi Ben Levy. Rebbi Levy shared in a lecture that
in the Book of Esther, a man named Mordechai was called a Jew (again by
others). Mordechai was called a Jew by others in the book of Esther, but yet
again, he did not call himself this. This was in context of a lecture about a festival
called Purim.
In my conclusion, I must
say that there are a great multitude of challenges that face “Black America”,
one of which is racism in religion. The history of my own family teaches me
that “Black Christians” left the Christian church and started their own church,
such as the AME Zion Church. My own experience has taught me that there is a
great deal of racism and or colorism in Islam and those that prescribe to its
tenets. Judaism is no different from where I sit.
In addition to those said challenges, one of the great
challenges to and of descendants of enslaved Africans in the United States is
that of “self-identification”. We have been labeled, branded, and given names
by our open oppressors and enemies. Names such as nigger, Negro, colored, coon,
shine, and others have been given to us, and unfortunately, we have accepted
them as our way of self-identification. Not having the connection to our own
history, heritage, culture, land, or God has been one of our greatest challenges,
from my perspective.
This is a part of the reason as to why I felt it so
necessary to track down the term “Jew”. If this is my own history and that of
my family, I would prefer to have the proper name to be identified with.
Therefore, I do identify as “a Hebrew”, meaning one whose original language was
of Hebrew or Hebrew descent. I do identify as a member of the “house of
Israel”. If I had to help one better understand that I am descendant from what
people call “Jews”, I think it would be best said that I am a “Moorish Jew” or
a “Portuguese Jew”.
Some people say that we,
“Blacks in America” are the “real Jews”, “true Jews”, the “real children of
Israel” or the “original Jews”. While I understand what they are attempting to
say in contemporary terms, yet and still it doesn’t seem absolutely correct to
me according to the Torah and our divine connection to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob (who had his name changed to Israel).
Genesis
15: 13-16
13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for
certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a
country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated
there.
14 But I will punish the nation they serve
as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
15 You, however, will go to your
ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age
Lastly, this essay is not perfect. I have
intentionally not shared all my references or the people I dialogued with. In
the recent days, there has been a barrage of news articles and information
circulating about “Blacks in America” and “Jewish” people due to comments made
by a musician and businessman, Kanye West. I have had the desire to write this
essay for some time but had not taken the time to do so. A subject such as this
deserves better than what I have given it, however I felt it to be timely due
to current circumstances.
There may be much room for debate, dialogue,
agreement, and disagreement of what I have written and expressed. By the divine
guidance of almighty God Allah I have shared my truth. I am open to further
guidance on the subject by those who are subject matter experts. While many
others may and will have much to say about this photo essay, I will only take
seriously those of scholarship. My family history is what it is. I am thankful
and proud of it, and I am grateful to what Allah has guided me to say and do in
this regard.
Exodus
20:12
“Honor your father and your mother, that
your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy
5:16
“‘Honor your father and your mother, as
the Lord your
God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you
in the land that the Lord your
God is giving you.
Relevant Readings
From Babylon to Timbuktu by Rudolph Windsor
Black Judaism by James E. Landing
The Black Jews of Harlem by Howard M. Brotz
Black Zion edited by Yvonne Chireau and Nathaniel Deutsch
Chosen People by Jacob S. Dorman
Additional Articles of Interest
Early 1920s
newspaper ads for the blockbuster New York Yiddish stage shows Dos Khupe Kleyd (The Wedding Dress) and Yente Telebende (Loquacious Battle‐Ax), featured a
Black artist among the spotlighted performers. This was Thomas
LaRue, a
Yiddish-speaking singer widely known in the interwar period as der schvartzer khazan (The Black Cantor).
Although long-forgotten now, LaRue (who sometimes
used the surname Jones) was among the favorites of Yiddish theater and
cantorial music. Reportedly raised in Newark, New Jersey, by a single mother
who was drawn to Judaism, he even drew interest from beyond the US.
LaRue
was booked for more than one European
tour in
the 1930s, but audiences and critics in Jewish communities in Poland and
Germany were somewhat more skeptical than the Americans. Although many were
impressed with The Black Cantor — who sometimes added the Yiddish first
name Toyve to his billing — others doubted his Jewish
bona fides. One Warsaw newspaper published a cartoon of a Black man
dressed as a cantor with an upside down prayer book on the podium in front of
him, insinuating that LaRue was a scam.
But
LaRue was the real thing, according to musicologist Henry Sapoznik, who recently spoke
with The Times of Israel about the little-known history of Black cantors.
Sapoznik related that LaRue was hardly the only Black cantor or Yiddish theater
performers of that era. There were at least a dozen, including one woman.
‘The
greatest wonder in the world/The famous Black cantor who has astounded all
America in a concert of folk songs of Rosenblatt, Kwartin, Rovner and others in
all languages/Toyve the Black Cantor.’ (Courtesy of the YIVO Institute for
Jewish Research)
But
LaRue was the real thing, according to musicologist Henry Sapoznik, who recently spoke
with The Times of Israel about the little-known history of Black cantors.
Sapoznik related that LaRue was hardly the only Black cantor or Yiddish theater
performers of that era. There were at least a dozen, including one woman.
‘The
greatest wonder in the world/The famous Black cantor who has astounded all
America in a concert of folk songs of Rosenblatt, Kwartin, Rovner and others in
all languages/Toyve the Black Cantor.’ (Courtesy of the YIVO Institute for
Jewish Research)
The
proof of LaRue’s cantorial and Yiddish singing chops rests with what can be
heard on a recently
rediscovered 78 RPM record that he made in 1923. So far, it is
the only known early 20th century recording of an African-American singing
cantorial music.
Goldye
the Black Woman Cantor (Jewish Criterion Vol 65 No. 17 March 6, 1925 p. 31 via
digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu)
Congregation Beth B’nai
Abraham, Harlem, 1929. (James Van Der Zee via https://www.henrysapoznik.com/post/how-a-century-old-recording-revealed-the-lost-world-of-african-american-cantors)
Tags: Kanye West, Jew, Jewish, Judaic, real jews, African
American, Hebrew, torah, Rabbi, Sholomo Levy, Arnold Ford, Cantor, Moorish
Jews, Moors, Ethiopia, Beta Israel, Emperor King Haile Selassie, King Solomon,
Portuguese Jews, Alhambra, AME Zion Church, Moorish Spain, Al Andalus, crypto
jew, From Babylon to Timbuktu, by Rudolph Windsor, Black Judaism, James E.
Landing, The Black Jews of Harlem by Howard M. Brotz, Black Zion, Yvonne
Chireau. Nathaniel Deutsch, Chosen People, Jacob S. Dorman, synagogue, temple,
Jerusalem, state of Israel
