National Black-Jewish Bible Study

We looked at Deuteronomy 26: 1-11. It's a capsule history of the Jewish people which Jews were commanded by God to recite aloud at the harvest festival of Shavuot when they brought their first fruits to the Sanctuary. It's also the central text of the Passover Seder. It was meant to shape the identity and behavior of the Jewish people by reminding them that their success in the Promised Land was the result of God's rescue of them from slavery. The intended result was that the Jewish people would treat the stranger with compassion, for as God reminded them, "You were strangers in the Land of Egypt." The Bible is very aware of the possibility of telling this story differently, for the Jewish people to ascribe their success to their own talents, in which case they would likely be indifferent to the plight of the stranger, the orphan and the widow. So, how we tell the story matters.

We used this text as a springboard to discuss the power of stories within our communities and why we tell them. In our discussion, we asked:

--For Blacks and Jews: How do we tell our own communal stories within our community? Has that story changed or evolved in any way?

--What are the stories out there in the world about the nature of the Black-Jewish relationship? How accurate are those stories?

--How might we create a new story of our relationship together?

View the zoom video

Pastor S told a story about a Black soldier who returned home from World War 2 to encounter racism from the police. When he resisted, he was jailed and had to be bailed out by his family. It was a humiliating experience for a man who had served his country with distinction. Pastor S noted that this story was not passed down to his children and grandchildren and was discovered by them only by happenstance. The grandfather did not want to burden the new generations with anger. He did not want them to be discouraged by what he had experienced. He wanted them to move forward and create a new world. Pastor S raised the question: How do we tell the truth about our history without getting imprisoned in our anger?

Rabbi J said that this story reminded him of a similar story told by a 70 year old Seattle Pastor who was interrogated at the Canadian border for eight hours because it was still on his record that he was stopped by the police (not arrested, not convicted) when he was sixteen. He also said he did not want to tell this story to his grandchildren for fear of creating in them a crippling anger. Rabbi J said this reminded him of family members who had survived the Holocaust. They did not want to speak of their past to their children. First, it was a pain they did not want to relive. More importantly, they wanted their children to move forward in a new land, unburdened by the sufferings and the barriers of their people's past. Jews and African Americans both wrestle with how to tell painful stories. And, sometimes, the result is we choose not to tell certain stories.

At the same time, now is a moment when previously hidden or forgotten stories in the Black Community are being told. The story of the massacre of destruction of the Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1920's is a powerful example. We explored the impact of telling that story. Rabbi J said that there was a positive side to telling that story. It revealed a successful Black contribution to the American economy that was unknown to most Americans. He said knowing that story increased the status of the Black community in his eyes. Minister C questioned Rabbi Jay: Do you mean you thought less of Black Americans before you heard this story?

Rabbi J said: "I am embarrassed to say this, but I am not free of racism. I was brought up with all the right ideas about human equality. I admired Dr. King. And, yet, when I went to a Black doctor for the first time a few years ago, I have to admit, somewhere in the back of my mind, I questioned his ability. He came highly recommended and he is a superb physician. Yet, before I met him, even I, with all my training and education, could not entirely escape racist thoughts. I am not proud of this. But, I think it's important to be honest about it, because if this is true for me, I'm sure it is true for others. I don't think these prejudices are unchangeable. My own prejudices changed before my eyes. And, think of how American assumptions about a variety of people of color have changed dramatically for the better in the past twenty years alone. So, we can change. But, our attitudes won't change unless we bring them out into the open." Minister C gave Rabbi J credit for having the courage to be honest in the safe space of our group.

This was a painful, but important conversation. It shows us the power of Biblical study to uncover a layer of emotional honesty that might otherwise lay hidden. To anyone who says that we have become a colorblind society and that racism is merely episodic in our society, this discussion was a compelling reminder of how much work we still need to do.