Sera
Favorite traditional Jewish food: Ethopian food. That is my cultural food, and when I think Jewish food, I think of my people. Ethopian cuisine, and specifically this sauce called shiro, which is a sauce made of chickpea powder.
Favorite Jewish holiday: I really love Passover. I love Passover in the Ashkenazi, American celebration of Passover. Ethopians celebrate it a little bit differently.
How would you describe your identity?
I am a woman, and I am a black woman, and I am an Ethopian woman. Those are the things that I carry with me that everyone can see. My Judaism isn’t something that I wear, because when most people look at me, they don’t see Jewish. That is an internal identity that is part of how I celebrate and go about my life privately, either in synagogue or during Jewish holidays. But on an everyday basis, when I walk the streets, when I go to work, when I go out, I’m a woman and I’m black. Those are my two main identities.
Favorite Jewish holiday: I really love Passover. I love Passover in the Ashkenazi, American celebration of Passover. Ethopians celebrate it a little bit differently.
How would you describe your identity?
I am a woman, and I am a black woman, and I am an Ethopian woman. Those are the things that I carry with me that everyone can see. My Judaism isn’t something that I wear, because when most people look at me, they don’t see Jewish. That is an internal identity that is part of how I celebrate and go about my life privately, either in synagogue or during Jewish holidays. But on an everyday basis, when I walk the streets, when I go to work, when I go out, I’m a woman and I’m black. Those are my two main identities.
Do you feel like your looks and experiences are included in the general picture of what a Jewish woman is?
I think it depends on who you ask. I would say no, not enough. There are only a handful of people that know that there are Jews from Ethiopia, or that Jews of color even exist. How does this affect your feelings about Judaism? I feel extremely disconnected from the larger Jewish community. I went to Jewish day school, I’ve been to Israel, I have a congregation, but it has been very challenging. It is something that I’m still working on. When I came to Chicago, I really wanted to explore that part of myself. By joining Avodah, and becoming friends with other Jews of color, I’ve learned a lot about their experiences and how they mirror my own. I’m still working on, but I feel extremely disconnected. I hope it will get better. |
"There are only a handful of people that know that there are Jews from Ethiopia, or that Jews of color even exist." |
"The language that you speak, the traditions that you have, the way that you celebrate and experience your Judaism is wrong. You leave that at the door. Now that you are with us, this is how we celebrate, this is how we do things." |
Do you feel like you have been generally welcomed in Judaism? Why or why not?
No. I do not feel like I have been welcomed by Judaism. I feel like I have been welcomed by specific Jewish people, but as a whole, I don’t. I think that when I went to Israel several years ago, I really wanted to connect with Ethiopian Jews that were living there and get a sense of what the Ethiopian way to be Jewish is. What I found when I get there was that there is a white version of the Jewish experience, and to be Jewish is to be Jewish in the Ashkenazi sense. That is the predominant culture. We have a really close family friend who is an Iraqi Jew, and he talks about his grandmother immigrating to Israel with her family, and her process of assimilating to Jewish culture as an Iraqi Jew. It feels very familiar. The language that you speak, the traditions that you have, the way that you celebrate and experience your Judaism is wrong. You leave that at the door. Now that you are with us, this is how we celebrate, this is how we do things. Whatever you have done is wrong, so you have to do what we do. Are there times where you have felt excluded because of your various identities? Yeah. I feel extremely uncomfortable in Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox spaces, both as a woman and a black woman, and also as a more secular Jew. Because of the way I practice, how I look, and my gender, I feel uncomfortable. There have been more instances of flat-out racism in my own Jewish community than I have ever in the external world. Also, my Ethiopian-ness. My now-fiancee was friends with this Rabbi and going to classes with him. The Rabbi made some comment to him saying that his kids wouldn’t be real Jewish kids if he married me. I was very upset. I was like, “Who the hell does this Rabbi think he is? You’re not allowed to see this Rabbi anymore because obviously he’s a racist Rabbi.” |
Are there times where your Judaism/how Jewish you are is questioned?
All the time. I went to Chabad for a Shabbat dinner, and we were doing prayers afterwords. I literally went to Jewish day school from Kindergarten to 8th grade. Some made this comment to me like “I can’t believe you know these songs and prayers. That’s amazing!” People are surprised that I’m knowledgable about things. Can you talk a little more about your experience going to Jewish day school growing up? I hated it. I was so so so excited to go to public school. Hate is a strong word, I had an amazing education. It was extremely isolating for my sister and I to be the only people who looked like us. It was very challenging. I won’t do that to my kids, I’ve already decided. Does identifying as Jewish play an important role in your life? No. I feel like it is my own personal set of beliefs. I don’t want to identify with a group that is not fully accepting of who I am. The way that I experience my religious beliefs is very very personal and internal, and not something I generally want to be very public about. I have to be very cautious. It is also weird to be Jewish, not just in Jewish spaces, but in spaces period. Christians and non-Jews also have no idea that black Jews exist. It is really exhausting to have to tell the story of Ethiopian Jews. I’m 32, and I feel like I have explained my identity to so many people for so many years. I’m absolutely exhausted. I’m done, it’s no one’s business anymore. I’ve been the token all of my life, and that has just exhausted me. My Jewish identity is just for me now, it’s not for anybody else. |
"I don’t want to identify with a group that is not fully accepting of who I am." |
Have you been able to find spaces where you feel like your identity is accepted?
Yeah, actually. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. There is just not that much diversity in the Jewish community in Cleveland, so coming to Chicago was really important for me. Progressive Jewish spaces, like Avodah, and congregations like Mishkan, are really nice. Going to Rosh Hashanah services and seeing other black people, other people of color, in the congregation is really refreshing. I don’t feel like I’m standing out and everyone is looking at me because they think I don’t belong. It is a lot easier to find inclusive and progressive Jewish spaces in much larger and more diverse cities. Moving to Chicago helped, and I was able to explore that a little bit more. I sit on the board of Avodah, I was an Avodah justice fellow. I play an active role in my Jewish community here in Chicago, but it is a very specific Jewish community. I don’t want to go anywhere else, no more Chabads or Hillels or other congregations. I found my space and I feel okay. If I were to move somewhere else, it would be hard because I would need to do some leg work to find those inclusive spaces. It is good to know that they do exist in larger cities. Not so much Ohio, but yay Chicago!
What is your favorite part about being Jewish?
I think that my favorite part isn’t about me or my experience, it is knowing that you are part of this history of people that has survived for so many years. Being one small dot in this really large ancient history feels amazing. And to know that when I have kids, my children will be a part of this legacy as well, that feels very special to me.
Yeah, actually. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. There is just not that much diversity in the Jewish community in Cleveland, so coming to Chicago was really important for me. Progressive Jewish spaces, like Avodah, and congregations like Mishkan, are really nice. Going to Rosh Hashanah services and seeing other black people, other people of color, in the congregation is really refreshing. I don’t feel like I’m standing out and everyone is looking at me because they think I don’t belong. It is a lot easier to find inclusive and progressive Jewish spaces in much larger and more diverse cities. Moving to Chicago helped, and I was able to explore that a little bit more. I sit on the board of Avodah, I was an Avodah justice fellow. I play an active role in my Jewish community here in Chicago, but it is a very specific Jewish community. I don’t want to go anywhere else, no more Chabads or Hillels or other congregations. I found my space and I feel okay. If I were to move somewhere else, it would be hard because I would need to do some leg work to find those inclusive spaces. It is good to know that they do exist in larger cities. Not so much Ohio, but yay Chicago!
What is your favorite part about being Jewish?
I think that my favorite part isn’t about me or my experience, it is knowing that you are part of this history of people that has survived for so many years. Being one small dot in this really large ancient history feels amazing. And to know that when I have kids, my children will be a part of this legacy as well, that feels very special to me.