Rabbi Cooper's Letters

Dear Friends,

What does it mean to be a Jew? Is it a matter of faith? Observance? National Identity? Culture?

I am confident in saying that there is no single, simple answer to the question of “Who is a Jew?”. What is certain, however, is that to be a Jew, in any meaningful sense, is never easy. And, if being Jewish correlates to the difficulty of maintaining that identity, those who suffer, face persecution and/or privation because they are Jewish, are among our most committed, cherished and imperiled Jews.

Over the summer, I noticed a small article, in a Jewish newspaper, about a young woman who was preparing to take a trip to Nigeria to visit the Nigerian Jewish Community. The headline alone raised questions, not the least of which were: There are Jews in Nigeria? There is a community? There are several communities? What does this woman hope to accomplish? What I learned, subsequently, was, frankly, somewhere between surprising and shocking.

There are today four Jewish Communities in Nigeria, one in each of the four main cities. Their story is fascinating. It is the story of indigenous Africans who have felt drawn to Judaism and who are trying to connect to the larger Jewish Community. And again, if one’s Jewishness correlates to the difficulty of maintaining that identity, the Jews of Nigeria must be among our most cherished and committed Jews.

On Sunday, February 7 at 12:00 pm, I have invited Eliana Saks and Moshe Hezekiah to join me for a “Zoom” conversation. From Eliana, I hope to hear her descriptions of her visit to the Jewish Communities of Nigeria only a few months ago. Moshe Hezekiah will speak to us from his home in Abjudi, Nigeria. Moshe is the leader of the Jewish Community in his city. He is trying hard to sustain his community, helping to train, teach and strengthen them. He will also tell us about their needs, their challenges, and their hopes for the future.

Please join me for this fascinating discussion during which we will all begin to learn about a Jewish Community about which we never knew. We will learn about Jews who struggle to become and remain Jewish. We will learn about Jews who deserve our attention, our concern and our assistance.

RSVP for a reminder here.           Please join our zoom meeting here.

I hope to see you on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 12:00 pm. 
 

Rabbi Neil S. Cooper

p.s. I hope you will join me for my Adult Education class beginning next Tuesday evening, From the Beginning: The Creation fo the World through the Lens of the Rabbis. Register for a reminder here.