The old stereotype of American Jews having white Ashkenazi backgrounds is slowly being whittled away to the reality that we are diverse in every way imaginable. Yet another important milestone in bringing this to fore came last week with the ordination of Alysa Stanton, 45, from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Rabbi Stanton, one of 14 spiritual leaders of the Jewish people who graduated that day, is the first African-American woman rabbi in the United States. Not only that, but the trained psychotherapist is a former Pentecostal Christian. She converted to Judaism 20 years ago while in college.

It would be a vast understatement to say that this mother to an adopted 14-year-old daughter brings a new perspective to the Jewish people. But when she takes the pulpit as the spiritual leader of Congregation Bayt Shalom in Greenville, S.C. in the coming weeks, she will help enforce the notion that Judaism is about the spirit and the heart, not about one’s skin color and ancestors.

In congregations throughout our country, Jews with ethnic backgrounds in Asia, Africa and elsewhere are enriching our communal lives. (My Jewish friends include people who hail from Nicaragua, Nigeria and Asia – not your typical gefilte fish munching crowd.)

In fact, according to the San Francisco-based Be’chol Lashon (Hebrew for “In Every Tongue”) http://www.bechollashon.org/, the diversity of the Jewish people continues to grow around the world. Some were born Jewish; others willing chose to join the Jewish people. All are Jews, and all give credence to the notion that Judaism welcomes all.

Hi Neil;
Mazel Tov to Rabbi Stanton, I think that to many Americans the idea of Black/African-American Jews in general is harder to conceive of than a Black/African Jew. Perhaps not out of any prejudice or bigotry, but because of the simple fact that they do not know any personally, and it easier to think of someone with a foreign accent as ‘exotic’ in a biblical sense, and therefore easier to comprehend as Jewish than the guy next door or the woman at work. See you soon, Dave