I really admire sincere people who have converted to Judaism. When a practicing Christian becomes an observant Jew, I stand in awe. It always amazes me when a Christian does that.I always ask myself, why did he (or she) do it? What made him reject the comfortable beliefs of his church, of his parents, and of his environment… and enter a world that is so very different from the one he left?
Some of the answers to these questions can be found in an a Jewish Telgaphic Agency (JTA) article profiling Rabbi Capers Funnye, the spiritual leader of Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago. And it is a very inspiring story as almost all such stories are.
Rabbi Funnye is exactly the kind of person Judaism seeks. He is sincere, committed, and involved. He studies Judaism and preaches it. He sends his children to a Jewish day school. And he works toward an integration of his congregants into mainstream Judaism.
Rabbi Funnye was raised in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He came through the ranks via a sect called the Black Israelites and was ordained by their rabbinical academy. This sect believes they are the true descendants of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who were black. That is obviously not normative Jewish belief.
But Rabbi Funnye didn’t stop there. He decided that he wants to be part of the mainstream and not be considered a cult. So he went through a conversion, including a circumcision (or a Hatafas Dam Bris if he was already physically circumcised), a commitment to observe the Mitzvos, and immersion in a Mikva. His Beis Din was a mix of Orthodox and Conservative rabbis.
He now requires all members of his congregation to go through the same process. His Shul has separate seating and Davens out of ArtScroll Siddurim.
I like this man. But his Judaism is in serious doubt. The article makes reference to the problem and then quickly dismisses it:
Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, describes as the Jewish community's "obsessively silly" preoccupation with who qualifies as a Jew.
"I think Jews, having been rejected, persecuted and discriminated against all these centuries, have incorporated a kind of self-criticism and overbearing concern with who's in and who's out," Tobin said. "It's kind of an internalized oppression at this point. While it's a legitimate concern, Jews have become obsessed with it. You don't find Catholics, Episcopalians and Muslims spending the amount of time Jews do deciding who's a real Muslim and who's a real Catholic."
I understand his attitude. But he does not understand the nature of Halacha. One cannot simply dismiss Halacha as being "obsessively silly". One of the most fundamental and hotly debated issues of our time is how to define who is or is not a Jew. It isn’t only about sincerity. If it were, Rabbi Funnye would be amongst the finest of us. It is about the requirements of Halacha. That includes not having Rabbis from heretical movements on your conversion Beis Din. That casts his entire conversion in doubt and probably voids it.
And then there is the little matter of Chilul Shabbos that seems to be going on in his Shul after Davening (which includes a full Kriyas HaTorah) …a Gospel-style choir takes the stage and — accompanied by a CD and live drums and guitar — performs several numbers. The article does not say that this service takes place on Shabbos. But it is highly unlikely that this type of service would take place on a weekday. And although it is a realtively minor point compared to Chilul Shabbos, his Shul has no Mechitza (though - as I said - there is separate seating).
I admire what he is trying to do. He wants his congregants to be at home and re-directs their former religious modalities into a ‘joyful noise’ for Judaism instead of for Christianity. But intent here is not enough. Halacha must come first and as a convert who declares his intention to observe the Mitzvos he has fallen short.
So I am in the awkward situation of admiring him while at the same time questioning his Judaism. And that’s truly a shame.
