Rabbi on the Block is a film that can play an important role in bringing the Jewish and Black communities together in dialogue.
The film’s main subject is a rabbi and community activist, Tamar Manasseh. Manasseh hails from Chicago’s south side and is working to bring the Black and Jewish communities together. She is also the founder of Mothers and Men Against Senseless Killings (MASK). Anyway, the thing placing her in such a unique position is being from both communities. It might take time due to decades of fear and such but it is possible to bridge the gap. There’s no denying that there are other rabbis and community members who are willing to put in the work. Take a look at Rabbi Ari Hart in Skokie. Rabbi Hart, who co-founded Orthodox social justice organization Uri L’Tzedek, appears briefly in the film when Manasseh spoke as part of the shul’s Tisha B’Av program in 2017.
The film follows Manasseh’s journey towards becoming a rabbi in the Hebrew Israelite community. It’s a movement that does not really have females getting ordination. So much that Rabbi Capers Funnye decides to ordain her himself. The film is several years in the making as we get to know the rabbi during her early years attending the Academy. There is a good amount of detail about her background. She grew up attending Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School. We also learn what specifically brought her to attending Rabbi Capers Funnye’s shul in Chicago’s south side. And then there’s the question: “How did you become Jewish?” Maybe it is because of my frequently going to Chabad but Jews have got to stop asking this question of Black Jews. I have Black cousins because of biracial marriages. Asking these questions to Black Jews is, well, racist.
Black Jews have a different experience than the majority of Ashkenazi Jews. When there are an increase in attacks against Jews, security at shuls typically increases. This can make Black Jews feel frequently uncomfortable and less likely to attend shul. Even if other congregants are familiar with them, their attendance can come with other questions that only increase discomfort. Having security during davening can make some people feel comfortable while others are not. While it’s now the norm due to rising Jew-hatred in Europe, security used to be just a High Holiday thing in some communities. These days, it’s becoming all common to attend shul in the US and be welcomed by security in front. Because of still rising Jew-hatred, I don’t see things changing any time soon.
When it comes to bridging the gap, social media can make the gap appear larger than it is. If you’ve seen social media since October 7, you know what I’m talking about. Will we ever see relations between Blacks and Jews in a way that’s similar to where they were during the Civil Rights movement? I’m honestly not sure. Again, I’m just going off of how things appear on social media. Of course, this also depends on who you talk to. One thing for certain is that people have to get in the room together for any dialogue in hopes of bridging the gap. There is no possibility of going forward without communication because both communication and education are key. To further add to this: being an anti-racist means speaking out against antisemitism.
Filmmaker Brad Rothschild uses the vérité style in following Tamar Manasseh. There are some sit-down interviews with other interviewees. But for the most part, Rothschild is following Manasseh throughout the film. Outside of the activism, it also includes a pre-fast stop at what is now Sarah’s Tent (formerly Hungarian) in Skokie.
Rabbi Capers Funnye is among the participants in the film. He leads the Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, described as Conservadox. He is also the current Chief Rabbi of the International Israelite Board of Rabbis. One of the things that he touches on is the question of if it is hard to be Black in a Jewish world. People frequently ask him how he is Jewish and if his mother is Jewish. Unfortunately, such comments can be frequent in certain aspects of the Jewish community. Some of us are working to change this but change is not coming fast enough. It can also depend on both the shul and community in general. Anyway, he mentions that he would not ask someone if they are a convert or not. The rabbi also touches on Jews, ethnicity, and status:
“When it comes to ethnicity, we really get lost with this thing of Jews being European and therefore being white. But if you are a student of history, particularly Jewish history, you know that Jews suffered for being Jews and they were always considered as the other until they got to America. There was this whole euphoria for being accepted and unfortunately, my Jewish brothers said, wow, this is nice. This privilege feels good. Differences have always been associated with status. When we are not able to recognize the status of everybody being made in the image of G-d, then we have a problem.”
I have to touch on a dialogue that comes about 40 minutes into the film. Rabbi Tamar Manasseh has gathered a group of people in conversation. She has them write down questions for Jews that do not look like them. It’s taking place when there were a lot of things in the news about Black antisemitism. I’m assuming this was around the time that Kanye West made antisemitic comments and Kyrie Irving promoted an antisemitic documentary. One question is about where Ashkenazi Jews stand in the hierarchy of things. Another points out that “there can be marginalization and benefit from society.” There is a lot that one can say about identity and the comments touch on the generational trauma that Jews feel. “We can stay safe and stable for an extended periods of time but when it goes bad, it goes bad fast for Jews.”
Manasseh asks if Black antisemitism–including comments from Lebron James, Alice Walker, and Tamika Mallory–feels like the antisemitism did in Charlottesville. She then asks if it is as scary or deep. The same guy responds that when he sees antisemitism in the Black community, it is usually through “perversions of white supremacy that are built into the Black community,” which goes along with the narrative that Jews have global control. If the home video release includes bonus content, I would love to see the full dialogue because these conversations are so important.
I’d be curious to see what this particular conversation looks like now, especially in the weeks and months since October 7, 2023. It is saddening that we can have one conversation before and another one afterwards. It wasn’t that long before BLM Chicago responded to the events with antisemitic tweets. Along the same lines, many Jews are losing their communities outside of the Jewish community because of antisemites pushing us out of spaces due to Jew-hatred. The fact that these spaces are all left-wing is extremely bothersome. It can be extremely terrifying when the Jew-hatred is coming from the people you think are friends and allies, let alone on the left. What I am seeing from the LGBTQ and trans communities are disappointing. As such, the generational trauma starts kicking into full gear–one wonders if we need to start packing our bags before it is too late.
DIRECTOR: Brad Rothschild
FEATURING: Tamar Manasseh, Rabbi Capers Funnye, Everloyce McCullough, Avriel McCullough, Larry Salsberry Jr.
Rabbi on the Block holds its New York premiere during the 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival. Menemsha Films will release the film at a later date. Grade: 4/5
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