When he's out of town and worships in an unfamiliar synagogue, Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr. tends to draw stares.
An African-American Jew, Funnye wears a skullcap and reads psalms in Hebrew while draped in a prayer shawl. At the end of the service, he says, some worshiper inevitably asks in amazement, "Are you Jewish?"
"No, I was walking by and I found this stuff outside," he likes to answer. "And I wanted to come in and see how it worked."
| Continue Russell Working's Chicago Tribune article "A synagogue 'twice blessed'"
Also: "'I have never been accepted in America as I was in Israel,'" "'To be ivrim, passeurs, people who cross over,'" "African-American, Jewish, proud to be both," "Previously only had temporary resident status" and "Ethnic propaganda is as stultifying as any other kind"
posted in articles on June 4, 2004 12:47 PM | t (0)
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