In Their Own Words 2: The Youth are the Future/Coming to Uganda

Hi!
I apologize for the hiatus--I took a bit of a break to spend some vacation time with my family, but I hope to post somewhat more regularly here on in.
Here is a few short selections, again from Samson, in which he discusses coming to Uganda, challenges that arose, and what he hopes to gain for himself and his community through his experience there.  He and several others came to live with the Abayudaya community in 2004.

Samson, clad in a a talit [prayer shawl] and tefilin [phylacteries--boxes containing the shema prayer strung together by leather straps worn on the head and arms during morning prayers] looks on and prays as the Torah is returned to the ark during the Bar Mitzvah celebration.

We were in a group of 8 young people who came...to school.  There was a group in Hadassah and a group studying in this school [the public primary school, situated near SK secondary school]  and three in SK.
They [the Kenyan community] believed that us, young ones, we are the new generation.  And they have claims that to make, to strengthen Judaism--as youths we could, because we are still young.  For them, they are old, and they would go and leave for us Judaism.  So it would be better for us to learn more about Judaism than them, because we are the future generation...
Though when we came this way, there was change of climate which disturbed many of us...it's not the same climate, Kenya and here! So disease--it stopped the majority of us. Many of us had to go back.
We stayed a group of seven, after others going back, also there were others...who joined us after that group who couldn't stay in Uganda came back--they were replaced [which made seven remaining].
...
When I was in messianic faith I knew just that there was a "land flowing with milk and honey."  That's what they know.  They believe in Israel that right now they can go and find rivers of milk. So the teaching of Rabbi,  I really enjoy it because it describes more.
Since we don't have a rabbi, we don't have books so it becomes so hard to know such [things].
...
On Shabbat and some weekdays when we [those who usually live in the Abayudaya community] are not busy we learn [with our community]. [I want it to be like this one but] if possible, more religious.
[I.E.] To have more learning...to learn more, whatever they can. 
[For example,] Pronunciation of words--I have learnt many words from Rabbi.  You know some words, they already appear in school, [but] it's not the same way they are pronounced. So I have learned more to pronounce words.  

In Their Own Words 1: A Jewish Sect is Formed

So I've begun listening to an interview I did back at the beginning of my trip, with my SK friend Samson.  Samson, as you may recall, is from a small village in Kenya, which only very recently began practicing Jewish-ly.  (Click here for the original post on his interview.)
The following is an excerpt I found particularly interesting in which he describes the split which occurred in his community.

Samson at his prefect swearing-in ceremony at Semei Kakungulu Secondary School, 7/7/11.

It started that we were Messianic people in Left Valley and we met another Messianic group in Central [province].  After we met them we stayed together until we had to separate after a visit of the Nairobi Hebrew Congregation...
We claimed to be Jewish--we are following Judaism, though we were Messianic Jews.  Messianics believes that we have two types of Jews--physical Jews and spiritual Jews...they say for them they are Jews inside, but not Jews physically...
After they [the Jewish visitors] came they gave us a short lesson about Judaism and according to some people they were willing to learn from them but others they said no.  They explained more about Jesus--who was Jesus.  That's what brought the split between the two groups.
Because some of the Messianic Jews know Jesus as God or son of God.  So it was very hard to tell them that Jesus was a human being, not God.  But they [the visitors] said he was a son of God, like I'm a son of God.  Same as me.  We are all God's children--but he had no way of saying that for him he's over us--he was an ordinary person.  Some couldn't believe that.
[To] the group which split, they say--if I want to learn about America, and you are an American.  And I say, I need to know more about America--I can't know more than you know, because you belong there.  And you can't know more about my father than I do.
[This last part was the explanation for why they trusted the visitors and decided to split from the Messianic group.]


Stay tuned for more!

A Tour of Experience and Ritual with the Abayudaya blog, Part 2!

Hi folks! (Or those of you who still look now that I'm out of Africa...)
Now that I'm back in the States, I'm hoping to start a new segment on this blog that will offer further insight into my trip and the interviews I did.  While I can't promise I will post every day, I do hope that I will post at lease several times a week.
So what is this new project? Well, I'm starting to revisit my interviews, via the recordings and notes I took, and doing so is a whole new--and exciting--learning experience.  Undoubtedly, there will be things that I forgot to mention in my blog notes when I first interviewed my subjects, and now I'll be able to share them.  I also hope to include actual quotes now, not just my own summaries, which should prove to be a whole new window into this project.
Some of the interviews are quite long, so it's possible that people will be spread over a few days.  The goal is not to throw people's personal lives up on the blog (I've been thinking a lot about what is appropriate to share and what isn't, and I will make sure to refrain from posting anything I was asked not to or is clearly sensitive information) but rather to share people's stories in relation to their Jewish life and life within the Abayudaya community.  The focus will be on those aspects that are unique to the Abayudaya experience, and that relate to the various challenges and unique experiences that come with being a Jew in Uganda.
I hope to make my first of these posts tomorrow or Sunday, so stay tuned!
Shabbat shalom,
Nava

Photographic Highlights!

Hi everyone! It's crazy and wonderful to be back in the U.S., though I'm definitely missing Nabugoye!  Here are some pictorial highlights--I know I wasn't able to post any pictures from Uganda, so I though I should make up for it. Enjoy!

Gates to Nabugoye Hill.

Some of my high school students/friends.

Nasinye synagogue.

Drawing on the "cave synagogue."

Inside the Namanyoni synagogue.

Singing Shabbat songs at Hadassah.

Preparing paper beads.

Naavah and Nava!

Rabbi Gershom and I at his home.

Inside the Nabogoye synagogue.

One of the Lugandan psalms used in the Friday night service.