| The Color Of Water |
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Late one evening I needed something from the supermarket. I walked over to the Supersol on Agron, near King George Street. This is not an easy task today as the construction of the inner city (Jerusalem) train/trolley system is going on full steam, and evening and night are the peak periods of work. There were many stumbling blocks − literally − in the path, as well as fences and equipment and, of course, the ever-present traffic. _option_option
I made it there successfully and passed the flower stand opposite the market on my right and I was security checked by the two guards, one a kippa-wearing Ethiopian Oleh and the other, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union (his accent gave him away), and then began my shopping. All of a sudden the title of a book I had read more than ten years ago came to mind. The book's title is: The Color of Water, by James McBride (1996, Penguin Press). As I was going through the store collecting the stuff on my shopping list, I was trying to understand this seemingly random association. As a psychologist, I knew there must be some relationship between what I had just experienced and what came to mind. And then it dawned on me. I recalled a story that was in the newspapers in the late 60s, about the flower sellers that owned and operated a small stand outside the then, newly built North American style supermarket established by former Canadians. The Jewish-born flower sellers had just "re-converted" back to Judaism. It seemed as though none of the other shops on that street (including an internationally famous bank) had permitted them to use water. And so, desperate to not lose their livelihood, they went across the street to the Convent, a huge gated stone edifice adjacent to what is now the Jerusalem U.S. Consul's residence, and were given water to use for their flowers if they promised to convert to Christianity. Somehow, this event had become known and once they understood this calamity, the Chief Rabbinate arranged for both the "re-conversion" and a water source. The title of this book comes from a quotation of the author's mother, Mrs. Ruth McBride Jordan née Ruchel Dwarja Aylska Shilsky bat Fishel and Hudis, who was born in Poland on April 1, 1921. In the book she describes her Tateh as being an Orthodox rabbi named Fishel Shilsky. Twice widowed, she brought up all 12 of her children, mostly in poverty, but always in deep faith, never even applying for welfare funding. All of her children went on to graduate from university and some of them have post-graduate degrees. Mr. McBride, a musician, reporter and college professor, was always troubled by questions regarding his identity. In this book, he finally persuades his mother to tell her story. Ruth says, in an interview with her now adult son, that her father was as "hard as a rock." Her sweet-tempered mother, Hudis Shilsky, or Mameh to Ruth, wed Tateh in an arranged marriage. The story goes on to recount how her Mameh never felt love or affection from Tateh. Mameh was mild and meek, partly from having had polio, the effects of which she suffered her entire life. The family had migrated to America and finally settled in rural Virginia in a black community where they ran a grocery store. The black community, according to an amazon.com review, was more accepting of Jews (well, at least less violent towards them, than the local white one!). When Mameh died, she left her home and her father, who she described as being "inappropriate" and abusive. She eventually married an African-American man (McBride's biological father). At one point during her hard life, she describes going to visit her mother's sister for help; she was turned away as an embarrassment to the family. She was widowed and later married another African-American man, Hunter Jordan. He raised the eight McBride children as his own and then the four children they had together. Growing up in Harlem and other all black neighborhoods James McBride and his 11 siblings were always troubled, due to the fact that their mother was white. He feared for her safety and had many unanswered questions regarding her identity as well as his own. She was a very religious woman who began her own Baptist church in her home, when her children would ask: "What color is G-d?" she would answer: "The color of water." As I began to make sense of the association (water and the florist stand I had passed), I also thought about the recent headline news story here regarding "events" in a religious elementary school for girls. Yediot Ahronot reported that four Ethiopian first grade girls who had just moved from Haifa to Petah Tikva, enrolled in a Zionist Haredi elementary school called Lamerchav. Once in this school, they were "segregated" into a classroom at the end of the hall, had a separate teacher, and had no contact with other students their age. Their recess periods were also at different times than the other children, and they were transported by taxi and not on the regular school bus. "As far as Principal Yishayahu Granwich was concerned, however, these new students could not be fully integrated into the school community. Ostensibly − as noted by municipality officials − this was because the girls were not observant enough, and did not belong to the Religious Zionist Movement as do all of the students at the school. "School officials" also note that since the school only agreed to admit these Ethiopian students at the municipality's insistence, they therefore were forced to relegate them to special classrooms where they could "catch up academically." Furthermore, the students in question also attended many lessons in regular classrooms along with their peers. The school staunchly denies the claims that the girls had separate recess hours, labeling the claim as "utterly false." Furthermore, school officials describe the cab rides home as a "perk" given to the Ethiopian students by the local municipality. "Who wouldn't want to be chauffeured home in a cab?" they remarked, according to ynetnews.com. Had this been an isolated incident of elitism and "separate and un-equal," one might have been able to explain it away. However, it is not a secret that many Haredi schools will not accept Ethiopian immigrants, though they do accept immigrants (read "white") from other countries whose families are not so observant and even include converts. Other seminaries and yeshivot do not accept frum Israeli children from "eastern" (read "Sephardic") backgrounds. On this basis, Moshe Rabbeinu's children would not have been permitted to attend these schools. His wife was "of color" and she and his father-in-law Yithro (Jethro) were converts! Yithro is credited with helping Moshe promulgate the Torah by teaching first tens, then having those tens teach others and so on, and so forth. He is the only "persona" in the Five Books of Moses to be "granted" a Parsha bearing his name − one of the two Parshiot (weekly readings) that contain the Ten Commandments. As we approach Pesach let us keep in mind the symbolism of the holiday, especially the Seder (known as the "Haggadah" to Sephardim), and especially the Four Cups of wine. We are entreated to remember that we were strangers in another land; were oppressed and G-d heard our cries (especially those of the children) and using His mighty hand and outstretched arm He brought us out of Egypt (Deut. 7:19) We drink The Four Cups that represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by G-d (Exodus 6:6-7): "I will bring out," "I will deliver," "I will redeem," and "I will take." The Abarbanel relates the cups to the four historical redemptions of the Jewish people: the choosing of Abraham, the Exodus from Egypt, the survival of the Jewish people throughout the exile, and the fourth which will happen at the end of days. Today, our people who were "taken out" of Africa and the former Soviet Union exemplify the trials and tribulations of our ancestors. We are enjoined to restate and "re-play" their travail and deliverance every year, lest we forget whence we came and where we are ultimately to go in the "end of days." We are all created in the image of G-d, and to quote Mrs. Ruth McBride Jordan, born Ruchel Dwarja Aylska Shilsky bat Fishel and Hudis, G-d is "the color of water." Originally published in the Jewish Press on April 16, 2008 |
