Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
Often our first reaction is to attack their sincerity, but a Shabbat spent with Jews in Cameroon showed us something joyous and genuine.
In his Times of Israel blog post, Rabbi Sussman discusses a Shabbat he and his wife spent in Camaroon and reflects on the love of Judaism in that community.
From my 40-year experience in the pulpit, the predominant dynamic in much of the Jewish world has been assimilation, the desire to be like everyone else to “fit in.” We are used to seeing people running away from Judaism and so much energy and effort in the organized Jewish community goes into trying to catch Jews, especially young ones, before we lose them.
When the opposite happens and we find people running towards Jewish traditions and beliefs, like in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia, we find it curious and often unbelievable and we don’t as yet know how to deal with this new phenomenon of rebuilding the Jewish people.
Read more at https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rebuilding-the-jewish-people-a-new-option/.
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A founding member of the UTJ, Rabbi Gerald Sussman presently serves as the organization’s executive director. He was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1979. He has served as rabbi of Temple Emanu-El of Staten Island, a traditional congregation, since 1982 and is the longest serving rabbi in the Staten Island community.
Rabbi Sussman serves the community in many ways. He is a rabbinic advisor to Kulanu, an organization that supports returning, emerging and isolated Jewish communities around the world. In that capacity, he and his spouse, Rabbanit Bonita Sussman, who serves as vice-president of that organization, have traveled across the globe to such diverse places as Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, India and Nicaragua.
A pursuer of social justice, Rabbi Sussman is also president of Project Hospitality, an organization dedicated to helping the homeless, hungry, substance abusers, mentally ill, those suffering with aids and new immigrants.
He has been involved in numerous interfaith efforts and is a founder of the Building Bridges Coalition, which promotes interreligious cooperation in the Staten Island community. Rabbi Sussman is also president and founder of the Staten Island Jewish Historical society and serves veterans as chaplain of Jewish War Veterans Post 80 on Staten Island.
Despite his widespread activism, UTJ is Rabbi Sussman’s passion. He believes that its message of an open-minded Judaism that is moderate and authentic is what the broader Jewish community needs. He sees the UTJ playing a critical role in serving as a balance between religious extremism and secularism.
Rabbi Sussman blogs for the Times of Israel here.Rabbi Sussman and his wife Bonita are the proud parents of five children and many grandchildren.