Joshua Lazoff

“Legends of the Lost Tribes” is an invitation to explore the hidden history of the Hebrew faith, to extend beyond the boundaries inherent in the concept of the “Jewish People”. The essence of the Hebrew movement, of which Judaism is only a small fragment, has touched the whole of mankind. In the steep mountainous region which lies between the borders of India and Burma, live the Mizo people, numbering one and a half million. Paradoxically, this tribe, with typical oriental features, discovered its Hebrew origin when introduced to the Old Testament by Christian missionaries. A small but growing group of 5,000 converted fully to Judaism believing that they come from the tribe of Manasseh. Geographically isolated, they long for any tidbit of information on Judaism that they can get, and dream of returning to the land of Zion. The chapter concludes with a moving scene in Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport with the arrival of immigrants of Mizo tribe.

A Report From Our Correspondent Ross Perlin Passover in Kaifeng

The remarkable story of a black African from a royal lineage in Swaziland who was raised a Christian, converted to Judaism and became a Litvish Haredi Rabbi in Israel. It begins with Rabbi Natan Gamedze's first visit home in 16 years and traces back his extraordinary spiritual journey from Swaziland to Israel. By following Rabbi Gamedze's journey to Judaism, this story provides an extraordinary insight into orthodox Jewish thinking from a completely different background. Along the way it gently explores race issues, pre and post apartheid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natan_Gamedze http://www.rabbigamedze.com http://www.ou.org/pdf/ja/5766/summer66/37_40.pdf

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I live a few blocks from a Hasidic Jewish community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn that has unfortunately been the target of a rise in hate crimes over the past year. My friend Rabbi Yoni Katz shows me around his community as we talk about finding one\'s purpose and fighting hate by getting to know each other.

Welcome to Puerto Rico, home to the largest Jewish community in the Caribbean with almost 3,000 people.

There's so much more to Puerto Rico than Despacito! Hear out the wonderful news from the local Jewish community.

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article: History of the Jews in Puerto Rico SUMMARY ======= The Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico began in the 15th century with the arrival of the anusim (variously called conversos, Crypto-Jews, Secret Jews or marranos) who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage. An open Jewish community did not flourish in the colony because Judaism was prohibited by the Spanish Inquisition. However, many migrated to mountainous parts of the island, far from the central power of San Juan, and continued to self-identify as Jews and practice Crypto-Judaism. It would be hundreds of years before an open Jewish community was established on the island. Very few American Jews settled in Puerto Rico after it was ceded by Spain to the United States under the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War. The first large group of Jews to settle in Puerto Rico were refugees fleeing German-occupied Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. The second influx came in the 1950s, when thousands of Cuban Jews (most of Eastern-European descent) fled after Fidel Castro came to power. The majority immigrated to Miami, Florida, but a sizable portion chose to establish and integrate themselves on the neighboring island because of Puerto Rico's cultural, linguistic, racial, and historical similarities to Cuba. Puerto Rican Jews have made many contributions in multiple fields, including business, commerce, education, and entertainment. Puerto Rico has the largest and richest Jewish community in the Caribbean, with over 3,000 Jewish inhabitants. It is also the only Caribbean island in which all three major Jewish denominations—Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform—are represented.

Since the beginning of the reform era in 1979, a vast resurgence of a large variety of religious, ethnic and cultural identities has been sweeping China. The wave of interest in old traditions has had a major effect on the descendants of the ancient Jewish community of Kaifeng. With no synagogue or rabbi since the mid-19th century, until very recently the Jews of Kaifeng had almost completely assimilated into the Chinese world around them. In recent years, some members of the community have begun to examine and explore their Jewish roots. Interest in the faith of their ancestors and increasing contact with Jews from Israel and elsewhere has even led some of the community members towards conversion to Judaism. This talk is based on a visit by Gideon Elazar with the community in Kaifeng under the auspices of the organization "Shavei Yisrael" during the holiday of Sukkot, and an analysis of their history and current situation in the context of contemporary China.