אני קושית יפה/I’m a Cute Black Girl Pg 36

Last night was 

Many of us gathered together to remember and celebrate this holiday.

Until last night I was not really aware of the holiday, so it was something new for me.

There are many reasons for Lag B’Omer…

• on this day, the 33rd day of the Omer, there are many Jewish Weddings, Jewish Boy’s 1st Haircut
• Bonfires are generally lit on this day.

 last night it was raining so we had a ‘Rain Proof’ bonfire in the Shul Hall.

Why were this students struck by a plague? Because they did not treat one another respectfully.

When I heard this and when I think about this today, I am just filled with so many feelings.

The greatest feeling that I have is wanting to understand why a religion and people that are filled with so much love for each other and give so much of themselves to others, can be hated by the world so much? Something that fills be with so much wonder is how Israel will not bat an eye in helping an innocent Palestinian, yet they are always the 1st to destruct them. Okay maybe they will have a few reservations with helping a Palestinian, but there are many Palestinians that choose to live in Israel, many choose to rather go to an Israeli Hospital as Israeli Doctors will give them better help than doctors in Palestine. 

On the 33rd Day of the Omer the Plague ceased; making this day a .

Last night started off happy…but I left the Shul feeling confused and upset.

Last night the Shaliach from Israel spoke to us. My husband and I recognized her from when she spoke at Yom Hazikaron. The Shaliach Batya Shmueli, an Ethiopian Jew who fled Ethiopia with her family in 1991, the night before her family had been warned that because they were Jewish they were going to be killed the next day. (there is more to her story but I am going to use part of it for an Essay I have to write) 

Anyway so she was just a lil child +/- 11 years old when she and her family made Aliyah to Israel. While she spoke of many things she said how she and her husband had decided to leave South Africa early because of the harsh treatment they were receiving from the various Jewish Communities in Cape Town. Their Jewish Identity was being questioned because they were black and other harmful things were said and done to them. She has a very strong Hebrew accent so often it was hard to make out what she was saying…

While she spoke about all of this I kept thinking about my history and relations with Jewish people and the Jewish community. I am and from very young declared myself to be . I mixed with Jewish Adults and Kids. My closest friends are Jewish. Never once did I experience any hate from them. The only hate I have experienced was from other African Kids, because I mixed with White People and Spoke like a White person, and identified as Jewish, I didn’t speak any African language (Well so they thought, I preferred them to think that way, so they wouldn’t know that I understood all the smack they were saying about me in Xhosa/Zulu). Anyway so looking back on my experience with the Jewish Community, I couldn’t understand how she could have had a bad one. I did feel bad for this and I wished that she wasn’t leaving this country on a bad note.

While my husband and I left the shul; I left there a little happy, having been 1 of 2 students from my JBC class. I was the only one that stayed until the end, but the Rabbi and Finance Director could see how I keen I am on really becoming Jewish.