Published: 16 October 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
“WE'RE INVISIBLE, PRETTY MUCH,” Shais Rishon told JTA. As an African-American Orthodox rabbi, Rishon hopes to change that.
He recently published a semi-autobiographical novel titled Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi, under his pen name, MaNishtana. The main character, Ariel, is a 20-something black rabbi navigating life and work in the New York Jewish community while attempting to reconcile his identities.
Rishon, 36, says many of the racist experiences Ariel faces within the Jewish community are either based on his own life or stories told to him by other Jews of color. One episode, in which Ariel confronts an Orthodox New York assemblyman over wearing a blackface costume on Purim, is a “verbatim” recollection of a conversation that Rishon had with a real local politician who did that.
FULL STORY Black Orthodox rabbi’s novel addresses racism in the Jewish community (JTA)
Photo: Photo: Shais Rishon’s latest book, “Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi,” tells the story of a 20-something black spiritual leader. (Courtesy of Rishon)
