Rabbi Susan Silverman to Host this Sunday's

Jewish Multiracial Network Chanukah Party

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

WEST ROXBURY - This Sunday, Hillel Bnai Torah of West Roxbury will

host a truly all-encompassing event, the Jewish Multiracial Network's

Chanukah party.

The Network, dedicated to supporting Jews of color and Jewish

multiracial families as well as to educating the broader Jewish

community on how these families can be fully integrated into Jewish

institutions, is based in New York.

Rabbi Susan Silverman, who teaches at Brandeis Hillel and authored

"Jewish Family and Life" (Golden Books/St. Martin's, 1997), will help

guide the party's agenda of songs, games, food and fun, as she has

done at prior JMN events. A Manchester, New Hampshire native, she

found the group when she adopted her Ethiopian son three years ago

with her husband, Yosef Abramowitz. They also have two daughters (one

of whom appeared on the cover of last week's Advocate Chanukah

supplement).

"I had wanted to adopt since I was a child," she says, "but I felt

overwhelmed. There are so many children; how do you choose?"

She advises that if one doesn't feel right about a certain agency,

they should move on to another. Guidance seemed to appear to help

them along. "We had picture after picture coming to us. My husband

stated that we would find our child on Purim, since Purim, 'lots', is

all about chance, and while G-d is never mentioned, His presence is

felt. Also, Yosef loved the name 'Adar', the Purim month. During

Adar, we were told that a child had just come in, and my husband

said, 'that's our baby.'"

They sought an organization which would ease their son's transition

into American Judaic life, and found the Network, whose statement

reads that the group "brings Jewish multiracial families and

individuals together to learn about and celebrate their Judaism.

"We are committed to the democratic values of diversity and

community," it continues, "and seek to help our members strengthen

and promote positive, relevant Jewish identities. We create

opportunities, for a large and growing part of the Jewish community

that often feels alienated, to experience Jewish society and

traditions."

"The group is really a beautiful thing," says Silverman. "So often in

my experience as a Rabbi and in Jewish life, I see that we can become

somewhat complacent as Jews, because we have that luxury. Often in

the U.S., we go to synagogue because we want to be with people who

are like us, but not because we have a mission or sense of purpose.

"But a multiracial community doesn't get that immediate comfort of

being with those who look like you, who act like you, who are of

Eastern European origin, for example. And so, you're forced to look

deeper. You think about what it means for us to be in a community

together, what it means to be a Jew.

"When we can begin to answer that question in thoughtful ways, then I

feel we can have a glimpse of redemption, the potential for

transforming the world."

Silverman's husband Yosef, who runs Jewishfamily.com and

socialaction.com, is a human rights activist regarding Ethiopian

Jews, whom, she says, are faced with an extremely dire situation. The

North American Conference on Ethiopian Jews, in New York, tries very

hard to assist, but is underfunded. For example, their lunch program

was just cut."

Grants from the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Jewish Outreach

Institute help to sponsor the Jewish Multiracial Network. The party

this Sunday, for families and singles, will occur from 12:30 to 2:30

p.m. at Hillel Bnai Torah, 120 Corey Road, West Roxbury. Donations

are capped at $18 for a family, and cover food and activities, which

will include Brandeis student and songleader Josh Segal. For

information, please contact Jean Weinberg at 617-964-4542.