Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, more commonly known as Beth Shalom B'Nai Zaken EHC, or simply Beth Shalom, abbreviated as BSBZ EHC, is a Black Hebrew Israelite[1][2][3] congregation and synagogue, located at 6601 South Kedzie Avenue, in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The congregation is led by rabbi Capers Funnye; and assistant rabbis are Avraham Ben Israel and Joshua V. Salter.[4] Beth Shalom is affiliated with the International Israelite Board of Rabbis.[5]
Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Judaism |
Rite | Black Hebrew Israelite |
Ecclesiastical or organisational status | Synagogue |
Leadership |
|
Status | Active |
Location | |
Location | 6601 South Kedzie Avenue, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois 60629 |
Country | United States |
Geographic coordinates | 41°46′24″N 87°42′09″W / 41.7733333°N 87.7025°W |
Architecture | |
Founder | Rabbi Horace Hasan |
Date established | 1918 (as a congregation) |
Website | |
bethshalombz |
The congregation has approximately 200 members, the majority of whom are African American.[6][7] The congregation was started by Rabbi Horace Hasan from Bombay, India, in 1918 as the Ethiopian Hebrew Settlement Workers Association,[8] and was influenced by Wentworth Arthur Matthew's Commandment Keepers.[6][7]
Along with African-Americans, members include Hispanic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews, as well as former Christians and Muslims. As is traditional with Judaism, they do not seek converts, and members must study Judaism for a year before undergoing a traditional conversion requiring men to be ritually circumcised and women to undergo ritual immersion in a mikvah.[8]
The congregation has been described as being "somewhere between Conservative and Modern Orthodox" with distinctive African-American influences; while men and women sit separately as in Orthodox synagogues, a choir sings spirituals to the beat of a drum.[8] It follows traditional Jewish liturgy and laws, including Sabbath and "a modified version of kosher dietary laws".[9]
The congregation is currently housed in a previously existing synagogue purchased from the Lawn Manor Hebrew Congregation, a Conservative temple of Ashkenazi Lithuanian Jews at West 66th Street and South Kedzie Avenue in the Marquette Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.[8][9][10]