Rabbi & Spiritual Leader
  Stan Levy
Executive Director
  Peggi Sturm
Events Coordinator
  Eva Nathanson
Youth Education Director
  Rina Daly
Comfort Group Coordinator
  Linda Rubin

Yeshar Koach
ALULA’s Affirmation

May G-d who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, bless Alula ben Shoshana who, in search of Your shelter of peace, has come to participate in the destiny of the people Israel. May he be counted among the righteous Jews who are devoted to the G-d of our ancestors.

This blessing, intoned while Alula Yohanes Tsadik immerses himself three times in the living water of the mikvah, is the culmination of a journey that began with a promise made more than 10 years ago in Alem Maya, Ethiopia . . . a promise to his mother, from whom he’d been separated at birth and had only just come to know.

Alula was born to a Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) mother, but was taken from her to a French Catholic missionary school where he was raised as an orphan. Later, he was claimed by his father, and joined a step-family who followed the Lutheran faith. All of his life he was scorned and insulted with anti-Jewish epithets that confused and wounded him. He’d never seen nor heard of a Jew. He knew he was different but didn’t know how or why, until, at age 25, by then a successful international entertainer, he set out and found his birth mother. Finally he learned why he could draw no sustenance from either the Catholic or Protestant religions. Finally he was immersed in the traditions and faith of our ancestors, of his mother, the faith which he knew was truly his.

After only three years with her, fate and politics again separated Alula from his mother. He was forced to flee his homeland and travel to America as a refugee. He lived in Washington, New York, Berkeley and San Francisco before finally settling in Los Angeles in 1997. Here he found friends and community in B’nai Horin, where learning with Rabbi Stan inspired him to study more deeply both Jewish history and Jewish religion. "I have to be with community, be at one with the community, serve the community," he says.

Alula became committed to reaffirm his Judaism before a Beth Din (Rabbinical Council) and undertook a course of study at the University of Judaism with that end in mind. "I want all Ethiopians who are in this situation to go through this process," he says. Those who don’t know much about their Jewish heritage or who are not accepted by the Orthodox as Jewish should "reaffirm and study and develop their spirituality."

After 18 weeks of study, attending weekly Shabbat services at Sinai Temple, a period of observing the laws of kashrut, and being symbolically ritually circumcised, Alula was ready to face the Beth Din, "excited and full of joy". I was privileged to be among those friends and family Alula invited to bear witness to his Affirmation. Also present were Wilda Spalding, Dov Geller, Rina Daly, Deedee Bransky, and Alula’s cousin, Astair Zekiros. The examining rabbis were Av Beth Din Rabbi Edward Tenenbaum, Rabbi Mervin Tomsky of the Rabbinic Assembly, and Alula’s sponsor, Rabbi Mark Fasman of Sinai Temple. The questioning, which lasted almost an hour, began by inquiring what Alula valued most about Judaism. He replied that it is Jewish ethics that most define his life. "Be kind and fair" is what he emphasized, "care for others who are in need."

I couldn’t stop the tears of pride and joy running from my eyes as I listened to Alula answer the rabbis’ questions about the meaning of the Jewish holidays and the role of Jews in the world. At the same time, I couldn’t help feeling it wasn’t fair that the rest of us never have to prove what we know or how committed we are to our faith. I wondered how well we witnesses in the room could answer all those questions.

Finally, Alula affirmed that he wants to be Jewish, that he wants to be known as Jewish, and that he wants his fate to be tied to the fate of the Jewish people. The rest of us burst into a spontaneous song of Shehechianu. Then, more weeping for me at the mikvah, presided over by Lillian Zelcer Rosenboom, the Mikvah Lady of the University of Judaism, from behind a curtain (along with the other women present) while the rabbis and Reb Dov stood by inside. After the last blessings were spoken we all sang and danced A Shimen Tov A Mazel Tov.

Alula says about the experience, "Spiritually, my life was a question, but Judaism is the answer to this question in my life. Since the Affirmation I feel like a new Jewish person. I feel renewed. I’m happy, confident, open and more Jewish than ever!"

May the Kadosh Barukh Hu protect and deliver him from all trouble and distress, bringing blessing and success to all his worthy endeavors, together with our fellow Jews everywhere. And let us say: Amen.