Black Orthodox Jews carve out their own space amid a national reckoning over race
June 2, 2021
4:14 pm
The founders of Kamochah, clockwise from top left: Chava Shervington, Rabbi Yonason Perry, Maayan Zik, Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein. (Courtesy of Kamochah)
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(JTA) — For years, Chava Shervington would connect informally with other Black Orthodox Jews to celebrate Black history that often wasn’t discussed in their communities and to offer and receive advice on a range of topics – from what communities were the most inclusive to how to deal with their children being bullied at majority-white day schools.
But it wasn’t until last year — as the death of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests led to a nationwide racial reckoning — that Shervington decided to join forces with three other Black Orthodox Jews to create a formal space where those conversations could take place. The result was Kamochah, which is likely the first ever group to cater to Black Jews who identify as Orthodox.