Commandment Keepers
The "Commandment Keepers: Holy Church of the Living God" are a non-mainstream sect of Jews, founded in 1919 by Nigerian-born Rabbi Arthur Wentworth Matthew[1], who believe that people of Ethiopian descent represent one of the lost tribes of Israel.[1] They claim King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba as their ancestors, and believe the biblical patriarchs to have been black.[2]
The mother congregation of the movement has since 1962 been located at 1 West 123rd Street in Harlem, New York City. It is a black congregation but has always had white visitors and occasionally white members. They use the De Sola Pool Spanish&Portuguese prayerbook, the Hertz Chumash, parchment Torah scrolls, and offer standard orthodox Sephardi style Sabbath and Jewish Holyday services.
The congregation will be profiled in a documentary film currently under development, which will be released in the near future. [3]
References
- ^ a b The Manhattan African-American History and Culture Guide, Museum of the City of New York
- ^ University of Virginia New Religious Movements website
- ^ "The Commandment Keepers" film website
- Article on Black Jewish community, jewishvirtuallibrary.org
- Synagogue profile at nyc-architecture.com
- Congregation description at film website
- New York Post article on congregation.
External links
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