Abayudaya Jewish Community of Uganda
History
The Abayudaya, whose tribal name means "people of Judah," trace their Jewish origins to the turn of the 20th century. According to Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, the Abayudaya began their journey to Judaism under the leadership of Semei Kakungulu, a great warrior was to be a missionary for the British, converting the people of Mbale to Christianity. However, Kakungulu favored the Hebrew Bible. In 1919, the community began practicing the biblical Judaism they maintain to this day.
After Kakungulu’s death in 1928, many members drifted away. In 1971, Idi Amin Dada came to power, banning Jewish practice. Many in the community were forced to convert to other religions. After the fall of Amin in 1979, the remnants of the Abayudaya community gathered to begin rebuild the community.
Demography
The Abayudaya Jewish Community is a growing 100-year old community of over 1,000 Jews living among 10,000 Christians and Muslims. They live in scattered villages in the rolling, green hills of Eastern Uganda. The largest village, Nabagoye, is near Mbale, the seventh largest city in Uganda.
A Dip in the Mikvah - Formal Affirmation of Judaism
Even though the Abayudaya regard themselves as Jews, they realized that their isolation from the Jewish world was both dangerous and an obstacle to gaining a deeper understanding of Judaism. In the spring of 2002, at the community's request, four Conservative rabbis from the United States and one from Israel joined Rabbi Sizomu in supervising the conversion or affirmation of most of Uganda's remaining Jews in the community's mikvah. It was one further step toward their goal to be part of world Jewry.
Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, Abayudaya Leader
Rabbi Gershom Sizomu is the grandson of community elder "Rabbi" Samson. He lives near the Moses Synagogue in the village of Nabagogye which he and others from the community's early 1980s "Kibbutz movement" built with their own hands. He was youth leader of the Abayudaya community from 1988 to 1998. Their goal was to gather what was left of the Abayudaya community back together after the devastating reign of Idi Amin Dada ended in 1979.
As a visionary community leader, he chose to attend a rabbinic seminary to better understand ancient and modern Judaism and bring the Ugandan community into mainstream Judaism. Rabbi Sizomu was awarded a Be’chol Lashon Fellowship from the Institute for Jewish & Community Research in 2003 to attend the five-year program at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University and live in Los Angeles accompanied by his wife Tziporah and their two children, Igaal and Dafna.
In addition to his intensive educational journey, Rabbi Sizomu served as a rabbinic intern at Shomrei Torah Synagogue. As part of his third-year of rabbinic studies, Rabbi Sizomu and his family spent the 2005-06 academic year at the Schechter Rabbinic Seminary in Jerusalem. During that exhilarating year, their third child, Navaah, was born.
After his ordination in May 2008, Rabbi Sizomu returned to Uganda and opened a Yeshiva to train other African rabbis to serve their ancient and emerging Jewish communities.
Rabbi Sizomu is also an ambassador for the Abayudaya. As an active participant in Be’chol Lashon Speakers Bureau, Rabbi Sizomu lectures and performs Abayudaya Jewish music. Music has long been a motivating force for religion in Africa. Since the inception of the Abayudaya Jewish community in 1919, singing accompanied by drums has been a major component of worship. In 2005, a Smithsonian recording of traditional Abayudaya music was nominated for a Grammy Award and another CD, Sing for Joy, was released in March 2007.
Health and Development Project
With the support of Be'chol Lashon, the Abayudaya are engaged in a comprehensive Health and Development Project that includes building a Health Center, preventing disease, and developing economy. Click here to learn more about the Health and Development Projet.
