shabbat dinner in ethiopia

Here is a blog that should have been written a while ago:

I’ve recently had the opportunity to meet and spend some time with Dr. Rick Hodes. Dr. Rick is a Jewish American doctor who has been working in Ethiopia off and on for the past 20 years. He works for the American Jewish Federation with a group of African Jews indigenous to Ethiopia called the Falashas. The Falashas historical have “mythically” traced their roots back to king Solomon. Up until the 3rd century there were prominent Jewish communities in Ethiopia. At that time, the ruling king of what later became the Axumite kingdom converted to Christianity due to the work of Abba Salama
Since that time the country has largely remained under the domination of Christianity, with the exception of a brief period when a Jewish warrior queen took over.

Anyways, almost all of the Falashas were airlifted out to Israel during the great famine, but there are also a group of people who are claiming to be Falashas who at some point and time converted to Christianity. They are also demanding the right of return. Dr. Rick helps with their medical issues.

He has also played quite a prominent role over at the Missionaries of Charity clinic here, dealing with his own special projects of cancer patients, etc. He is even the personal doctor of the mother superior of the missionaries of charity, the successor to Mother Theresa. That is what I call interfaith work.

Dr Rick’s work these past 20 years has also included a one-man operation of securing funds to transport children with polio of the spine to foreign countries to undergo surgery. Apparently the best spine surgeon in the world is currently living in Ghana.

Dr Rick is a practicing Jew and was once a Watson candidate. I became connected to him through Gerry Jones, who I volunteer under over at CNEWA.

Attending Rick’s Shabbat dinner two weeks ago was quite an enjoyable experience. There were perhaps over 50 people within his house.
Every male has to wear some sort of hat, as this is a Jewish prayer ceremony. We did not wear, however, the typical Kippah. Instead Rick passes around an assortment of hats. One short elderly Ethiopian man was wearing perhaps the largest cowboy hat I have ever seen. Another man from the Israeli embassy was wearing what would seem to be a giant sponge. I was handed a hat that was made out of the same material as our local Santa Claus hats. It was blue, and on top was a giant fabric menorah. Then, to call everyone to prayer, Rick began singing “If I had a hammer,” the 70’s folk song once made popular by Peter Paul and Mary. Rick also led in the traditional Hebrew prayers, a reading from scripture in both Hebrew and English and the traditional breaking of bread, which was then thrown to you across the room. Rick regularly has about 10 children living at his house recovering from various surgeries. In addition, he has his two boys who he has adopted as a single father. Many of these children will well versed in both the 70’s folk song and the Hebrew prayer. When I asked him why “If I had a hammer”, he simply replied because we like it. The prayer is followed by excellent kosher vegetarian soup. It really was quite an extraordinary experience.