ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 28, 1996 TAG: 9612300023
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RUSAPE, ZIMBABWE
SOURCE: ANGUS SHAW ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beneath imposing granite hills and a vivid African sunset, members of Zimbabwe's ``lost Jewish tribe'' greet each other with ``Shalom,'' shake hands and head for evening devotions.
Each man wears the traditional Jewish skullcap, a Star of David around his neck and a tallit, or prayer shawl. The women sit separately in the candle-lit tabernacle.
``We are the descendants of Abraham,'' declares Rabbi Ambros Makuwaza, spiritual leader of some 5,000 black Jews who claim their origins in this southern African nation go back to a great migration from the Golan Heights more than 2,000 years ago.
Preserving the faith so far from ancient Israel has taken its toll.
At a recent service observing Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, an old brass bugle served as the shofar instead of the traditional ram's horn. Prayers were mixed with abundant singing and dancing.
None of Makuwaza's community scattered around this farming town 105 miles east of Harare knows more than a smattering of Hebrew. Few have been circumcised and over the years many followers have been converted by richer Christian churches offering education and access to mission clinics.
``We are one of the lost tribes of Israel. We are lost to others, but God knows where we are,'' Makuwaza believes.
Rabbi Basil Lerer, spiritual head of Zimbabwe's established Jewish synagogue, also knows.
His congregation of about 1,000 whites helps the black Rusape community with donations, books and Bibles but doesn't officially recognize the group. Unlike black Jewish communities in north Africa, the Zimbabwe group has been unable to prove its Judaic roots.
``We do not repudiate their claims, but they have no conclusive proof,'' Lerer said.
Tribal intermarriage, African custom and the lack of written legend has made tracing descent all the more difficult.
``There are Jews all around the world who don't speak Hebrew. Our problem is that there's no shortage of people claiming to be of Jewish faith who can't substantiate it,'' Lerer said.
But this doesn't deter Makuwaza. The modest tabernacle - he'd rather not call it a synagogue - gets a little aid from American Jews in Belleville, Va., and from historical groups researching world religions to buy lanterns, candles and kosher foods for Passover, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and other holy days.
Followers also pay tithes of corn, chickens and farm produce. Services are held in the pale blue, one-room building with tiny windows that allow in little light.
``We are poor. We were punished because we have not kept the commandments God gave to us,'' Makuwaza said. ``We believe in only one God, and he will not forsake you if you do his will. Jews have been persecuted because they break the commandments. They work on the Sabbath and sell pork.''
He said in the colonial era before Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, British settlers seized land, goats and cattle while white missionaries ``blackmailed'' Jews into joining Christian churches.
The small community tried to fight back like David against Goliath, ``but the British Goliath had guns and we had none.''
Early on, young boys were circumcised in batches of 100 but, in the heat without medicine, many died ``and the British accused us of murder.''
Today, a medically supervised male circumcision costs 1,200 Zimbabwe dollars ($120), far out of the reach of poor parents.
``We are trying to regain our sovereignty,'' said Makuwaza, who at 72 has battled for nearly 30 years as a rabbi to learn Hebrew.
In Rusape, worship in English and the local Shona language lasts more than five hours on the Sabbath, following three hours of prayers and song after dusk the evening before.
Evans Tayengwa, 38, a motor mechanic, said most kids in his neighborhood want to play sports or go to movies or dances forbidden to the Rusape Jews on Saturdays.
``Our youngsters are under peer pressure but we are strict and they must come here on the Sabbath,'' he said. The tabernacle's soccer team, Hebrew United, plays midweek.
``I argue with my Christian friends, but we don't fight. Because there are more of them doesn't mean they are right,'' said young Shimon Taurayi, an unemployed handyman. ``I was born a Jew and I'll always be a Jew.''
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Rabbi Ambros Makuwaza conducts a Rosh Hashanaby CNBservice at the Jewish Tabernacle in Rusape, Zimbabwe. Makuwaza is
the spiritual leader of some 5,000 black Jews who claim their
origins in Zimbabwe go back to a great migration from the Golan
Heights more than 2,000 years ago.