Uganda Jews wear kippot

Gilbert and Lillian Zinn of Spring Valley talk about their January visit to a unique group: the Abayudaya Jews of rural Uganda.
After visiting Jewish groups across the county and introduce people to the Abayudaya through a slide show.
Their love for Judaism is deep and obvious, and they understand the beauty of the religious tradition that many American Jews take for granted much of the time.

The audience saw that love of tradition in pictures of community life. In addition to photographs of workers tending their tea cooperative - most of them are subsistence farmers - they saw the small, concrete block house that hosts the Jewish school that also serves Christian and Muslim children. They saw an Abayudaya wedding with jordan almonds , the couple standing under a wedding canopy. They saw people in a synagogue Sabbath and others celebrating Purim holiday . And they saw another image of small children - one of them wore a skullcap, called a kippah or yarmulke - standing in the entrance to a small, brick home. A mezuza, a piece of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, graced the doorway.

Kulanu is taking small groups, most recently the group including the Zinns, to visit the Abayudaya for five years.

Not only are the trips a chance to interact with the Abayudaya, but $700 of each person's tour fees goes directly to funding Abayudaya development projects, Wetzler said.

Zeller, the Kulanu president, said much of his organization's work is done by volunteers who are not compensated but who believe in Kulanu's mission of finding and aiding all Jews in need.

"The idea of Jews being connected to Jews all over the world, sight unseen, is a very old idea," Zeller said, "and it's really what makes non-Jews look at us and scratch their head, oftentimes really not just in amazement but in admiration.

"We believe there's tremendous virtue in Jewish networking. We think this is a very important, old virtue. It's part of our peoplehood. Judaism is both a theology and a peoplehood, and this is the exercising of our peoplehood."

When the Zinns' presentation ended, several people crowded around the table where Abayudaya music CDs and handmade kippot were on display. Sales of items would benefit the Abayudaya.

Elizabeth Ekstein of New City found the presentation enlightening.

"I was amazed, totally amazed, that they would take the Bible so literally … and following the rituals, which we don't do here," she said. "Most of us are Jewish because we were born Jewish, but these people chose it."