PJFM In Conversation
Tamar Manasseh (RABBI ON THE BLOCK) and Director Brad Rothschild
Fall Fest 2023
Koach Baruch Frazier, a student of Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC), interviews director Brad Rothschild (RABBI ON THE BLOCK) and its star, Tamar Manasseh.
For Tamar Manasseh, a Black Jew, rabbinical student, and the founder of Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings (MASK) in the South Side of Chicago, Judaism is not about gender or the color of your skin. Throughout her life, her experiences with racism and misogyny have compelled her desire to bridge the gap between Black Jews and Ashkenazi Jews. In her journey to becoming an ordained rabbi, this outspoken leader enables the Jewish practice of “tikkun olam” (“repairing the world”) in an effort to create connection among individuals, open dialogues into what it is like to be a Jew in 21st century America, and lessen the marginalization of Black Jews in modern society.