On a hot spring morning in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, Modreck Maeresera is packing up for a trip at his quiet suburban home. Maeresera is a leader of Zimbabwe’s Lemba community, which claims Jewish roots. He is preparing for a mission to the United States that he hopes will deepen the community’s Jewish practice…
Zimbabwe is not a popular tourist destination for Americans Jews, or Americans at all. But in October of last year, we — a retired lawyer and a retired health care executive from New York City — went there to meet with an emerging Jewish community with ancient roots, the Lemba. Modreck Maeresera, one of the…
Modreck Zvakavapano Maeresera comes from the southern African nation of Zimbabwe with a message of shared faith. A leader of the Lemba group that claims ancient Jewish ancestry, Maeresera is on a monthlong tour of the U.S., meeting with Jewish communal leaders and giving lectures about his community. “We are all joined together by our…
Filmmaker Laurence Gavron is on a journey to document lost Jewish tribes in Africa. The French-born Gavron, who has made Senegal her home since 1989, says she was immediately taken by the project, which she says combines her passion for Africa with the mystery of rediscovering Judaism. The film, titled “Black Jews, Juifs noir en…
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