Sjimon den Hollander Testifies to the Authenticity of the Ugandan Communities Commitment to Judaism
Bs"d

24 Ellul 5764, September 10 2004

To Whom It May Concern, Shalom Aleychem!

I am Sjimon den Hollander, a member of the Spanish and Portuguese (Sephardi) Congregation of New York "Shearith Israel", and a smicha student at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University studying under Rosh Yeshiva Chacham Efraim Ben-Haim, sh'lita.

In the summer of 2003 I had the privilege to visit the "Jewish" community in Putti, Uganda, presently known as "She'erit Yisrael". This community is led by Enosh Keki, Uri Katula, and others. Since the visit I have been in touch with the community on a very regular basis.

If there are any questions on their history, I will be happy to give all information I have. However in this letter I want to limit myself to describing my impression of the community as it is right now.

I was deeply impressed with the dedication of the members towards Torah observance, their dedication to Torah learning, and their eager to build up their community.

I will give some examples of their dedication:

* In order to eat kosher without the presence of a shochet, the members of the community refrain from eating meat altogether.

* I had brought a number of mezuzot on my trip and found that the majority of the people knew the b'racha "li-kboa mezuzah" by heart, even though they had never had an opportunity to use it in practice.

* Members are very serious in both kashrut, observance of Shabbat and Holidays, tefillah, and taharat ha-mishpacha.

* During my visit, I discovered that in some aspects they had been too strict on themselves (due to lack of knowledge) e.g. they said the entire birkat ha-mazon after even a small snack, they observed every fast day by fasting both night and day, and the women are in absolute isolation during their period of niddah. I was able to inform them about some halachic leniencies in these respects.

This summer I sent the community a printed paper Sefer Torah, as they had been carrying in their services nothing more than a rolled up photo copy. Even though the members of She'erit Yisrael in Uganda were aware that this is not a halachically valid Sefer Torah, nonetheless they were extremely happy at receiving the scroll and danced and celebrated all night.

This community consists of people who grew up with a Jewish identity, in some cases already into the fourth or fifth generation. These people have been waiting to be united with the Jewish people for more than 80 years!!

I pray that their supplications will be heard, and that the Sheerit Yisrael community will find a place within the Jewish people and within the land of Israel.

If you have any further questions, I would be more than happy to answer them if I can.

Sincerely yours,

Sjimon den Hollander