Shais Rishon, also known by the pen name MaNishtana, is an African-American
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
, activist, and writer. He has written for '' Tablet'', '' Kveller'', ''
The Forward
''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ' ...
'', ''
Jewcy
''Jewcy'' is an online magazine of Jewish pop culture and offbeat news. The site was launched on November 15, 2006. ''The Guardian'' has described ''Jewcy'' as "a cultural icon" and "at the forefront of a reinvention of Jewish identity by young U ...
'', and '' Hevria'', as well as writing a semi-autobiographical novel under his pen name. In 2014, he was included in ''
The Jewish Week
''The Jewish Week'' is a weekly independent community newspaper targeted towards the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. ''The Jewish Week'' covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC. In March 2016, ''The Jewish We ...
'''s "36 Under 36", an annual list of influential Jews under age 36.
Biography
Rishon was born February 14, 1982 in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
to a Jewish family associated with the
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
movement. According to him, his mother's ancestors have been practicing Jews since the 1780s. His father, Asher Rishon, converted to Judaism after meeting Shais' mother. Growing up, Shais felt alienated from the Jewish community due to his race and the treatment he received from other Jews. He attended James Madison High School and
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus.
Being New York City's first publ ...
, where he majored in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
Rishon began blogging about his black and Jewish identities as MaNishtana in 2009. His writing focuses on racism within the Jewish community, and he has worked as a content manager for Bend The Arc, a progressive Jewish organization focused on social justice. He served as rabbi for Kehilat Ir Chadash, an Orthodox congregation in New City, New York.
In 2020, Rishon and rapper Yitz Jordan (Y-Love) announced plans to create a
Jewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social clubs, social, and Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish ...
specifically for
Jews of color
Jews of color (or Jews of colour) is a neologism, primarily used in North America, that describes Jews from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, whether biracial, adopted, Jews by choice, or part of other national or geographic populations (or a ...
. The community center would be open to all Jews, but focused on Jews of color, and would build bridges both within the Jewish community and between Jews of color and other minorities.
Works
Rishon's debut novel, ''Ariel Samson, Freelance Rabbi'', was a finalist for the 2018
National Jewish Book Award
The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. He expressed hope that the semi-autobiographical novel would challenge stereotypes about Jews of color, and make a place for them in the larger Jewish community.
He has also contributed to the ''Kveller Haggadah.'' Rishon has also dabbled in
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
ing, contributing in 2017 to The Jewish Plays Project alongside playwrights Susan Bernfield,
Sarah Gancher
Sarah Gancher is an American playwright.
She has worked with ensembles including the Telluride Theatre in Telluride, Colorado, The Team in New York City, and the Blue Man Group. In addition, she has assisted on the television show ''The Colbert ...
, and MJ Kaufman.
In 2013, Rishon wrote an
open letter
An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
criticizing New York State Assemblyman
Dov Hikind
Dov Hikind (born June 30, 1950) is an American politician, activist, and radio talk show host in the state of New York.
Hikind is a former Democratic New York State Assemblyman representing Brooklyn's Assembly district 48, having held this posi ...
for wearing
blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person.
In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...
at a
Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Boo ...
celebration.
Personal life
Rishon was married to Guliene Rollins-Rishon, a biracial Jew and a descendant of Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipman Heller. The couple have a daughter who was born in late 2013.
In June 2021, Rishon revealed publicly via
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that he was
autistic
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
* ''Thoughts From A Unicorn: 100% Black. 100% Jewish. 0% Safe.'' (2012, Hyphen Publishing)
* ''"Fine, thanks. How are you, Jewish?": A Stream-Of-Consciousness Stroll Through the Jew of Color Mind'' (2014)
* ''The Rishoni Illuminated Legacy Hagadah'' (2015)
* ''Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi'' (2018, Multikosheral Press)