Commandment Keepers

The Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of the Living God Pillar & Ground of Truth, Inc. are a sect of Black Hebrews, who believe that people of Ethiopian descent represent one of the lost tribes of Israel.[1] They claim King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba as their ancestors, and believe the biblical patriarchs were black.[2]

Black Hebrew Israelites
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Most of its members are Afro-Caribbean but it has always had diverse visitors and occasionally white members. They use the De Sola Pool Spanish and Portuguese prayerbook, the Hertz Chumash, parchment Torah scrolls, and offer standard orthodox Sephardi style Sabbath and Jewish Holy Day services.[3]

History
Rabbi Wentworth Arthur Matthew holding a Torah scroll.

The Commandment Keepers were founded in 1919 by Wentworth Arthur Matthew.[1][4]

In 1962 the mother congregation of the movement purchased the historic John Dwight house at 1 West 123rd Street/31 Mount Morris Park West Harlem, New York City.[5]

The congregation is featured in a scene from the 1970 motion picture The Angel Levine[6] which starred Harry Belafonte and Zero Mostel. On June 12, 1971 Rabbi W.A. Matthew ordained three individuals as rabbis, his grandson Rabbi David Matthew Doré, Rabbi Jonah McCullough, and Rabbi Willie White. In 1973, Matthew died, creating an internal conflict over who would be the new leader. David Matthew Doré, who was 18 years old at the time, was named by Rabbi Matthew as spiritual leader of the congregation just before Matthew’s death. In 1975, the board of the congregation elected Willie White to be the new leader and without congregational approval shortened its name to Commandment Keepers Congregation.[7]

Doré continued to host services at the synagogue until the early 1980s, when White began locking people out. Doré at this time was working as a lawyer, but states that he often tried to enter the synagogue. Throughout the 1990s membership was declining. In 2004, Zechariah ben Lewi became the rabbi for the Commandment Keepers, and membership has dropped to eight people, with over two hundred actual members locked out of the temple.[7]

A lawsuit was filed against Doré that year for wrongfully claiming himself to be the spiritual leader of the congregation. The court ruled against Doré.[7] The ruling was overturned on July 9, 2007.[8] The board proceeded to sell the building at 1 West 123rd Street. Doré, as attorney for Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of the Living God Pillar and Ground of Truth, Inc., filed a lawsuit against the board for selling the historic landmark, and in October 2007 a court vacated the sale and ordered a trial.[9]

As of 2011, Doré's suit against the buyer and the individual who claimed authority to sell the historic landmark was pending.[10] The named defendants submitted motions to dismiss the action, Doré, as counsel for the congregation, filed opposition papers and both motions were denied. Defendants then appealed to the Appellate Division First Department. After oral argument the Appellate Division, in a unanimous decision issued June 4, 2013, denied defendants appeal to dismiss the case and affirmed the ruling of the lower court that denied defendants motion to dismiss.[11] The case was on the trial calendar for April 2, 2014 before Justice Richard F. Braun.

The Dwight house is now owned by poet James Fenton and his partner Darryl Pinckney who purchased it in 2010 from a development company.[12]

As of 2009 "Black Jews influenced by the Commandment Keepers continue to practice at Mt. Horeb Congregation in the Bronx; Beth Shalom in Bedstuyvesant. Brooklyn; B'nai Adat in Brooklyn; Beth Elohim in Queens; and B'nai Zaken in Chicago."[13]

References
  1. The Manhattan African-American History and Culture Guide, Museum of the City of New York
  2. University of Virginia New Religious Movements website Archived April 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Pinn, Anthony B., ed. (2009). African American Religious Cultures. ABC-CLIO. p. 169-174. ISBN 978-1-57607-470-1. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  4. "Commandment Keepers in Harlem". Harlem World Magazine. 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  5. Pinn, Anthony B., ed. (2009). African American Religious Cultures. ABC-CLIO. p. 169-174. ISBN 978-1-57607-470-1. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  6. The Angel Levine, MGM.com
  7. Herschthal, Eric (2007-07-06). "Decline Of A Black Synagogue". The Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  8. Commandment Keepers v. Doré, David Matthew. Supreme Court of the State of New York. Index #100769/2004.
  9. Commandments Keepers. Supreme Court of the State of New York. Index #117509/2006.
  10. Commandment Keepers v. 31 Mount Morris Park. Supreme Court, New York County. Index #106102/2007.
  11. Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of the Living God v. 31 Mount Morris Park, LLC 107 A.D.3d 406, 965 N.Y.S.2d 727 N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. 2013.
  12. Wills, Cheryl (July 22, 2015). "Poet Takes on Massive Renovation of Historic Harlem Home". Warner Cable News. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  13. Pinn, Anthony B., ed. (2009). African American Religious Cultures. ABC-CLIO. p. 169-174. ISBN 978-1-57607-470-1. Retrieved 8 March 2016.

Bibliography
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