Editing Lemba people (section)

== Religion ==
[[File:Lemba_Woman.jpg|thumb|299x299px|Lemba Woman During Ramadan]]
Whilst most Lemba are Christians, there is also a sizeable minority of Lemba who are practicing Jews or Muslims.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Mandivenga |first=Ephraim |date=1989-01-01 |title=The History and 'Re-Conversion' of the Varemba of Zimbabwe |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jra/19/2/article-p98_2.xml |journal=Journal of Religion in Africa |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=98–124 |doi=10.1163/157006689X00134 |issn=1570-0666}}</ref> [[Edith Bruder]] wrote that "from a theological point of view, the Lemba's customs and rituals reveal religious pluralism and interdependence of these various practices" and see membership of these religions "in cultural rather than religious terms. These apparently religious identities do not prevent them from declaring themselves Jews through religious practice and ethnic identification."<ref name="Bruder">{{cite book|last1=Bruder|first1=Edith|title=The Black Jews of Africa: History, Religion, Identity|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195333565|page=168|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XHBjAgAAQBAJ&q=lemba+Christianity+Islam&pg=PA168|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref> In 1992, Parfitt pointed to the strong cultural component in Lemba identification with Judaism.<ref>Parfitt, Tudor (1992)  ''Journey to the Vanished City: the Search for a Lost Tribe of Israel''London: Hodder and Stoughton.</ref> In 2002, Parfitt wrote that "Those Lemba, who perceive themselves as ethnically Jewish, find no contradiction in regularly attending a Christian church."<ref name="Parfitt2002" />

In recent years, there has been a Jewish "renaissance" amongst the Lemba, with many of them reverting to religious Judaism under halakhic laws. Some Lemba have even made [[aliyah]]. Many religious holidays which were rarely celebrated due to urban migration and [[Evangelicalism in Africa]] are being celebrated by greater numbers of Lemba, with many communities coming together for passover seders all over the region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Journal |first=Jewish |date=2015-04-13 |title=What?! A Passover Seder in a rural African village in ZIMBABWE? |url=https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/170393/ |access-date= |website=Jewish Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Dietary laws which are followed by some Lemba who identify as Jewish ===
These Lemba practice dietary laws based on the books of [[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] and [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]]. Permitted and forbidden animals are seen in Leviticus 11:3–8 and Deuteronomy 14:4–8. Forbidden birds are listed in Leviticus 11:13–23 and Deuteronomy 14:12–20. The Lemba do not eat rodents, shellfish or any other "sea-scavengers" such as crustaceans, unlike in Islam, where consumption of prawns is permitted. [[Milk and meat in Jewish law|Mixtures of milk and meat]] are not prepared or eaten, with traditional Lemba households having separate pots for each of them.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

===Halakhic status as Jews===
In [[Orthodox Judaism]] [[Halakha|Halakhic]] [[Who is a Jew?|Jewish status]] is determined by documentation of [[Matrilineality in Judaism|an unbroken matrilineal line of descent]] and when no such line of descent exists, it is determined by [[conversion to Judaism]]. Jews who adhere to [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] or [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] rabbinism believe that "Jewish status by birth" is only passed from a Jewish female to her children (if she herself is a Jew by birth or a Jew by conversion to Judaism) regardless of the Jewish status of the father. Because of the absence of matrilineal Jewish descent for the Lemba, Orthodox or Conservative Judaism would not recognise them as 'Halakhically Jewish.' The Lemba would need to complete a formal conversion process in order to be accepted as Jews.{{cn|date=May 2024}}

The [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] denominations,<ref name="virtual">[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/patrilineal1.html "Patrilineal descent"], Jewish Virtual Library</ref> the [[Karaite Judaism|Karaites]], and [[Haymanot|Haymanot Jews]] all recognize patrilineage. As more is learned about the widespread [[Jewish history|history of the Jewish people]], the Reform branch of Judaism has acknowledged the existence of an unusual line of descent outside the European and indigenous Middle Eastern Jewish spheres. Especially since the publication of the genetic results of the Lemba, American Jewish communities have reached out to the people, offering assistance, sending books on Judaism and related study materials, and initiating ties in order to teach the Lemba about Rabbinic Judaism. So far, few Lemba have converted to Rabbinic Judaism.

[[History of the Jews in South Africa|South African Jews]] of European descent have long been aware of the Lemba, but they have never accepted them as Jews or thought of them as more than an "intriguing curiosity."<ref name="Shimona2003"/> Generally, the Lemba have not been accepted as Jews because of their lack of matrilineal descent. Several [[rabbi]]s and Jewish associations support their recognition as descendants of the "[[Ten Lost Tribes|Lost Tribes of Israel]]".<ref name="Shimona2003"/> In the 2000s, the Lemba Cultural Association approached the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, asking for the Lemba to be recognized as Jews by the Jewish community. The Lemba Association complained that "we like many non-European Jews are simply the victims of [[racism]] at the hands of the European Jewish establishment worldwide". They threatened to start a campaign to "protest and ultimately destroy 'Jewish [[apartheid]]'".<ref name="Shimona2003"/>

In [[Apartheid]] South Africa the Lemba were not recognized as an ethnic group which was distinct from other black South Africans.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=TAMARKIN|first=NOAH|date=2011|title=Religion as Race, Recognition as Democracy: Lemba "Black Jews" in South Africa|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=637|pages=148–164|jstor=41328571|doi=10.1177/0002716211407702|s2cid=143763785}}</ref> The Lemba Cultural Association face misconceptions about their goals such as the belief that the Lemba identify more with European Judaism, the belief that they aim to affiliate with European Jewry rather than other black Jews, and the belief that they are distanced from [[Politics of South Africa|South African politics]].<ref name=":1" /> However, while the Lemba do identify with their religious Judaism, many practice Christianity as well.<ref name=":1" />

According to Gideon Shimoni, in his book, ''Community and Conscience: The Jews in [[Apartheid]] South Africa'' (2003): "In terms of ''halakha'' the Lemba are not at all comparable to the [[Beta Israel|Falasha]]{{efn|The term Falasha is now considered derogatory and the name [[Beta Israel]] is preferred.}} [of Ethiopia]. As a group they have no conceivable status in Judaism."<ref name="Shimona2003"/>

Rabbi Bernhard of South Africa has stated that the only way for a member of the Lemba tribe to be recognised as a Jew is to undergo the formal Halakhic conversion process. After that, the person "would be welcomed with open arms."<ref name="Shimona2003"/>

In May 2013, the Harare Lemba Synagogue was established in a rental building in Bluffhill, Harare, Zimbabwe with the assistance from [[Kulanu (organization)]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maeresera |first=Modreck |title=Harare Synagogue a Reality |url=https://kulanu.org/communities/lemba/harare-synagogue-reality-august-2013/ |access-date= |website=Kulanu |language=en-US}}</ref>

As of 2015, the Lemba were building their first [[synagogue]] in Great Zimbabwe, Mapakomhere, in [[Masvingo District]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Cengel |first=Katya |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/5/24/zimbabwes-lemba-build-their-first-synagogue.html |title=Zimbabwe's Lemba Build Their First Synagogue &#124; Al Jazeera America |publisher=America.aljazeera.com |date=2015-05-24 |access-date=2015-05-28}}</ref>