Guest Post: Keep the Fire Burning - Similarities Between Jews and Māori (A Jewish Perspective)
Yaakov ben Yehoshua praying at the Kotel. Photo by Shay Ifrach
I’m a New Zealand born Jew. My forebears immigrated to Aotearoa, NZ in the mid nineteenth century C.E. They came from an Orthodox Jewish community in London named Nevei Tzedek (Abode of the righteous), which was established in 1795 by Orthodox Jews who had left other parts of Europe in order to seek a better life in the British Isles [a]. Of course, if I were to record the greater genealogy of my family here, the generations would span pages and eventually lead back to the ancient homeland of our people, Ha’aretz, the land, Yisrael (Israel).
After arriving in Aotearoa, NZ one of my forebears Ephraim Israel became assistant to Rav Elkan, the rabbi of the then small Auckland Jewish community made up of immigrants from Europe. Ephraim and members of the Isaacs family, whose daughter Esther, Ephraim would later marry, were founding members of the first Auckland Synagogue established in 1859. As the years progressed our family became members of Beth Israel (now AHC), and in recent times have formed a Messiah Following Jewish Kehilah (Congregation) named Beth Melekh (House of a King).
Growing up in Aotearoa, NZ, I’ve been surrounded by Māori culture from my earliest days. At the age of seven I met my best friend Daniel Heke, a Māori of Ngapuhi descent. He remains my closest friend to this day. As young boys we were members of a school Kapa Haka group that performed at the local Marae. Over the years I’ve had the privilege of being welcomed onto a number of Marae and have experienced the aroha and candour of Maori from many different Iwi and hapū. I consider it an honour and a privilege to live in Aotearoa, the land of the Maori people. I love this country, and I understand why Māori are so determined to maintain its unique identity as the indigenous homeland of Māori. You may ask, “How can a Jew living in Aotearoa, New Zealand possibly understand the heartfelt soul connection between Māori and the land of Aotearoa?” The answer comes by way of my first trip home to Israel, the ancient homeland of my people.
In 2016 I travelled to Israel for the first time. I was the first member of my family to return to the land in over 14 generations. My wife and I made the long flight from Auckland to Tel Aviv and flew into Ben Gurion airport on a hot July day at the beginning of the Israeli summer. We were exhausted, lacking sleep, achy and ready to hit the sheets at a friend’s home in Rishon Le’tzityon, the first kibbutz established in the modern state of Israel, now a large city south-east of Tel Aviv.
Yafo Port. Photo by Yaakov ben Yehoshua
We reached the end of the elevated corridor that led from the plane to the airport terminal and descended a ramp leading to ground level. As soon as my feet touched the ground something happened in me that is difficult to describe. I felt my blood in the land, as if the land was reaching up into me and nafshi (my soul) reaching down to it. I was filled with energy, as if I’d just received a vitamin B shot. The idea of sleep became a distant memory, I was instantaneously restored to full strength and ready to receive all that this ancient land had to offer me. A land that recognized me, the first land I had ever stood on that my neshama (transcendent soul being) had ever connected with in affirmation of my indigenous identity. In that moment I understood what my Maori friends meant when they spoke of being connected to the land of Aotearoa. The sense of belonging I feel when in Israel is inexhaustible. To this day when I am in Aotearoa, NZ, or in my wife’s home country of Canada, I sense that my spirit remains in Israel. In fact, I realise that from the day I was born the blood of my forebears in me, which has a connection to the land of Israel dating back over 3000 years, has yearned to return to the ancestral homeland of my people.
Regarding the similarities shared between Māori and Jews, and in particular the intrinsic connection between indigenous people and land, the Torah (an Historical religious collection of writings) records that God chose the land of Israel to be a permanent inheritance for the ethnic, religious Jewish people (Israelites) [Gen. 15:18-21; 26:3; 28:13 50:24]. We did not choose the land of Israel, it was chosen for us. In fact, according to the HaBrit HaChadashah (New Covenant Scripture which includes an historical religious account of the birth of first century C.E. Messianic Judaism) God has appointed habitations to all indigenous peoples (Acts 17:26).
Sadly many indigenous peoples have been assimilated into greater Empires over the course of time and have lost connection to their tribal lands. However, this has not been the case with the Jewish people, the name Israel being the name of both a people and a land, and the term Jewish (Y’hudah) an ethnic, religious noun. Our understanding of the heavens, the earth, our bloodline and our connection to the land is in many ways reflected in the Māori understanding of those same foundational elements of life.
Our respective views with regard to our Lands is of primary importance in the building of solidarity between our peoples. With regard to recent history both our peoples can testify to the advantages and disadvantages of British colonization and or occupation of our lands. The land of Israel having been under the British mandate (occupation) following the retaking of the land from the Ottoman Empire (invaders & occupiers). Neither the Ottomans nor the British have a claim of indigenous connection to the land of Israel.
On my many trips home to Israel I’ve learned a great deal concerning the unique worldview of sabarim (Israeli born Jews). I have noticed the keen similarities between those Jews who have re-established homes in their ancestral homeland Israel and those Māori who have re-established themselves in parts of Aotearoa that had been stolen or appropriated from them based on a false equity resulting from British colonial governance.
Recently, I learned about the familiar Maori phrase “Ahi Kaa” (keep the fire burning). I understand this to be a phrase that encourages a desire in Māori to continue to reside in the ancestral home of the Māori people and to encourage and strengthen future generations of Māori to maintain their respective connection to the land of Aotearoa by keeping their home fires burning in their land. Israeli Jews can relate to this idea. When I questioned a number of my Israel friends about this I was directed to the colloquial Ivriyt (Hebrew) phrase “L’shmor al hag’chelet” (keep/guard upon the burning coals).
Those Jews living in Y’hudah (Judea) and Shomron (Samaria) today are spoken of by fellow Jewish Israelis as those who “L’shmor al hag’chelet” (keep the coals burning). Kindling and maintaining a cooking fire in the land is a symbol of inherited connection to the land and an inherent belonging. To the great shame of the international community those Jews living in Y’hudah and Shomron are mislabelled “settlers” (invaders, occupiers). This would be like calling Māori who live on the east coast of Aotearoa, NZ “settlers” (invaders, occupiers). No reasonable person would make this claim. An indigenous person cannot be a “settler” (in the sense of an illegal occupier) when living in their own ancestral homeland.
The similarities don’t end with land. Both Jews and Māori have a continued sense of the sacred in a world where the syncretised monoculture of western civilization does all it can to eliminate the sacred. Generational traditions passed on in an effective and living way are present in both Jewish and Maori culture. One example is the sacred symbolism and rites observed in both Synagogue and Marae environments.
The synagogue has as its focus the Aron HaKodesh (Holy Ark) located at the back wall of the synagogue. The Aron HaKodesh symbolises the now lost ark of the covenant which resided in the holy of holies of the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The synagogue ark contains the Torah, the 5 books of Moses. These are filled with, among other things, the genealogies of the Jewish people. The Torah is an extremely holy text and all practices associated with it are carried out with solemn awe. In turn the Marae is tapu (a holy place) and is a place where the ancestors that have gone before are honoured. The Marae as a structure and as a meeting place has a strong focus on Whakapapa (the generations) of Māori who are represented in the tuku tuku and the kowhaiwhai panels.
In some Iwi the backbone or main beam of the Marae is the convergent point between the heavens and the earth. The Hebrew Bible describes the Holy of holies of the temple in Jerusalem (symbolised by the Aron HaKodesh of the Synagogue) as a convergent place between heaven and earth.
The inner room of the Marae is called Rongo (house of peace)[b]. All are welcomed on to the Marae providing they approach with due respect and follow tikanga (protocol). Likewise the prophet Isaiah of Israel writes “My House will be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isa. 56:7). All are welcome. The promised Messiah of Israel is called Sar Shalom (Prince of Peace) by the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 9:6). It is interesting to note the countless numbers of synagogues throughout the world named Beth Shalom (House of Peace), so named in order to reflect the ethos of the ancient temple and the continued practices of the Jewish religion.
The first book of the Torah, Bereishit (Genesis) describes the creation of human beings from a combination of God’s Ruach breath (spirit) and the dust of the earth. The Māori practice of the Hongi (touching noses) shares the life breath of one to another re-enacting creation in communion with every guest.
Jews hold mishpachah (family) sacred, as do Māori; the equivalent Māori word being whanau. Tribal affiliations are honoured in both Māori and Jewish culture. For example, some of my forebears were Kohenim (Priests, Levites), this plays an important part in my role within the synagogue. Some of my best friend’s whanau are from an important hapū of the Ngapuhi Iwi and his name is therefore associated with certain forebears of honour. His role equally important within Māori culture.
Jews understand based on Torah that we are created to be caretakers of the land (earth). Māori based on traditional beliefs also understand and practice this [c]. Jews understand based on Torah that all foreigners who are willing to abide by our customs and live with us in peace are welcome to live among us in the land of our forebears. I have experienced first-hand the Māori cultural practice of welcoming foreigners in a similar way.
The list of similarities between our peoples is vast, and too long to record in this article. However, the principle is clear. The Jews, particularly those living in the State of Israel, are an indigenous people who much like the Māori people, simply ask to be given the right to live un-harassed in our ancestral homeland.
To my Maori friends I say “Ahi kaa”, and to my Jewish brothers and sisters “L’shmor al hag’chelet”, keep the fire burning!
Historical references regarding early family history are in part taken from Ephraim Israel’s obituary, recorded in the Hebrew Standard of Australasia, published in Sydney Australia 29 November 1912.
Maori words, meanings and explanations gleaned from Steve Hutana of Maori Initiatives, Aotearoa, NZ
Daniel Heke explains that “Tangata whenua” suggests “we are the people belonging to this land”; not “this land belongs to our people”.