I’m Heidi Rabinowitz, and I am so happy to be Jewish. The beautiful and varied customs, the focus on deep thought and learning, and the historical connections going back over the centuries, all bring me joy. That’s why I’ve dedicated my career to synagogue librarianship and why I’ve been podcasting about Jewish children’s literature for over a decade. In fact, the 20th anniversary of The Book of Life Podcast will take place in December 2025 – stay tuned, I’m making celebratory plans!
What?
I’m thrilled to share this Jewish Joy series for Multicultural Kid Blogs with you. I bring you Q&A’s from diverse intersectional Jewish authors, showcasing the variegated tapestry of Jewish life and books. I link to the author’s Book of Life Podcast episode so you can hear their voice and learn more.
Why?
In these turbulent times, with antisemitism at record highs, Jewish joy is crucial. As poet Toi Derricotte says, joy is an act of resistance. Joyful books invite everyone in, so that Jewish stories can, in the words of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, become windows as well as mirrors, bringing hope, demystifying the Jewish experience, and building empathy and understanding.
Who?
Last time you met Andrew Sass, a neurodivergent trans figure skater and author who writes middle-grade fiction on Jewish identity, neurodiversity, and gender. Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Rabbi Shoshana Nambi (she/her), a Ugandan Jew from the Abayudaya community whose picture book The Very Best Sukkah was a 2023 National Jewish Book Award winner and a Sydney Taylor Honor Book. Shoshana appeared on The Book of Life podcast in 2022.
Shoshana Nambi’s writing invokes a strong sense of place and a love of her community. Her book showcases the diversity of the Jewish experience, with details both familiar and new to readers in the diaspora. I’m pleased to bring you this exclusive interview for Multicultural Kid Blogs, and if you’d like to hear more from Shoshana in her own voice, please click on the podcast link below.
Q&A with Rabbi Shoshana Nambi
THE BOOK OF LIFE: please describe your Jewish identity, along with any other aspects of your identity that you’d like to share.
SHOSHANA NAMBI: I’m Abayudaya; we have decided that’s our tribe 🙂 Many of us in the Jewish communities in Uganda belong to different Ugandan tribes and are further subdivided into clans. Many in my communities speak about five local languages besides English and Swahili- the national languages—and are learning Hebrew!
On Sundays as a child, I attended Hebrew School, where I learned Hebrew and Jewish practice. Most importantly, I spent that time around the synagogue planting trees, singing, and acting in Purim and Chanukah plays. The synagogue was not just a place of worship but a hub of shared experiences and cherished friendships. I always went to our synagogue with my grandparents for Shabbat and other Jewish holidays. We pray in Hebrew, Luganda, and English.
I dressed in Gomasi fabric dresses cut from remnants of the fabric of my grandmother’s colorful dresses. Our festive holiday Jewish food includes rice, mashed matooke (a kind of plantain), chicken, or goat meat; these are delicacies since most people don’t regularly eat them at home. Beans, ground nut stew, Sukuma wiki, and posho made from corn flour are everyday foods.
My identity is a fusion of my Ugandan and Jewish culture. Most families have two wedding ceremonies: a Ugandan introduction ceremony, where the bride and groom’s families meet officially and exchange gifts, and a Jewish ceremony officiated by a rabbi. Both ceremonies are attended by Jewish and non-Jewish relatives and friends from the village.
TBOL: Why is it important to you to include Jewish representation in your writing?
SN: I grew up around the synagogue. As the saying goes, it takes a community to raise a child. My brothers and I spent much of our lives there, and Judaism is a big part of our identity. It’s a great honor to tell the stories of my home.
TBOL: About being Jewish: what is hard, and what brings you joy?
SN: It’s hard not being able to express my Jewish identity proudly, for fear of what people’s reactions might be. In Uganda, people do not understand why someone would choose to be Jewish and not Christian or Muslim like everyone else. In Jewish spaces outside of Uganda, when I say I’m Jewish, I automatically put myself on a podium to explain how. In non-Jewish settings, especially now, it is the fear of what people’s feelings are about Israel. It also saddens me that one of the questions I get often is whether there is antisemitism in Uganda; almost every Jewish community has experienced some kind of hatred because they are Jewish.
For this reason, we should tell more stories of joy, celebration, and our contributions.
I am most joyful when facilitating and nurturing a thriving Jewish community. As a rabbi, it is a privilege to help and support the people in my communities. It gives me a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
I also feel joy when I think of the memories of my grandparents and the love they showed. They celebrated life, loved being part of the community, and cherished helping others. Their influence played a significant role in shaping my Jewish identity.
TBOL: What do you want the world to know about Jewish people?
SN: Like any other people, Jewish people are not monoliths. We are a tapestry of diverse shades, traditions, languages, and customs, each contributing to our vibrant Jewish culture. As the authors of the book This is What Jewish Looks Like state powerfully, “Well, there are over fifteen million Jews in the world, which means there are more than fifteen million ways to look and be Jewish. It can look like setting out menorahs on tribal land, adding kimchi to the seder plate, organizing for change, and living out loud.”
TBOL: Please tell us about the Jewish books you’ve written.
SN: I have written two picture books. The Very Best Sukkah: A Story from Uganda, beautifully illustrated by Moran Yogev, was published by Kalaniot Books in 2022. The book explores the joyful ways in which Sukkot is celebrated in my Abayudaya Jewish community in Uganda. I was so honored that it was awarded the Sydney Taylor Honor medal and it was a National Jewish Book Award winner!
Slow Down, Shoshi: It’s Shabbat in Uganda is set to be published in the fall of 2025. This book follows young Shoshi as she learns the value of slowing down during Shabbat. She is spirited and competitive, always running around, but discovers the beauty of taking a pause. Like my first book, this new story highlights the beautiful traditions I grew up with in Uganda.
TBOL: What other Jewish books are you excited about, and why?
SN: Something really exciting to me, when I wrote my first book, was that it gave me the opportunity to introduce readers to the Jewish community in Uganda that I remembered as a girl. The Jewish world is incredibly diverse. Books are a great way to highlight these often-overlooked communities, not only for kids here to see how varied their culture is, but also for members of my community to see their own traditions pictured. Books like Richard Ho’s Two New Years give a glimpse into the different ways Judaism can be celebrated. I was really happy to hear that Kalaniot Books is planning on reissuing A Day of Delight: A Jewish Sabbath in Ethiopia, written by Maxine Schur with fantastic illustrations by Brian Pinkney, originally published in 1994. Another book that I continue to read (and have had a chance to meet its amazing authors) is What Jewish Looks Like by Liz Kleinrock and Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Iris Gottlieb.
TBOL: Shoshana, thank you so much for sharing your unique stories with us. We can’t wait to read your new book!
Discover more interviews in the Jewish Joy Series!
Heidi Rabinowitz
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This is beautiful!
So glad to know about Shoshana’s writing!
It’s great to see another book with Shoshi and to learn more about Abayudaya Jewish community in Uganda.