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I hope that you had an enjoyable Hanukkah and I wish you all a new year of peace and good health. As always, it has been my pleasure to hear from you and receive your questions and inquiries. Hope you enjoy reading this installment of Ask the Rabbi. And as always, thanks for your questions and continued support of this column. And do keep those questions coming!

Is there such a thing as a black Jew?

When I was in rabbinical school, I used to visit the black synagogue in Harlem, which was close by. Rabbi Wentworth Arthur Matthew, born in the West Indies, founded the Commandment Keepers Congregation in Harlem back in 1919. He trained and ordained many of the black rabbis who later founded synagogues in various places in the United States and the Caribbean.

The emergence of Judaism among people of African descent in the first half of the twentieth century is said to have been made possible by a combination of factors. One was a strong religious tradition in the background of those who became Jewish that embodied Jewish practices from an early but unclear source. When interviewed, many of the older members of this community recalled memories of their parents observing certain dietary laws, such as abstaining from pork. Others recalled traditions related to observing the Sabbath or festivals. In most cases, the practices were fragmentary and observed by people who simultaneously practiced Christianity.

The possible origins of these Hebraic traditions could be traced to West Africa, where a number of tribes have customs so similar to those of Judaism that an ancient connection or maybe even descent from one of the Ten Lost Tribes is conjectured. Another possibility for these well-documented practices is association with Jewish slave owners and merchants in the Caribbean and North America.

Many African Americans who practice Judaism today maintain that they have always had a close affinity with the Hebrews of the Old Testament. Rabbi Matthew always maintained that the "original Jews" were black people, or at least non-European. Since his death some 35 years ago, there has been little dialogue between white and black Jews in American. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, there are no reliable statistics regarding the number of black Jewish congregations, but estimates suggest that there are a few dozen distinct groups in such cities as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati, with membership between 2,000 and 6,000. Most of these groups consist of individuals who attach themselves to a charismatic figure generally proclaiming a rediscovery of the lost roots of the black nation in Judaism. The groups bear such names as B'nei Israel, Temple of the Gospel of the Kingdom, and Kahal B'nai Yisrael.

Would you define a religious Jew as one who observes commandments?

When someone asks "Is so-and-so a religious Jew?" the response invariably is based on the observance of ritual laws: "He keeps kosher and observes the Sabbath, or she does not keep kosher nor does she observe festivals." From such responses one could easily conclude that Judaism regards ethical behavior as an extracurricular activity, something to be desired but not essential.

Today the Hebrew word dat is generally the accepted word for "religion," and a person who is dati is understood to be a Jew who scrupulously observes the commandments. Centuries ago, however, in talmudic times, the term that came closest to the definition of religion was yirat shamayim, whose translation is "fear of heaven." There are many references in the Bible and rabbinic writings to the virtue of fearing God.

Fear of heaven really denotes a sense of awe in God for whom one has supreme regard. It includes a constant mindfulness to the daily miracles that surround us in life, leading to an urge to fulfill commandments, since that is what God want us to do. In the popular idiom, saying that a person possesses the fear of heaven is simply another way of defining a Jew of piety who confidently sees himself as fulfilling God's will when performing mitzvot. Such a pious Jew combines feelings of both love and awe for God, and a desire to fulfill the mitzvot.

There is no question in my mind that God wants more of us than simply to observe Judaism's rituals. Ethical behavior is essential, as can be illustrated in this statement from the Talmud (Shabbat 31a): In the hour when a person is brought before the heavenly court of judgment, he or she is asked this question first: "Did you conduct your business affairs with honestly?" God's first concern is human decency, and human decency is a requirement if we are to call ourselves religious.

Does luck play a role in Jewish thought?

Many of the rabbis of bygone years believed that luck often plays an important role in shaping a person's life. The Hebrew phrase mazel tov, often translated as "good luck" or "congratulations" reflects this rabbinic thought. Mazel tov is a tradition greeting at Jewish weddings, brisses, anniversaries, and the like. Thus for example, when I was about to defend my doctoral thesis at Columbia University, many of my friends said to me, "We wish you mazal and hope things go well for you. In fact, the Hebrew phrase mazal tov actually means "lucky star." The biblical word mazal has been understood to mean either a planet or sign of the zodiac. In the Talmud, mazal signifies "star of fortune" or "fate" or "destiny." The meaning of mazal tov today as congratulations is a survival of the ancient Jewish belief in astrology. Among Sephardic Jews, the expression siman tov, meaning "good sign or omen" is frequently extended to celebrants. And the Yiddish language adopted several expressions derived from mazal: mazaldig (lucky), shlimazal (person without luck), and shlimazaldig (unlucky).

I was told that Satan appears in the Bible? Is this true?

There are a number of references to Satan in the Tanakh. In biblical Hebrew, the term satan signifies "adversary." It is derived from a verb meaning to oppose or resist. But except for the brief period just before the Christian era, it is doubtful that Jews ever took these references literally. In the course of time, satan cam to mean pre-eminently the Adversary, the incarnation of all evil, whose thoughts and activities are devoted to the destruction of people. At times satan was also identified with temptation, the evil impulse which prompts people to heed the worst side of their nature.

In the Book of Job, the character of Satan is very real. Satan is portrayed as an adversary who begrudges man's contentment and well-being, and he is the indirect cause of Job's misery. But the rabbinic sages debated whether the Book of Job was fact or fiction. A number of the most distinguished rabbis contended that the entire Book of Job as actually a product of some ancestor's imagination -- a parable or allegory.

The word satan also appears in the Jewish prayer book, as in the prayer for peace known as "hashkeevaynu." In this prayer, there is a line that petitions God to "remove from us every enemy, pestilence, and satan." Here satan is often understood to be synonymous with the evil impulse. It is against the dominance of this impulse that the Jew continues to pray.

Does God ever speak to the entire nation of Israel in the Torah?

It is true that for the most part God speaks to individuals in the Bible (most of them prophets), and they become the spokespersons for the Jewish people. However, in the Book of Exodus, seven weeks after the Israelites leave Egypt, they reach Sinai. It is there that God, for the first and only time, speaks to the entire people, and declares before them the Ten Commandments. The people are terrified by God's dramatic appearance and they entreat Moses saying: "You speak to us, and we will obey. But let not God speak to us, lest we die." Moses assures the Israelites that God has not brought them from Egypt to Sinai in order to kill them. "For God has come only in order that the fear of God may ever be with you, so that you do not go astray" (Exodus 20:16-17). Nonetheless, he agrees that in the future he will relay God's messages to them.