Natan Gamedze

Natan Gamedze (born 1963, Swaziland) is a Haredi rabbi and lecturer. Born to the royal lineage of the Gamedze clan of the Kingdom of Eswatini, he converted to Judaism, received rabbinic ordination, and now lectures to Jewish audiences all over the world with his personal story as to how an African prince became a Black Haredi Jewish rabbi.

Family background Gamedze's grandfather was the king of Swaziland. But the British, who had colonized southern Africa and created the states of Swaziland, Basutoland, and Bechuanaland, drew their own borders which lumped diverse ethnic groups into the same state. The British also chose a rival royal family to rule Swaziland, compensating the Gamedze clan with ministerial positions. Gamedze's father lost the title of "king" but became known as "paramount chief", and was also named minister of education and ambassador to the EEC countries.

Early life and education Gamedze was one of eight children born to his parents in Swaziland. He grew up in Swaziland until the age of eight and was educated in private schools there and in London. He went on to earn his Honours at the University of Oxford, earning his undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in Modern Languages and Translations, majoring in German, Italian, and French. He received his master's degree at University of the Witwatersrand in 1987. By 1988 he was an official translator of the German language for the Supreme Court of South Africa.

In an Italian literature class at Wits, he noticed someone writing from right to left in his notebook and found out that the language was Hebrew. Later he decided to take a Hebrew language course at that university, which sparked his interest in Jewish texts. While in Israel, he took philosophy classes at Ohr Somayach Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and converted to Judaism in 1991. He continued to learn at Ohr Somayach for another four years.

Toward the end of his time at Brisk, Gamzede was introduced to his wife, Shayna Golda Gordon,