Shais Rishon

Shais Rishon, also known by the pen name MaNishtana, is an African-American Orthodox rabbi, activist, and writer. He has written for Tablet, Kveller, The Forward, Jewcy, and Hevria, as well as writing a semi-autobiographical novel under his pen name. In 2014, he was included in The Jewish Week s "36 Under 36", an annual list of influential Jews under age 36.

Biography Rishon was born February 14, 1982 in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish African-American family associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. According to him, his mother's ancestors have been practicing Jews since the 1780s. Growing up, Shais felt alienated from the Jewish community due to his race and the treatment he received from other Jews. He attended James Madison High School and Brooklyn College, where he majored in English.

Rishon began blogging about his black and Jewish identities as MaNishtana in 2009.

In 2020, Rishon and rapper Yitz Jordan (Y-Love) announced plans to create a Jewish Community Center specifically for Jews of color. The community center would be open to all Jews, but focused on Jews of color, and would build bridges both within the Jewish community and between Jews of color and other minorities.

Works Rishon's debut novel, Ariel Samson, Freelance Rabbi, was a finalist for the 2018 National Jewish Book Award's Goldberg Award for Debut Fiction. Rishon has also dabbled in playwrighting, contributing in 2017 to The Jewish Plays Project alongside playwrights Susan Bernfield, Sarah Gancher, and MJ Kaufman.

In 2013, Rishon wrote an open letter criticizing New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind for wearing blackface at a Purim celebration.

Personal life Rishon was married to Gulienne Rollins-Rishon, a biracial Black Jew and a descendant of Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipman Heller.