What does it mean to be Jewish? I consider myself Jewish and you are, I'm white and you are black.

But are we the same race? Do you feel more familiar with me just knowing that I am Jewish?

The reason why I am Jewish is because of my white great-grandmother.

Black communities are saying,

but you are the real Jew,

don't you know that the first Jews were black?

Perhaps that's true.

Who cares?

Maybe the first you was purple. Welcome to today's episode of On the Edge with Andrew Gold.

Today I am talking with Sarah Brown, a Dutch woman, but that's not the most intriguing part about her that she happens to be

Dutch. She is a black Hasidic Jewish woman. I've been doing quite a few episodes about Hasidism, is that what it's called? Hasidism is that what it's called Hasidism I think it is sort of the

extreme branch of Orthodox Judaism it's very very far away from anything that I've known or experienced in my life

despite being a secular Jewish person myself and there's you know huge communities of

them well I said huge they're not huge actually they small but they are sort of very insular communities in London and New York.

And Sarah moved to New York at 18 and began living as a Hasidic Jewish woman.

She'll explain exactly why, but do get hold of

that black Hasidic lady, that's her book,

that Black Hasidic lady, a memoir

of a dark-skinned Hasidic woman.

It's just a really fascinating story and just tells you a lot about belief

and why people move into these kinds of communities.

So an interesting one, and we'll talk about racism on both sides

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