Carrying on a family tradition

For Rabbi Itzhak Yehoshua, one of the most active leaders in Queens’ Jewish community, work is not a calling.
“It is my moral responsibility,” he said.
Yehoshua, Chief Rabbi of the Bukharian Jewish community throughout the United States, believes “every person comes into the world with a responsibility to teach others the right values. It is the mission of every person in the world to maintain traditions and connect to the next generation.”
Of the 70,000 Bukharian Jews in the United States, between 40 and 45 thousand live in New York. About three-fourths of the New York population lives in Queens, Yehoshua said.
As Chief Rabbi, Yehoshua’s job is to help his people achieve the delicate balance of integrating into American society without losing traditional values.
“In America, we like to use the phrase ‘melting pot,’” he said. “It’s a nice word, but religion-wise, it doesn’t work. There’s this idea that if you want to be American, you have to give up everything and start from scratch. I believe you can add to yourself without giving up anything. You don’t have to forget who you are.”
Yehoshua has worked to make his people feel more at home in the United States by helping to start over 30 restaurants serving primarily Bukharian food, organizing music ensembles that play traditional Bukharian music, and helping bring about the 2005 reconstruction of the Bukharian Jewish Center in Forest Hills.
“America is the land of opportunity, so we have to make it work that way,” he said. “We have to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to be who we are.”
Yehoshua was born and raised in Uzbekistan, educated in Israel, and came to the United States two decades ago. Because his father and uncle were both Chief Rabbis of various Bukharian communities, Yehoshua said he is carrying on his family tradition.
“This path was ingrained in my family,” he said. And his family has just expanded.
“I recently became a granddaughter to a little girl named Esther,” said Yehoshua, who lives in Forest Hills with his wife. Together, they have five children.
But, to Yehoshua, passing on family tradition is no challenge - after all, it his self-avowed responsibility.
“We are like a gold chain,” he said. “Each of us must educate the ones that come after us.”