From Incarceration to Emancipation
Hold my Drink Podcast Blog, Episode 39
An American ex-con, heterodox thinker, personal trainer, and Orthodox Jewish convert, fighting for citizenship in Israel. Whoa, this sounds like the start of an epic adventure, and David Ben Moshe has been on quite a journey.
After making some poor choices he found himself in prison for a stint. During a lockdown in the library, with nothing to do but pace the floors, he noticed a fellow inmate studying a book. As the lockdown wore on and David made several more passes, he couldn’t contain his curiosity. The book, written in a foreign language, had boxes at the bottom of each page. “What are you reading?”, he queried. The answer changed his life.
The gentleman, studying the Bible in Hebrew, explained the boxes. Throughout history different scholars debated their interpretations of the Bible and these boxed commentaries were committed to the pages of the text. In the Jewish tradition, there is a call to lift up debate for the sake of heaven. Coming from a fundamental Christian background where David was taught to accept the Bible unquestionably, he was shocked with this revelation.
Despite his rough start, David is a lover of books. His parents even ensured that when they weren’t there to read to him at night, they stocked up on cassette tapes, borrowed from the library, so he went to bed with a story. In that moment in the prison library, he committed himself to reading more on Judaism, and eventually converted after his release.
The complexity of life and the critical thinking necessary to make sense of our reality is often unveiled through debate and discussion. In fact, David thinks debate is one of the most important activities for understanding our world and those around us. Take for example, the seemingly contradictory co-existence of the individual and the group. It seems that more and more these days we have become polarized in our allegiance to one or the other. Speak of individualism and you are often labeled right-wing. Talk of the group and you are a leftie. The intersection between the two, a worthy debate, has been ditched for another “us versus them” exercise.
David upholds the individual and believes in personal responsibility, but he also has come to embrace the common identity found in his Jewish faith. Jewish history and communities have survived over time, despite tragedies that had them scattered to the ends of the earth, in large part due to common traditions.
In the United States we lament the fact that many black Americans cannot trace their ancestry, a problem that is not as acute among white Americans, and a tragic holdover of slavery. Instead of embracing the mishmash of humanity in our common American heritage, we hold onto the resentment and grudges that have been passed along from our ancestors. How can we take a page from the multicultural Jewish diaspora to establish a common identity, even as we uphold our individuality?
David suggests that we must adopt a culture of reform, instead of outrage, if we are ever to achieve such a complex feat. We must tell stories of resiliency and uplift in the American experience, and much like his beloved cassette tapes, play them on repeat. The repetition of these stories is necessary in creating common traditions to buttress a nation. However, he warns, without critical thinking we must be wary that such repetition isn’t hijacked and propagandized into slogans that cause further division.
As lovers of Einstein quotes, he shares with me his favorite: Everything must be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. According to David, critical thinking, open-minded debate, and tradition are the ingredients to properly address our complexities without simplifying our lives into the binaries that pull us apart.
In the Hold my Drink — navigating culture with a chaser of civility, and Counterweight podcast, Episode 39, we speak with David Ben Moshe. David is an American ex-con, heterodox thinker, personal trainer, and Orthodox Jewish convert, fighting for citizenship in Israel. You know he has a few stories to tell! David shares with us his journey through the prison system, his fight with racism, his conversion, and his life in Israel where he is now married with two children. Through it all, he never stopped reading, learning, or believing. He is an advocate for personal responsibility and community connection. He tells us how he navigates between the two through critical thinking, open-minded debate and tradition. All discussed with a chaser of civility, of course, a coffee and a green tea with honey (with promises to spike our drinks with whiskey for our next conversation).
Hold my Drink welcomes all people with all kinds of beverages to join us as we explore the truths of a chaotic and beautiful world, together.
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What David is Reading:
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South, Michael Twitty
What Jen is Reading:
The Trials of David Ben Moshe, Tablet Magazine, Steven Davidson
I’m a Black Ex-Felon. I have an Message About Cancel Culture, Newsweek, David Ben Moshe
The Pivotal Irony of American Racism, Areo Magazine, John Woods, Jr.
George Floyd: Multiple Perspectives from a “Dangerous” Black Ex-Con, Medium.com, David Ben Moshe
David Ben Moshe is an inspirational speaker and expert fitness coach whose life is a testament to the power of positive change. While serving a prison sentence for selling drugs and guns he decided to build a better life. He became a successful personal trainer, eventually owning his own fitness studio in Baltimore, Maryland. He has a B.S. in Exercise Science, Magna Cum Laude, from Towson University. David underwent an Orthodox Jewish Conversion at B’nai Israel Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States.
After finishing his degree, he was prevented from attending Graduate School due to his criminal record. He moved to Israel where he has spent the last 3 years fighting for citizenship — an automatic right for all Jews including converts. Despite the challenges he has faced in the country, David is an ardent Zionist and a vocal proponent supporting Israel’s right to exist and flourish.
David currently writes and speaks about racial inequality, criminal justice reform, health and fitness, and Israel. His writing has been featured on Medium and Newsweek and has spoken for groups across the United States, Europe, and Israel. He provides private coaching through his company Magen Fitness.
His amazing story of positive transformation has been featured in The Baltimore Jewish Times, JMore Living, Ynet, Tablet Magazine, The Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and Kan. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and two children.
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