In honor of the late Yemeni oud master Ahmed Alshaiba, who tragically died in a car accident, we are publishing for the first-time his impromptu duet with Yemen Blues’ Ravid Kahalani at the ASF’s 2nd American Sephardi Music Festival in 2018. May his memory be for a blessing.
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Don't miss the latest Sephardi Ideas Monthly: “Building the Land from Sephardi Jerusalem to Jazz Age Shanghai”
“Maurice El Medioni, [one of] the last of the Algerian-born Jewish musical stars”
By Ilana Webster-Kogan, The Conversation
Maurice El Medioni at the piano
(Photo courtesy of Songlines)
Maurice El Medioni, the legendary Algerian-born Jewish pianist, vocalist, composer, and American-inspired interpreter of Andalusian, Raï, Sephardic, and Arab music, died on 25 March 2024.
Born in Oran, western Algeria, El Medioni moved to France in 1962 when Algeria became independent. After his music career picked up steam in the 1980s, El Medioni split his later years between France and Israel, inspiring younger musicians through his unique panache acquired in evenings spent
…among the American soldiers in the cabarets of Oran, where he learned to play piano in a style that combined French chanson and north African standards with Latin jazz and boogie-woogie, influences that he eventually combined to coin the term “Pianoriental”.
An English translation of Maurice El Médioni – A Memoir: From Oran to Marseilles was published in 2017.
Hazaq u’Barukh to Ilana Webster-Kogan for co-organizing the exceptional day-long symposium, On Joy and Sorrow: Jewish Music-Making in Muslim Lands, featuring ASF Broome & Allen Fellows Dr. Vanessa Paloma Duncan Elbaz (who was also a co-organizer) and Dr. Samuel Torjman Thomas, at Yale University’s Institute for Sacred Music. The event was co-sponsored by the Jewish Music Institute.
Maurice El Medioni Plays “Oran Oran” Live in Jerusalem, 2013
Maurice El Médioni performing “Oran Oran”
(Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)
In this live performance from Beit Avichai in 2013, Maurice El Medioni plays “Oran Oran” with Roberto Rodriguez from their joint “Descarga Oriental” album. Medioni and Rodriguez originally recorded “Descarga Oriental: New York Sessions” in 2006.
“The Disease of Hatred: Thoughts for Parashat Tazria”
By Rabbi Marc D. Angel, Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals
The American Sephardi Federation’s 1993 Convention
(Poster by Razzia)
Rabbi Marc D. Angel writes that this week’s Torah portion, tsara’at, describes a societal illness “which our sages associated with the sin of lashon hara, evil speech.”
Responding to a recent “World Happiness Report” (Spring, 2024) and meditating on an increasingly deflated American spirit, R’ Angel points to a baseline issue that he believes accounts for the lion’s share of the American malaise:
Much of the problem stems from increased patterns of hatred, divisiveness, and lashon hara. American society has a tsara’at that is not being dealt with in an adequate manner. Extreme groups utilize mass media to spread lies and hatred. Hateful cult-like leaders promote anti-Semitism, racism, political violence. Universities—that should be bastions of humanism—have become hubs for violence and extremism. In too many circles, it has become fashionable to emphasize all the faults of America and to downplay the amazing historic achievements of this country.
The plague of hatred propagated through evil speech online and in universities must be met, argues R’ Angel, with a robust, unifying social vision for America:
The Torah states that one plagued with tsara’at needed to undergo a purification process. Similarly, a society suffering from spiritual tsara’at needs to examine the roots of its disease and to purify itself. Leaders in all strata of society need to mobilize against the hatred that is cutting at the soul of our nation. We not only need to speak and act against hatred and bigotry; we must articulate a positive message about civil society, about the values that make America a bastion of freedom, about working together to build an idealistic national consensus.
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A Pizmonim: Sephardic-Hebrew Songs of the Middle East, Volume 1
By David Elihu Cohen
Pizmonim, a unity of poetry and song, have been an integral part of the Jewish People and may be traced in the Bible to the very beginning of our history.
The twelve selected Pizmonim contained in this booklet serve to perpetuate the Greater Sephardic culture and tradition of singing praise to the Lord on all joyous occasions.
Maimonides, Spinoza and Us: Toward an Intellectually Vibrant Judaism
By Rabbi Marc D. Angel
A challenging look at two great Jewish philosophers, and what their thinking means to our understanding of God, truth, revelation and reason. Moses Maimonides (1138–1204) is Jewish history’s greatest exponent of a rational, philosophically sound Judaism. He strove to reconcile the teachings of the Bible and rabbinic tradition with the principles of Aristotelian philosophy, arguing that religion and philosophy ultimately must arrive at the same truth. Baruch Spinoza (1632–77) is Jewish history’s most illustrious “heretic.” He believed that truth could be attained through reason alone, and that philosophy and religion were separate domains that could not be reconciled. His critique of the Bible and its teachings caused an intellectual and spiritual upheaval whose effects are still felt today. Rabbi Marc D. Angel discusses major themes in the writings of Maimonides and Spinoza to show us how modern people can deal with religion in an intellectually honest and meaningful way. From Maimonides, we gain insight on how to harmonize traditional religious belief with the dictates of reason. From Spinoza, we gain insight into the intellectual challenges which must be met by modern believers.
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
The American Sephardi Federation presents:
Socrates, Moses, and the Long Fight Against Idolatry
Join us for a fascinating discussion celebrating the launch of Matt Gatton’s new book, The Shadows of Socrates: The Heresy, War, and Treachery Behind the Trial of Socrates.
Sunday, 14 April at 4:30PM ET
In-Person @ the ASF - Center for Jewish History
Sign-up Now!
Tickets: $15-$500
The trial of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates is widely considered the most famous trial of all time. At age 70, he was charged with impiety (a religious crime) and corrupting the youth, but the reasons for these charges were left unexplained, as the prosecution’s case was not recorded. There’s a reason for this: Socrates triggered the first great battle between philosophy and religion when he launched a searing critique of Athens’ most important and secretive idolatrous cult. Socrates has more in common with Moses, Maimonides, and Spinoza than you might ever have imagined. Sometimes the light of true reason must fight in the shadows.
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Our friends at Qesher present:
Jewish Tunisia: at a crossroads of civilizations
“Tunisia, the former seat of Carthage's empire, has been home to different Jewish communities for more than 2000 years. Its central location at a crossroads of civilizations led to multiple influences in food, culture, language and identity. Rafram will take us through the different elements of the complex Jewish layer of Tunisia, which took a fateful turn in 1967 after the Six-Day War. Rafram will talk about how Jewish life looks today in Tunisia and about his work as a visual artist, which blends biography and Jewish identity in contemporary Tunisia.”
Thursday, 18 April at 3:00PM ET
Sign-up Now!
Tickets: $9-$18
About the speaker:
Born on the island of Djerba off the coast of Tunisia, Rafram Chaddad is an artist whose photographs, films, and multi-media installations rethink the archive, migration narratives, and what it means to belong.
Working between Tunis and New York, Rafram's work reflects on his personal life experiences and comments on broader socio-political issues including migration and displacement, identity and belonging. Over the past twenty years, he's created dozens of short films and installations, which have been exhibited worldwide in cultural institutions, galleries, and museums, including: Halle 14, Leipzig; and Zalatimo, east Jerusalem. Chaddad has held solo shows at the Mucem Museum in Marseilles and the Maximilian Forum in Munich, among others.
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Our friends at Qesher present:
Sefarad: Music of the Jews of Spain, Portugal and their diaspora
“Sefarad is both a geographical place and a concept - it's Spain and Portugal, and it's the centuries and continents of the Sephardic diaspora, to the present. We'll travel - musically - from medieval Jewish life in Spain and Portugal through the diaspora in Morocco and the eastern Mediterranean, former Ottoman lands. Old ballads with hypnotizing stories, irresistible wedding song rhythms, songs of the Jewish calendar cycle, and the popular love songs and songs of daily life will be presented both live and in archival recordings, with photos and stories of the Sephardim who kept this tradition alive against all odds.”
Sunday, 21 April at 3:00PM ET
Sign-up Now!
Tickets: $9-$18
About the speaker:
Judith Cohen is a Canadian ethnomusicologist and singer known for her work in Sephardic music, and related traditions. Village songs of Spain and Portugal, narrative ballads and stories in English and pan-European traditions, Balkan singing, songs of French Canada, Yiddish - and music of Medieval Europe are among her performance and workshop repertoires. Besides, she has spent many years of fieldwork and research on music in the lives of Portuguese Crypto-Jews, who maintained their identity throughout the centuries of the Inquisition.
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The American Sephardi Federation presents:
Convergence: Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian Calligraphy in Conversation
Featuring the multilingual art of Ruben Shimonov Convergence creates a visual world where Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian languages interact with, and speak to, one another; a world where stylized letters and words dance together on the page; a world where cultures, religions, communities, and philosophies intersect.
Juxtaposing cognates from these ancient West Asian languages, artist Ruben Shimonov encourages the viewer to explore the deep-rooted connections between these tongues, as well as the multilayered and transnational identity of the artist himself.
On View in the Leon Levy Gallery
through 31 May 2024
@ the Center for Jewish History
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The American Sephardi Federation and Mimouna Association’s Rebuilding Our Homes Project present:
Re-Creation: Judaica by Moroccan Muslim Artisans
Explore the exhibition of Judeo-Moroccan art, Moroccan Judaica, cultural and religious objects, including Menorot, Mezuzot, Yads, Shabbat Candleholders, Seder Plates, Hallah Covers, and much more.
On View through 31 May 2024
@ the Center for Jewish History
As Moroccan Jewish populations largely left the mellahs (Jewish quarters) in the latter half of the 20th century, there was a danger that not only designs but even the traditional artisanal techniques needed to create them would be lost. Passed down from one artisan to another and perfected over time, these designs and techniques. ranging from vibrant patterns to intricate metalwork and soulful wood carvings, are expressions of Moroccanity and reflect the individual character of each city. The materials and craftsmanship of Rabat are different than Fez, and Essaouira is distinct from both.
Mimouna Association and the American Sephardi Federation’s Rebuilding Our Homes Project, a multi-year USAID-supported New Partnerships Initiative, brought three notable experts-Ms. Zhor Rehihil, Ms. Deborah Koenigsberger Gutierrez, and Ms. Meryem Ghandi to train Moroccan Muslim artisans in the history of Judeo-Moroccan art and guided them in re-creating Moroccan Judaica, which encompasses a diverse array of cultural and religious objects, including Menorot, Mezuzot, Yads, Shabbat Candleholders, Seder Plates, Hallah Covers, and much more.
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The American Sephardi Federation presents:
“The Golden Age of the Jews of Alandalus” | “La Edad de Oro de los judíos de Alandalús”
On View in the Paul S. And Sylvia Steinberg Great Hall
through 14 June 2024
@ the Center for Jewish History
The Jewish community of Alandalús gave the world extraordinary thinkers like Maimonides, diplomats like Ibn Shaprut, and poets like Ibn Gabirol and Judah Halevi, whose wisdom, works, and accomplishments resonate through the ages. 820 years after his death, the RAMBAM’s contributions to medicine, philosophy, diplomacy, and Jewish law continue to inspire wonder and influence till today. Across the Mediterranean in Fustat (Cairo) about two hundred thousand documents accumulated in the Ben Ezra Synagogue’s Genizah—a room or grave where obsolete sacred documents are respectfully discarded—over the course of nearly a millennium.
The geographical location of Egypt, a natural bridge between the Islamic East and Christian West, made it possible for many of these documents to be of Andalusian origin. This exhibition, curated by the University of Granada Professor José Martínez Delgado, takes us on a journey from the origins of this important community to its exodus and extinction in the XIX century. Although subsequently scattered all over the world, Sepharadim have maintained connections to their past by perpetuating traditions, the Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) language, and exemplifying a seriously Jewish yet cosmopolitan worldview.