Mazal tov/Mabrouk to ASF Young Leaders Ezra Mosseri and Michelle Bassaly Mosseri on welcoming their son, Isaac Ezra Mosseri, into the Covenant of Abraham!
The Sephardi World Weekly is made possible by Professor Rifka Cook, Maria Gabriela Borrego Medina, Rachel Amar, Deborah Arellano, and Distinguished ASF Vice President Gwen Zuares!
Click here to dedicate a future issue in honor or memory of a loved one
🎙️“New podcast spotlights the exodus stories of Middle Eastern Jews”
By Matthew Koessler, eJP
David Dangoor (ASF’s President), André Aciman (ASF Pomegranate Lifetime Achievement Awardee), Oded Halahmy (ASF Board Member, Iraqi-Jewish artist, & sculptor of the Pomegranate Awards), Jason Guberman (ASF’s Executive Director) 24th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, Opening Night Moise Safra Center, NYC, 3 April 2022
(Photo courtesy of Zakaria Siraj)
“[T]he little-known plight of some of the 800,000 Jews who were forced out of… long-thriving communities in Middle Eastern capitals such as Cairo, Baghdad and Sana’a shortly before and after Israel’s creation, are part of a new limited podcast series by American Jewish Committee titled ‘The Forgotten Exodus.’” According to podcast host, Manya Brachear Pashman, the series focuses on six accomplished writers and athletes, such as André Aciman and Shahar Tzubari because “I wanted to illustrate that these people are making contributions to art, culture, diplomacy and athletics, among many fields… They yielded these wonderful contributions to society.”
Feature: Meet the First Modern Hebrew Poetess, Rachel Luzzatto Morpurgo 📜🖋
I’ve looked to the north, south, east, and west:
a woman’s word in each is lighter than dust.
years hence, will anyone really remember
her name, in city or province, any more
than a dead dog. Ask: the people are sure:
a woman’s wisdom is only in spinning wool.
- “On Hearing She Had Been Praised in the Journals” by Rachel Luzzatto Morpurgo; tr. Peter Cole
The American Sephardi Federation’s Institute for Jewish Experience introduces you to the life and poetry of the first modern Hebrew poetess, the daughter of a famous literary-rabbinic family that, in the best Italian tradition, balanced deep piety with wide erudition, Rachel Luzzatto Morpurgo.
🎭“Who was Emilia Bassano?”
By The Australian Jewish News
Portrait miniature of an Unknown Woman, possibly Emilia Lanier Bassano, by Nicholas Hilliard,1590
(Scan courtesy of Wikimedia)
The directors of I am Emilia Bassano, a play soon to be staged in Melbourne, Australia, believe that Emilia Bassano (Lanyer), the famous English poet, “was a marrano” (i.e., a Crypto-Jew) whose life was deeply entwined with the life of William Shakespeare. The play explores “why there are 15 characters in Shakespeare plays that have some form of her name, Emilia Baptista Bassano.” And is it really a coincidence “that All’s Well that Ends Well mirrors Bassano’s life, almost to a tee?”
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The American Sephardi Federation invites all individuals, communities, and organizations who share our vision & principles to join us in signing the American Sephardi Leadership Statement!
Please also support the ASF with a generous, tax-deductible contribution so we can continue to cultivate and advocate, preserve and promote, as well as educate and empower!
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Amallel Shir: Yemenite Poems Anthology
Edited by Professor Yosef Tobi and Shalom Seri
Amallel Shir is an annotated anthology of Yemenite poetry, featuring poems (songs) for Shabbat, holidays, weddings, and other events. The poems are in Hebrew and Yemenite Judeo-Arabic.
From Generation to Generation: a Legacy of Faith and Tolerance
By David S. Malka
From Generation to Generation: a Legacy of Faith and Tolerance is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Shlomo Malka. It honors his memory as a Jewish scholar, a spiritual leader, and a great humanitarian.
David S. Malka is publishing this text as his personal contribution to legacy of Malka family, in the hope that this generation will re-discover their patriarch's teaching and advance his message of faith and compassion on to the next generation.
From Generation to Generation: a Legacy of Faith and Tolerance is a message of love, tolerance, and pride in one's heritage.
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
ASF’s Sephardi House is the only national fellowship program that infuses the wisdom, diversity, creativity, and warmth of the Sephardic spirit into Jewish campus life. Bringing together a select cohort of Jewish students on campuses throughout North America, this year-long learning, leadership development, and empowerment experience explores the multifaceted history, traditions, and intellectual legacy of the Greater Sephardic world, as well as advancing Jewish unity on campus. As antisemitism and divisive ideologies increase, the Sephardi House Fellowship is championing the resilient spirit that has been passed down through the ages in the form of Jewish values and vision. Since its launch in 2020, the fellowship has brought together 31 students from colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UCLA, Columbia, and Georgetown. Our Fellows have in turn engaged hundreds of their peers through on-campus programming supported by Sephardi House. The dynamic fellowship is composed of the following elements: 1) 10 cohort-based learning and discussion sessions with top scholars, educators, and community leaders, 2) one-on-one mentorship and tailored campus support, 3) access to ASF’s educational and communal resources, 4) a $1000 stipend, 5) an in-person Shabbaton leadership summit, and 6) a capstone community-building project. Apply here for the third cohort (2022-2023). Deadline: 8/30/22
Join us in supporting Sephardi House’s work of celebrating Jewish diversity, cultivating Jewish unity and continuity, as well as deepening love of the Jewish People and Israel.
Sponsorship & Naming opportunities available:
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ASF Broome & Allen & ADL Collaborative for Change Fellow Isaac de Castro presents:
Entre Diasporas: Telling the Latin-American Jewish story. Contando la historia judía latinoamericana
Tell your story. Cuenta tu historia.
We’re looking for first-generation Latino Jews in the United States who immigrated because of political and social turmoil. Jews of Sephardic descent from Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela that now reside in the Miami area will be given priority, but others are welcome to apply as well.
Fill out this form to be considered as an interviewee for this project. After you’ve submitted, we will be in touch promptly to set up a preliminary phone call.
Click here for more information.