Mazal tov/Mabrouk to André Azoulay, Senior Advisor to HM King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Founder of Bayt Dakira, and an ASF Pomegranate Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree, on receiving Israel’s Presidential Medal of Honor from President Herzog
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The Sephardi World Weekly is made possible by Daniel Yifrach, Rachel Sally, Professor Rifka Cook, Maria Gabriela Borrego Medina, Rachel Amar, Deborah Arellano, & ASF VP Gwen Zuares!
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Read the latest Sephardi Ideas Monthly exclusive: “When Excellence is a Necessity: Bilahari Kausikan on the Singapore-Israel Connection”
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🕯“Reclaiming the Classical Sephardic Tradition: Tracing its Origins and Evolution”
By Avi Garson, Lehrhaus
Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Uziel with Prime Minister David Ben Guion in tow, Inaugural Ceremony for the Foundation of Hebrew University’s Medical School, 7 June, 1951
(Photo courtesy of the Israel Government Press Office)
Avi Garson laments the eclipse of Classical Sephardic tradition “with its rich literary and scholarly legacy and compelling worldview.” This is the “Sephardic approach to life” transmitted by “the late Hakham Prof. José Faur, the late R. Dr. Abraham Levy, R. Dr. Marc Angel, R. Joseph Dweck, and Prof. Zvi Zohar” that “is best exemplified by the Andalusian model during the Islamic Golden Age… The Andalusian Jews not only harmonized their worldly pursuits with their religious lives, but they played an integral role in the cultural tapestry of Iberian society.” Garson notes “a by-product of this integrationist attitude… that Sephardim were largely proud and active contributing citizens of their host countries. This attitude often coexisted with a love of Eretz Yisrael” especially manifest in a love of “the piyyutim and poetry of the Judeo-Andalusian poets whose admiration of Spain harmoniously intertwined with their deep yearning for the Promised Land.”
Garson’s claim that “the spread of the Zohar, and then later Lurianic Kabbalah in the 16th century, undermined the classical Sephardic tradition” requires refinement, as one can easily point to figures in the Classic Sephardic tradition whose thought and life were enriched by the kabbalistic tradition, from Albo to the Abarbanels (father and son) through the first Sephardi Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, R’ Ben Zion Meir Hai Uziel. What’s more, our list of Sephardi hakhamim will expand greatly if our notion of spiritual vitality is strong enough to embrace kabbalistic visions of the soul and its powers.
But arguments over the content of Sephardic tradition aside, and arguments for the sake of heaven are a sign of life, Garson’s essay is a welcome introduction to the Classical Sephardic Tradition’s relevance for our times.
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Feature: Itamar Borochov Streams “Abraham”🎺🎶
ASF Pomegranate Award Recipient Itamar Borochov’s new single: “Abraham”
In his first single from his upcoming album Arba (“Four”), Israel-born and Brooklyn-based jazz musician, composer and band leader, Itamar Borochov, revisits “Abraham.” Which Abraham is this? The father of the Jewish people, the prophet of monotheistic consciousness, the founder of Islam, the lifelong seeker, the knight of faith, the father of a multitude of nations? Borochov of course doesn’t say.
“Abraham” opens with a melodically hypnotic figure that the band accompanies with increasing depth and urgency. Jay Sawyer’s drums manage the level of the flame as Borochov’s charismatic trumpet and then Rob Clearfield’s patiently sensitive, flowing keyboard lines bring us back to the opening, melodically hypnotic figure that slowly builds, again, until, this time, the band erupts in collective ecstasy honoring the spirit of the monumental founder who first addressed humanity as a whole to eat, drink and know God.
As the ecstasy subsides, Borochov inserts a layer of pleading vocal arabesques, a Middle Eastern cry and coda that promises more to come from an artist who, remarkably, is still in the beginning of his career.
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🤝“The Broker Who Saved America”
By Joshua M Brown, The Reformed Broker
George Washington flanked by Robert Morris and Haym Salomon, Hearld Square, Chicago
(Photo courtesy of The Forward)
Haym Solomon (or Salomon) is an important but often overlooked American Revolutionary leader from a Sephardi-Polish family who “arranged financing to keep the Continental Army alive during its darkest days, finding the money to keep the revolution going when many were ready to throw in the towel.”
In honor of Independence Day, Joshua M. Brown revisited Solomon’s story, restoring the revolutionary generation’s pugnacious swagger and Solomon’s “key friendship with… Alexander MacDougall, a businessman and erstwhile “politician” who was known for his aggressive disdain for class systems, hereditary titles and everything else British rule in the colonies reminded him of from back home. MacDougall… was the street leader of the Sons of Liberty in New York. He liked to surround himself with other self-made men like Solomon and he especially liked busting heads and railing against the King.”
Solomon’s story become a spy novel in September of ’76 when he was “captured by the British army… and held for 18 months, some of that time confined on a boat and tortured.” After successfully convincing his captors “that he is more helpful to them as a translator,” Solomon was “employed as a liaison between the English officers and their Hessian mercenary allies.” Meanwhile, Solomon was using his job to gain access to “enemy military installations” in order “to undermine German support for the Brits… from the inside.”
Twice compelled to begin from the bottom, Solomon’s staggering efforts extended beyond raising his own personal station. On numerous occasions he kept the American war effort afloat, and as Brown notes, “without (Solomon’s) contributions and brokering skills, Washington’s army could not have been outfitted, armed and fed.”
Simply put, “Haym Solomon was the nation’s financier when capital was scarce, credit was tight and everything depended on the flow of funds to keep the British on the run. He was the broker who saved America.”
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Please 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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Our Story: The Jews of Sepharad; Celebrations and Stories
By Lea-Nora Kordova Annette and Eugene Labovitz
Celebrations and Stories, a special publication of the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education with the American Sephardi Federation, is an essential work that enhances the teaching of Sephardi history, traditions, and cultures.
The life cycle and calendar sections are designed to horizontally connect to the teaching of customs and ceremonies from the Spanish & Portuguese, Syrian, Judeo-Spanish, and Moroccan traditions. Other sections include translations of classic texts and poetry, tales of our history’s heroes, and classroom activities.
Exploring Sephardic Customs and Traditions
By Hakham R’Marc D. Angel, Ph.D
Over the centuries, Jewish communities throughout the world adopted customs that enhanced and deepened their religious observances. These customs, or minhagim, became powerful elements in the religious consciousness of the Jewish people. It is important to recognize that minhagim are manifestations of a religious worldview, a philosophy of life. They are not merely quaint or picturesque practices, but expressions of a community’s way of enhancing the religious experience. A valuable resource for Sephardim and Ashkenazim alike.
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
The ASF’s Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
The Aden Conference
Building on the success of the ASF and E’eleh B’Tamar’s “The Yemenite Conference: Jews and Muslims in Yemen” held in 2017 at New York’s Center for Jewish History, the Aden Conference will bring together the world’s leading scholars from Aden, Israel, US, UK, and Europe to explore the historical, cultural, and communal dynamics that intersected in Aden and its environs, particularly under British rule.
28-30 August 2023
Opening Night | JW3, London
Conference | Woolf Institute, Cambridge
Cambridge, Madingley Rd, Cambridge CB3 0UB, UK
Sign-up Now!
Co-Presenters:
Woolf Institute, ASMEA (Association for the Study of the Middle East & Africa), Aden Jewish Heritage Museum, Zalman Shazar Center, and Harif: Association of Jews from the MENA
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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 16 July 2023
@ the Center for Jewish History
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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 December 2023
@ 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.