In Memory of United States Marine Corps Colonel Jonathan de Sola Mendes, A”H. A stalwart member of Congregation Shearith Israel: New York’s Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue, graduate of Dartmouth (Class of 1942), and, for many years, the oldest New York City Marathon runner (who, needless to say, never failed to finish), Colonel Jonathan de Sola Mendes flew 100 air combat missions in the Pacific during World War II and 70 in the Korean War, including the last USMC mission on 27 July 1953. The Colonel earned 10 Air Medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. The ASF and Jewish War Veterans Foundation/National Museum of American Jewish Military History were honored to host the Colonel for our Jewish Warrior Weekend during Veterans Day Weekend, 2017.
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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!
Don’t miss the latest Sephardi Ideas Monthly: “Two Jewish Songs, Ancient and Israeli”
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Celebrating Resilience at the ASF Sephardi Film Fest (includes video)
By Marjan Keypour Greenblatt
Enrico Macias, Opening Night of the 26th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, Leo And Julia Forchheimer Auditorium, ASF - Center for Jewish History, 2 June 2024
(Photo courtesy of Zak Siraj)
The non-stop flow of antisemitic vitriol following Oct. 7th, and the realization that Oct. 7th generated hatred for the Jewish people instead of sympathy, reinforce the importance of strengthening and celebrating Jewish resilience.
Marjan Keypour Greenblatt is a human rights activist and advocate for women and minorities in Iran and the Founder and Director of the Alliance for Rights of All Minorities. Highly attuned to the dangers of Islamism and their enablers in the West, Keypour was deeply moved by the hopeful and resilient spirit that animated Opening Night of the ASF’s New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival in June:
I wish I had more words and space for videos and pictures to express the pride and joy that was shared at the opening night of @americansephardifed’s New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival. At a time when we are constantly consumed with terrible news and negative stories, The Center for Jewish Heritage was an intimate oasis of hope and mutual empathy.
Keypour was especially moved by the personal example set by the spirited elders in attendance. Watching “the iconic 101-year-old Holocaust Survivor Stella Levi was a reminder of the generational adversities that we have faced and yet the resilience that we have developed over the years,” while 85 year-old Enrico Macias showed what it means to “bring it” on-stage:
...his performance hasn’t diminished; it has evolved as he has mastered the art of his own talents. Enrico is a spectacular guitar player, but his most important instrument is the heart. He plays with heart, he sings with heart, he lives with heart and he loves with all his heart. It's hard to be in his presence and not feel it.
Understanding the importance of bringing together good people to set the mood, Keypour concluded her post by thanking ASF Executive Director Jason Guberman “for a wonderful and memorable event and festival.”
Marjan and Jason co-authored “Transcending Western Myopia: Understanding Contemporary Middle Eastern Neocolonialism on its Own Terms” for the Brown Journal of World Affairs. A timely read given events in Iran.
Join us on Sunday, 8 June for Closing Night of the 27th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, featuring a live concert by the legendary Enrico Macias! A perfect finale to a powerful week.
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“NYC’s first-ever month-long celebration of Sephardic Jewish culture is now underway”
By Jackie Hajdenberg, NY Jewish Week/JTA
The ASF’s Festival Sefarad, New York City’s first-ever month-long festival celebrating Sephardic Jewish culture, is underway! Featuring “robust programming with more than 40 events, including Shabbat dinners, book talks, tours, workshops, films and concerts,” Festival Sefarad is a triumphant assertion of Jewish pride and excellence at a time when “the need for creating communal, intellectual, and cultural connections that bring all Jews together has never been greater.”
The 27th annual New York Jewish Sephardic Film Festival is the centerpiece of Festival Sefarad. Other highlights include
a lecture about the “soul of objects” by artist Ghiora Aharoni, whose work is in the collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art… a tour of “Sacred Words,” the new exhibit at the Jewish Theological Seminary that spotlights the oldest Hebrew book ever discovered… (and) meals for the general public, made by Hélène Jawhara Piñer, a French-Spanish chef and historian and the author of Jews, Food, and Spain.
The Festival’s range is, indeed, wide, and as the ASF’s Executive Director, Jason Guberman, explains, “We have everyone involved in this festival, from the Afghans to the Greeks, Persians, Syrians — all the different what we call greater Sephardic communities.”
The rooted-cosmopolitan celebration of human excellence characteristic of Classic Sephardi culture will also be featured at the festival, with a special Juneteenth (June 19th) concert at Tribeca synagogue, “Blues, Jazz and Sephardi Piyyut .” Featuring Sam Torjman Thomas’ band, ASEFA, and hosted by the Omni-American Future Project, a cultural initiative co-directed by the ASF’s Director of Publications, Dr. Aryeh Tepper, the concert will be a “musical journey that begins with the blues, travels across Manhattan and blossoms into Sephardi sounds.”
For more information visit: FESTIVAL SEFARAD NYC
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Foundations of Sephardic Spirituality: The Inner Life of Jews of the Ottoman Empire
By Hakham R’Marc D. Angel, Ph.D
Who were the Sephardic Jews of the Ottoman Empire?
What lasting lessons does their spiritual life provide for future generations?
“How did the Judeo-Spanish-speaking Jews of the Ottoman Empire manage to achieve spiritual triumph? To answer this question, we need to have a firm understanding of their historical experience…. We need to be aware of the dark, unpleasant elements in their environments; but we also need to see the spiritual, cultural light in their dwellings that imbued their lives with meaning and honor.”
—from Chapter 1, “The Inner Life of the Sephardim”
In this groundbreaking work, Rabbi Marc Angel explores the teachings, values, attitudes, and cultural patterns that characterized Judeo-Spanish life over the generations and how the Sephardim maintained a strong sense of pride and dignity, even when they lived in difficult political, economic, and social conditions. Along with presenting the historical framework and folklore of Jewish life in the Ottoman Empire, Rabbi Angel focuses on what you can learn from the Sephardic sages and from their folk wisdom that can help you live a stronger, deeper spiritual life.
Our Story: The Jews of Sepharad; Celebrations and Stories
A special publication of the coalition for the advancement of Jewish education.
Celebrations and Stories will enhance the teaching of Sepharad in lower grades of both congregational and day schools. The life cycle and annual cycle sections are designed to horizontally connect to the teaching of customs and ceremonies. The stories will provide insight to the life of Jews who emerged from Sephardic roots. They are glimpses of daily life and values, as well as tales of our history's heroes.
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27th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival - Festival Sefarad
Closing Night Only Tickets
7:00-8:00PM VIP Reception (for VIP Pass & Ticket Holders Only)
8:00PM CONCERT
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Join us for the grand finale of the 27th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival with an extraordinary live performance by legendary French-Algerian singer Enrico Macias. Known for his soulful voice and timeless songs that celebrate peace, exile, and identity, Macias returns to New York following last year’s sold-out appearance to once again captivate audiences with his music and message.
Set in the elegant theater at El Museo del Barrio, this special evening closes a week of powerful films and cultural reflection, honoring the rich tapestry of Sephardic Jewish life around the world. From North Africa to the Mediterranean and beyond, Enrico Macias embodies the spirit of Sephardic resilience and joy.
This concert marks the closing of the Film Festival, but Festival Sefarad NYC continues with more events and celebrations throughout June.
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The American Sephardi Federation, and Centro Primo Levi present:
Bloomsday Reading
For several years, Centro Primo Levi marked Bloomsday, tracing Joyce’s footsteps in Trieste, his friendship with Italo Svevo, and the birth of a text that redefined literature while delving deeply into an ancient understanding of language.
This year, the American Sephardi Federation’s curator, Yves Seban, will read from James Joyce’s texts and from the Italian translation. The public reading induces vertigo and exhilaration, exhaling the dream-like quality of Joyce’s prose.
Monday, 16 June at 7:00PM
@Bookhouse
ASF Sixth Floor, 15 West 16th Street
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Tickets: $10
Some background
In the late 1990s, when the art galleries were still in Soho, the Paula Cooper Gallery offered its space to anyone who wanted to read full works by James Joyce and Gertrude Stein in twenty-four hours.
The readings ended when the galleries moved to Chelsea. Seban participated in most of those readings and began to develop his own version, which included excerpts of Italian translation by the late Luigi Schenoni (Musée des Arts Océaniens et Africains, Paris, 1997; Festival des Allumés, Nantes,1998; Galerie du Jour-agnès b.,1999; and the Chiba Joyce Parlor, Japan,1998).
About Yves Seban
A long-time collaborator of the American Sephardi Federation, Yves Seban’s background starts in the mid-80s Paris fashion world, working for French luxury brands, notably for French fashion icon agnès b.
Yves then turned to translation of art texts, scripts, film reviews, while transcribing/translating, in-studio, the LouiseBourgeois’ personal diaries, and is writing a screen-adaptation of Jun’ichiro Tanizaki’s Some Prefer Nettles. Among his contributions to the Sephardi Festival are two filmed interviews with Albert Memmi and Helène Cixous, recipients of the Pomegranate Award.
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American Sephardi Federation in partnership with UJA present:
Hakham Isaac Sassoon
Join us as pre-eminent scholar and rabbinic thinker Hakham Hakki Sassoon gives a talk on aspects of Sephardi Kabbalah in relation to the traditional rationalist schools of Classical Sephardi thought.
Tuesday, 17 June at 7:00PM
@the CJH, 15 W 16th Street, NYC
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Tickets: Complimentary RSVP; Registration Required
About the Speaker:
One of the world’s leading Torah scholars, Hakham Isaac Sassoon synthesizes rigorous traditional study with scrupulous academic and historical scholarship. A prolific writer for TheTorah.com, Hakham Sassoon is the author of several critically acclaimed books including: An Adventure in Torah – A Fresh Look Through a Traditional Lens (2023); Conflicting Attitudes to Conversion in Judaism, Past and Present (2017); The Status of Women in Jewish Tradition
(2011); Uriel da Costa, Examination of Pharisaic Traditions, edited and translated from 1623original with Herman Prins Salomon (1993); The Marrano Factory: The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians 1536-1765, translation of Antonio Jose Sariava with Herman Prins Salomon (2001).
Hakham Sassoon’s initial education was under the tutelage of his father, the renowned scholar Rabbi Solomon David Sassoon, Hakham Yosef Doury, and others. He continued his studies at the prestigious Gateshead Yeshiva and various yeshivot in Israel. Hakham Sassoon received his semikhah from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and holds a Ph.D. in Literature from the University
of Lisbon.
Continuing his family’s tradition of academic achievement, Hakham Sassoon has published on topics ranging from Scriptural commentary and history, to issues of current concern to the Jewish community.
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American Sephardi Federation in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York present:
Sephardi Scholars Series with Dr. Edwin Seroussi and Dr. Samuel Torjman Thomas on Yisrael Najara’s Piyyutim
Join us for a deeper look into life and works of the prolific paytan, musician and Torah scholar Rabbi Israel Najara (c. 1550-1625/8) whose songs became central to the performed repertoire of religious songs in Sephardic and Oriental Jewish communities. On the occasion of the recent publication (2024) of Najara’s unpublished late poetry, She’erit Yisrael, noted musicologist Prof. Edwin Seroussi (who edited this work with Prof. Tova Beeri) will introduce us to aspects of the poet’s musical universe. Then transition to an interactive piyyut workshop led by Dr. Samuel Torjman Thomas on several pieces from Najara’s Diwan.
Wednesday, 18 June at 7:00PM
@the CJH, 15 W 16th Street, NYC
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Tickets: $10
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American Sephardi Federation in partnership with Omni-American Future Project, Jazz Leadership Project, ASEFA, The UJA-Federation New York and Tribeca Synagogue present:
An Omni-American Juneteenth Celebration: The Blues, Jazz, and Sephardi Piyyut
This Juneteenth, we’re honoring Black American experience by celebrating jazz and jazz’s contribution to Jewish culture, especially Sephardi Jewish culture. A musical journey that begins with the blues, travels across Manhattan and blossoms into Sephardi sounds elaborated and enriched by America’s native high art, “Juneteenth at the Tribeca Synagogue” tells an American story of cultural exchange at the peaks of human excellence.
Thursday, 19 June at 7:30PM
@Tribeca Synagogue - 49 White Street, NYC
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Tickets: $10
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American Sephardi Federation in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York, ASEFA, and Kehilat Derech Yeshara (KDY) presents:
Shi(u)r Piyyut: The View from Ibn Gabirol
An iconic figure of the Golden Age of Sephardic Jewry, Shlomo Ibn Gabirol’s work in piyyutim (poetry), theology, and philosophy has had a pervasive impact on the world of Jewish thought and beyond. Dr. Samuel Torjman Thomas will present a Shabbat morning lecture as scholar-in-residence, focusing on Ibn Gabirol, his place in the history of Sephardi culture, and the impact of several of his important works.
Saturday, 21 June at 11:00AM
Kehilat Derech Yesharah
1601 Avenue R, Brooklyn, NY 11229
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Tickets: Complimentary RSVP; Registration Required
Dr. Torjman Thomas is a multi-instrumentalist (saxophone, oud, vocals, nay, clarinet, percussion), composer, bandleader, and a professor of ethnomusicology, cultural studies (Sephardic Jewish studies), and interdisciplinary studies. As an artist-scholar, his work centers on musics and cultures of the Middle East and North Africa, worldwide Jewish musical traditions, jazz traditions, improvisation, and composition. Dr. Torjman Thomas is bandleader of ASEFA, ASEFA-Jazz, and Traveling in Pairs, as well as artistic director of the New York Andalus Ensemble – a multiethnic large ensemble featuring a choir and instrumentalists performing traditional musics of North Africa and Spain, in Hebrew, Arabic, and Spanish.
Dr. Torjman Thomas is also a faculty member in both the ALEPH and Academy of Jewish Religion Cantorial Programs, as well as Director of Musical Arts at Brooklyn’s Sephardic Community Center (JCC). He is a frequent guest speaker, ḥazzan, and facilitator in ecumenical spaces, cultural institutions, and music and spiritual retreats worldwide.
Kehilat Derech Yeshara (KDY), led by Rabbi Avraham Benhamu, was founded with the goal of providing a strong foundation for the next generation in accordance with the Syrian Sephardic ritual to foster a deeper connection to G-d through: Kiyum Torah through the establishment of Torah by study, experience, and its sincere implementation; Pursuit for Truth through engagement of healthy discussion on all issues faced by the Jewish Nation; and Responsibility through hands-on service for the Jewish community and world at large to promote educational and social activities for its members and their families.
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Manhattan Arts Grants - LMCC, Howard Gilman Foundation,Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in partnership with American Sephardi Federation in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York, present:
Baggage From BaghDAD: Becoming My Father’s Daughter: Saturday, June 21, 2025 at 8 pm at the Episcopal Actors’Guild
Baggage From BaghDAD is a gripping award-winning solo show about an inspirational journey that mirrors today’s growing intolerance of race and religion. Due to religious persecution during the 1941 “Farhud pogrom,” writer and performer Valerie David’s paternal Middle-Eastern Jewish family was forced to flee Iraq, and built a new home in America. It tells the story of how a father’s survival and perseverance shaped his daughter’s future and who she is today …how a father and a daughter learn to love and accept their differences. Baggage From BaghDAD is the journey of a family’s struggle to immigrate to a new land and transcend their harrowing past, so that love and the importance of family may triumph.
Saturday, 21 June at 8:00PM
Episcopal Actors’ Guild, Episcopal Actors’ Guild
1 East 29th Street, NYC
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Tickets: $24.50 (including fees)
Written and Performed by Valerie David
Directed by Karen Carpenter, Sound and Projections Designer: Andy Evan Cohen, Technical Director: Eluit Ortiz, Videographer: Michael Lee Stever
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American Sephardi Federation in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York, Congregation Shearith Israel, The Habura, and Maimonides Heritage Center presents:
Exploring the Roots of Sephardic Thought & Mysticism
Join Rabbi Yamin Levy for an illuminating book talk exploring the profound spiritual and philosophical traditions of Sephardic Judaism. In collaboration with Habura and the Maimonides Heritage Foundation, this event will explore themes from Rabbi Levy’s recent two books: “The Founding Fathers of Sephardic Jewry: From Rav Saadia Gaon (882-942 C.E. to Shemuel ibn Tibbon (1150-1232 C.E.)” and “Jewish Mysticism: Essays on Maimonides’ The Guide of the Perplexed.” Sephardic refreshments will be served.
Sunday, 22 June at 7:30PM
@Congregation Shearith Israel (2 W 70th St, NYC)
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Tickets: $10
About the speaker:
Rabbi Yamin Levy has dedicated his career to preserving the rich and beautiful heritage of Sephardic Jewry. He is a practiced educator, pulpit rabbi, author and academic. He served as Director of Sephardic Studies at Yeshiva University (2000-2006), Administrator at Yeshivath Chovevei Torah (2006-2010), and currently serves as Senior Rabbi at the Iranian Jewish Center / Beth Hadassah Synagogue in Great Neck, NY. He is the founder and International Director of the Maimonides Heritage Center based in the city of Tiberias Israel. Rabbi Yamin Levy has written extensively on Sephardic Studies, Jewish Law, and Bible.