Congratulations to Mr. André Azoulay, Senior Adviser to HM King Mohammed VI of Morocco, on being awarded the prestigious Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X the Wise. This well-deserved recognition reflects his unwavering dedication to promoting intercultural dialogue and coexistence. His visionary leadership in Essaouira, and across Morocco, has left a profound impact, inspiring many of us. We are deeply grateful for his efforts to preserve Morocco’s rich cultural heritage and foster unity both locally and globally. ~Mimouna Association and the American Sephardi Federation.
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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: “Emet ve Emunah: The Secret of the Sassoons’ Success”
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Sign-up now for Sephardic Culinary History Rosh HaShana Special this Sunday with award-winning chef and scholar, Hélène Jawhara Piñer, Ph.D
Last chance to apply for Cohort 5 of the ASF’s Sephardi House Fellowship!
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“At Madison Square Garden, an Ishay Ribo concert becomes a moment of Jewish awakening”
By Dr. Mijal Bitton, New York Jewish Week
IIshay Ribo performs at Madison Square Garden, 15 September 2024
(Photo courtesy of Jonathan Carmelli/JTA)
Dr. Mijal Bitton is an educator, spiritual leader, public intellectual, Rosh Kehillah of the Downtown Minyan, and scholar in residence at the Maimonides Fund. In 2018, Bitton was named an ASF Broome & Allen Fellow and delivered a powerful speech on the Mall in Washington, D.C. at the March for Israel in 2023 . She recently jumped through logistical hoops to attend Ishay Ribo’sconcert at Madison Square Garden “and part of me wondered beforehand if it was worth all the effort. But the moment the performance started, I knew I needed to be there — not just for Ribo, but for the crowd he draws.”
Greeted at New York’s famous indoor arena with “bracelets with an admonition not to speak lashon hara (evil speech) and... t-shirts for sale featuring the high priest’s breastplate stones,” Bitton savored “sacred moments” that resonate with special power after Oct. 7th:
15,000 voices singing “Am Yisrael Chai,” 15,000 voices calling out “Barukh Shem Kevod Malkhuto” (Blessed be His name, whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever). I imagine all of us at the Garden felt the utter rightness of being surrounded by people who understood both the depths of our grief and the heights of our joy. It wasn’t just a concert; it was a spiritual awakening, a moment of Jewish pride when so many of us feel the need to shrink and hide our commitments.
With the blessings and (terrifying) curses of this week’s portion, ki tavo, hovering over the horizon, Bitton borrowed a page “from Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, the great Hasidic master known for defending the Jewish people before God,” and composed a prayer inspired by Ribo’s concert and in the spirit of the Hasidic master:
Master of the Universe, look at Your people. See their resilience, their love, and their courage. Watch how they refuse to hide, how they gather together even in these times. Do not hide Your face from them. In this month of Elul, as they seek Your presence, show them Your favor and compassion. Do not turn away when they cry out for the return of their hostages, for the protection of those risking their lives to defend Your people. Let them gather only for joy and celebration. As we approach the High Holidays, may the sounds of our people’s unity and devotion rise up to You like the shofar’s call, awakening Your mercy and ushering in a year of redemption and peace.
Ishay Ribo’s Lekha Eli Teshukati
Ishay Ribo
(Screenshot courtesy of Ishay Ribo/Youtube)
Ishay Ribo is an Israeli vocalist with a warm, sweet, consoling sound that has sold out Madison Square Garden twice in recent years. A taste of that sound can be enjoyed in Ribo’s popular (2.6 million views) version of R’ Avraham Ibn Ezra’s Lekha Eli Teshuakati (“My Desire is for You, My Lord”), the piyyut chanted in Sephardi congregations to begin Yom Kippur services. Ribo’s version opens with the restrained pace of the traditional Sephardic melody but then adds increasingly intense waves of controlled emotion that have been capturing the hearts and spirits of Jewish audiences around the world.
“Before Traveling to Spain, Watch This Documentary about a Hidden Jewish History”
By Brian Fishbach, The Jewish Journal
Poster for Xueta Island: A Hidden History
The documentary film “Xueta Island: The Lost Jews of Majorca,” an official selection of the ASF’s 24th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, explores the hidden Jewish history of Majorca, the Mediterranean island off the Spanish southeastern coast.
Majorca is home to a converso community known as the Xuetas, descendants of Jews forced to convert to Catholicism. The past half century has witnessed a resurgence in Jewish life on the island and “a growing interest in Jewish heritage among the island’s residents.” The director of the documentary, Dani Rotstein, is a Jewish-American expat who has lived in Spain for nine years and now runs a tourism business, Jewish Majorca, that tells the hidden Jewish history of Majorca “in six different languages.”
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
Rosh HaShana Cooking Class with Award-Winning and Best-Selling Chef and ASF Broome & Allen Fellow Hélène Jawhara Piñer!
Learn how to make Suares Fried Spain Unleavened Tortillas for Rosh HaShana, a recipe from Hélène's forthcoming cookbook, Matzah and Flour. Recipes from the History of the Sepahrdic Jews(Cherry Orchard Books - Academic Studies Press, October 2024)
From Gourmand World Cookbook Award-winning author of Sephardi: Cooking the History and Jews, Food, and Spain: The Oldest Medieval Spanish Cookbook and the Sephardic Culinary Heritage (a National Jewish Book Award Finalist), Matzah and Flour features 125 meticulously crafted recipes that showcase the enduring flavors that define Sephardic culinary heritage. Join Hélène for a tantalizing exploration of the central role of matzah and flour in Sephardic cuisine. Journey through centuries of tradition as flour, from various grains like chickpea, corn, and barley, intertwines with cultural narratives and religious observance. Delve into the symbolism of matzah, from its origins in the Exodus story to its embodiment of resilience and identity. Each of this cookbook’s thoughtfully prepared recipes is a testament to the transformative power of flour in Sephardic culinary heritage. From savory delicacies to sweet delights, these timeless flavors have sustained Sephardic families through history. Matzah and Flour is a celebration of tradition, history, and the enduring legacy of Sephardic Jewish cuisine
Sephardic Culinary History - Rosh HaShana Special
22 September @ 10AM ET
ASF - Zoom
Sign-up Now!
Registration: $10.
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The American Society for Jewish Music with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and American Sephardi Federation presents:
Darius Milhaud’s Opera “Esther de Carpentras”
Featuring Drs. Katharina Galor, Edwin Seroussi, and Sam Torjman Thomas
“Esther de Carpentras is an opera-bouffe in two acts composed by Darius Milhaud and based on a text by Armand Lunel. It premiered in 1938 at the Paris Opéra Comique, just two years prior to Milhaud’s escape to the United States. Both the music and libretto reference the literary and theatrical interpretations of the biblical Esther story and integrate the Jewish heritage of Milhaud and Lunel with that of the papal domains of Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin (13th to 18th centuries) in southern France. Traditional readings of the Esther stories and the accompanying theatrical performances took place during the festival of Purim in the carrières (Jewish ghettos) of the cities of Avignon, Cavaillon, Carpentras, and L’isle-sur-Sorgue. In the synagogues, the biblical text was read in Hebrew, understood exclusively by the community’s men, while the literary, musical, and theatrical performances were staged in colloquial Judéo-Provençal, thus accessible also to the community’s women and children. Similar musical and theatrical performances existed in other Jewish (Ashkenazi and Sephardic) and Christian communities of Europe, a heritage that shaped both the composer’s and librettist’s vision.
This performance will feature excerpts from the opera, a video animation interpreting the work, as well as short lectures.”
23 September @ 7PM ET
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
Sign-up Now!
Registration: Required; Tickets Complimentary
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Our friends at Qesher present:
The Jews of Indonesia: A Diverse Community Across Many Islands
“Consisting of over 17,000 islands, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic state, the world's fourth-most-populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. But unknown to many, it is also home to a small but committed number of Jews.
Rabbi Kunin will examine the diverse “kehilot” that comprise one of the most isolated re-emerging Jewish communities in the world. Descended from many different Jewish diasporas, Indonesia’s Jews span the archipelago from Sumatra to Papua Indonesia. Each of their communities is unique, with its own history and culture, yet together they form a vibrant whole, creating a Judaism which is absolutely authentic, and at the same time uniquely Indonesian.”
Sunday, 29 September at 3:00PM EDT
Sign-up Now!
Tickets: $9-$18
About the speaker:
“Rabbi David Kunin graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in Medieval History and then attended the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he was ordained as a Rabbi and received an MA in Judaic Studies.
David is a strong believer in the importance of good and harmonious relations between people from diverse religious communities. Interfaith relations have therefore been a continuous mark of his rabbinate. He served as the Chair of the Southern Tier Interfaith Coalition (Elmira, NY), where he created the Walking Together program, and was a long time board member and president of the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action. He received the Alberta Centennial Medal in recognition of his community work.
David has also been working with the emerging Jewish Community of Indonesia for ten years. David is also the rabbi of Congregation Beth David in Saratoga, CA.”
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Our friends at Kanisse: A Modern Sephardic + Mizrahi Community present:
Multicultural High Holiday Services
Dates and Locations
Rosh Hashanah Tashlikh Service
Thursday, 3 October at 3:30PM
@ Pier 57
57 Hudson River Greenway (at 15th Street), New York, NY
We will be meeting on the upper rooftop under the shade canopy.
Yom Kippur Eve
Friday, 11 October
6:03PM Candle Lighting / Fast Begins
6:30PM Evening Prayers - Qabbalat Shabbat and ‘Arvit
873 Broadway @ 18 Street, Suite #410, New York, NY 10003
Yom Kippur Day
Saturday, 12 October
9:30AM Morning Prayers - Shaḥarit and Musaf
4:45PM Evening prayers - Minḥah and Ne’ilah
873 Broadway @ 18 Street, Suite #301, New York, NY 10003
Sign-up Now!
(Tickets: $0-$1,001)
“Kanisse will be hosting a special Rosh Hashanah Tashlikh Service (“casting-off” of sins) on the Hudson. A short program that will begin with quintessential holiday piyyutim followed by traditional and alternative Tashlikh readings along the river’s edge..
This year’s Yom Kippur Services will be led by our stellar returning cantorial team: Galeet Dardashti, who will be leading us in the Persian tradition, and Abe Safdie, who will be leading us in the Syrian tradition. Services will also be livestreamed for those joining us at a distance. At the conclusion of Yom Kippur, a break-fast of Middle Eastern delicacies will be served.”
*Please note: We are sharing this announcement as a public service. This is not an ASF program.