In Memory of Rabbi Dr. Abraham Levy, OBE (A”H), an exemplar and champion of Classic Sephardic Judaism as leader of “Britain’s oldest synagogue body [the Spanish & Portuguese Community] for 32 years and having served it for 50 years in all” at the time of his retirement. Born on Gibraltar to a Moroccan Jewish father with Tangerine roots, Rabbi Levy received his semikha from Jews’ College (London School of Jewish Studies) and his doctorate from the University of London. He purportedly “advised boys who wanted to study at a yeshiva to always select one which had the works of the rationalist Maimonides on the bookshelf.” R’Levy’s service to the community included founding Naima Jewish Primary School, providing ecclesiastical guidance to the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and launching “a leadership programme for young Jewish adults, among whose alumni was the future Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.” King Charles III, who was hosted by Rabbi Levy at the 300th Anniversary of the Bevis Marks Synagogue, remembers “him both as a kind and towering figure in his community and as a greatly respected and admired teacher across communities.” His successor, Rabbi Joseph Dweck, praises R’Levy’s “integrated, whole, beautiful Judaism,” which was both “humanistic, pragmatic, emphatic” and “staunchly traditional and halachic.” “My wonderful cousin,” says Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan Nahoum, “represented the real meaning of the Sephardi spirit and tradition of bridge building; between religious and secular Jews, between Ashkenazim and Sephardim and between Jews, Christians and Muslims.” The ASF was represented at the Lauderdale Road Synagogue’s memorial service for R’Levy by Ruben Shimonov, our National Director of Sephardi House & Young Leadership. May Rabbi Levy’s memory be for a blessing always.
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!
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✨“Rav Karo and the Holy City of Safed in the Context of Ottoman Law and Sufi Practice”
By Roni Weinstein, Tablet Magazine
Joseph ben Ephraim Karo’s Sefer Shulhan HaPanim published by Mosheh ben Shelomoh Ashkenazi, Venice, 1712
(Scan of the edition in the ASF’s National Sephardic Library & Archives, a gift of Dr. Jacques Roumani and Family, and which was featured in Sephardic Journeys, a David Berg Rare Book Room at the Center for Jewish History exhibit that is now part of Google Arts & Culture)
R’Yosef Karo (1488-1575), jurist and mystic, was born in Spain but ultimately settled in the great 16th c. center of kabbala (mysticism) and halakha (law), Ottoman-era Tzfat. Karo’s legal code, the Shulhan Aruh (“The Set Table”), is the last codification of Jewish law, and his more expansive commentary, Beit Yosef (“House of Joseph”), is still considered to be the indispensable touchstone for halakhic discussion. At the same time, Karo led “an active and intense visionary and ecstatic life.” How can we understand this fusion of the seemingly disparate realms of mysticism and law? Understanding the Ottoman context is helpful. According to “the Ottoman culture of the time… [l]aw and mysticism are not two distinct hats worn by the same person, but two complementary occupations.” What’s more, Ottoman rulers “were also often regarded as providers of law and justice and as people of saintly and mystical character.”
Feature: Diarna Insights No. 4: Tomb of The Baba Sali’s Grandfather, Damanhour, Egypt ⚰️ 🙌
Insights: A Diarna video series spotlighting Jewish sites across the Middle East is made possible by the Elizabeth and Oliver Stanton Foundation
In this edition of the Diarna Geo-Museum of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Life’s Insights Series we travel deep into the Nile Delta to visit the tomb of one of Morocco's greatest rabbis, the grandfather of the Baba Sali.
Located in Damanhour (Damanhur), about 35 miles south east of Alexandria, Egypt, is the tomb of Rabbi Ya’akov Abuhatzera (Abuhasera) (רבי יעקב אבוחצירא), who is known as the Abir Yaakov (אביר יעקב) (“Prince Jacob”).
Born in Morocco’s southeast Tafilalet region early in the 19th century, the Abir Ya’akov is credited with building a following on the edge of the Sahara. Apparently sensing his own mortality, he set out at an advanced age on a trek across the Maghreb towards Jerusalem.
He only made it as far as Damanhour, a city whose embattled Jewish community had endured a succession of pogroms in the 1870s over false accusations of ritual murder, reverberations of the Damascus Blood Libel. During his stay, the rabbi emerged as a figure revered not only by Jews but also Muslims, who deemed him a wali, or holy man. After he died of illness on January 4, 1880 (20 Tevet 5640), his shrine soon became a pilgrimage destination.
After the Camp David Accords, thousands of Jews from around the world would come to mark the hillula, or anniversary of the Abir Ya'akov's death. Since 2011, while site has been closed to pilgrims—the result of an Islamist-led campaign— it has been mysteriously restored.
Renovated yet devoid of pilgrims, the tomb rests in its silent glory, waiting for the days when visitors are allowed back to visit and pay their respects to this great rabbi.
See also: “A Monumental Test for Egypt,” The Algemeiner, 31 December 2012
✡️ “The untold story of Jews expelled from Iraq”
By Eliezer Hayun, Ynet
Cover of Dr. Tvi Yehuda’s book, In Torments of Salvation, the Expulsion of Jews from Iraq
(Scan courtesy of YNet)
Dr. Tzvi Yehuda, 86, worked on his latest book, In Torments of Salvation, the Expulsion of Jews from Iraq, for 35 years. In exploring the history of Iraqi Jewry during the first half of the 20th century, Yehuda “(shatters) the myth of how some 125,000 Jews supposedly left Iraq because of a ‘Zionist plot.’” How did the story of a Zionist plot begin to circulate? Iraqi propaganda, says Yehuda, “(T)he radio and press in Iraq flooded the consciousness with this narrative… After being translated worldwide, the propaganda became the accepted narrative of both the UN and the American State Department.”
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By Shalach Manot
Translated by Jane Mushabac
His Hundred Years, A Tale by Shalach Manot is a novel about a Turkish Jew, a peddler, an everyman, in the fast-deteriorating Ottoman Empire and in New York.
“This fascinating book by gifted writer and storyteller Shalach Manot reflects on the life of an unusual Sephardic man, his childhood in Turkey, and later, his adaptation to life in America. We follow his adventures and come away with a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Sephardic immigrant experience during the 20th century.” — Rabbi Marc D. Angel, author of The Crown of Solomon and Other Stories.
“Sensitive and gripping portraits of diverse Turkish Jewish women caught in a patriarchal system.”—Gloria J. Ascher, Professor and Co-Director of Judaic Studies, Tufts University.
The Wolf of Baghdad (Memoir of a lost homeland)
By Carol Isaacs
In the 1940s a third of Baghdad’s population was Jewish. Within a decade nearly all 150,000 had been expelled, killed or had escaped. This graphic memoir of a lost homeland is a wordless narrative by an author homesick for a home she has never visited.
Transported by the power of music to her ancestral home in the old Jewish quarter of Baghdad, the author encounters its ghost-like inhabitants who are revealed as long-gone family members. As she explores the city, journeying through their memories and her imagination, she at first sees successful integration, and cultural and social cohesion. Then the mood turns darker with the fading of this ancient community’s fortunes.
This beautiful wordless narrative is illuminated by the words and portraits of her family, a brief history of Baghdadi Jews and of the making of this work. Says Isaacs: ‘The Finns have a word, kaukokaipuu, which means a feeling of homesickness for a place you’ve never been to. I’ve been living in two places all my life; the England I was born in, and the lost world of my Iraqi-Jewish family’s roots.’
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
ASF Institute of Jewish Experience programming is asking for your input to better design our future program. This survey will not take more than 5 minutes and your input is very important.
All responses will remain confidential. In appreciation for your participation in the survey we would like to extend to you a complimentary course license ($40 value).
During 2022 we conducted over 60 programs covering different topics. Many of our programs are recorded and available on our web site at InstituteofJewishExperience.org.
Please share this survey with friends and family even if they didn’t attend our programs, their ideas are important for future programs.
We thank you for partnering with us to bring the most innovative and informative programs about our diverse Jewish nation.
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Building your family tree with the Genie Milgrom databases
Join us as Genie Milgrom shows you the databases available and how to use them to build out your family tree and complete the application process.
Wednesday, 4 January 11:00AM EDT
(Complimentary RSVP)
Sign-up Now!
Sponsorship opportunities available:
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Las bases de datos de Genie Milgrom y la construcción de su árbol genealógico
Únase a nosotros mientras discutimos el proceso necesario para solicitar el Certificado de Herencia Sefardí. Le mostraremos las bases de datos disponibles y cómo usarlas para construir su árbol genealógico y completar el proceso de solicitud.
Miércoles, 4 Enero 1:00PM EDT
(RSVP gratis)
Regístrese Ahora!
Sponsorship opportunities available:
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
A Yemenite Jerusalem Power Couple: The Story of Rabbi and Rabbanit Kapach
Join us for a movie and discussion!
A link to the film, Two Legacies three days before the program to watch at their leisure. Einat Kapach will join on Zoom to talk about making the movie, about her grandparents, their contributions to the Jewish world, and how we each gained from their legacy.
Wednesday, 11 January at 12:00PM EDT
(Tickets: $15)
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About the film:
Yosef and Bracha married when they were 12 in Sana`a, Yemen and lived together for close to 70 years. Yosef became absorbed in his books, while Bracha took care of the needy. Before he dies, Rabbi Yosef Kapach hands his granddaughter Einat, director of the film, a bundle of pages which uncover a secret he has kept close to his heart his entire life—the secret of the theological war that split the Yemenite Jewish community. The documents tell of his persecution as a young orphan by the Jews of Yemen, a persecution that continues until the day he dies in Israel. Having read these words, Einat sets out on a journey to understand why he chose her to pass on the legacy and how he managed to turn his life around from such a lonely point and to become a world-famous Jewish philosopher.
About the director:
Einat Kapach is a screenwriter and director who lives and creates in her native Jerusalem. A graduate of the Ma’aleh Film School with an MA from the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, Einat lectures on film and Jewish identity in different communities in Israel and abroad including small Jewish communities in the US and Africa. She directed the award-winning film Jephtah’s Daughterwhich played at numerous festivals around the world. She was a diarist in the film Peace Diarieswhich details the lives of Israelis and Palestinians over a six month period. Einat is frequently invited to lecture at various foundations and was a judge at the 2009 Jerusalem Film Festival. She recently directed the documentary film Two Legacies and her feature script At the End of a Long Daywon the Minister of Education’s award for Artists in the field of Jewish Culture.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
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The Center for Hewish History with the American Sephardi Federation presents:
Citizen, Subject, National, Protégé
“In this talk, Jessica Marglin (University of Southern California) will trace the modern history of Jewish citizenship in North Africa and the Middle East, including nationality legislation; the abolition of dhimmi status; the status of Jews in European colonies; and their citizenship in independent nation-states.”
Thursday, 19 January at 7:00PM EDT
(Tickets: $8 general; $5 members, seniors, students)
Sign-up Now!
About the Speaker:
Jessica Marglin is Associate Professor of Religion, Law, and History, and the Ruth Ziegler Early Career Chair in Jewish Studies at the University of Southern California. She earned her PhD from Princeton and her BA and MA from Harvard. Her research focuses on the history of Jews and Muslims in North Africa and the Mediterranean, with a particular emphasis on law. She is the author of Across Legal Lines: Jews and Muslims in Modern Morocco (Yale University Press, 2016) and The Shamama Case: Contesting Citizenship across the Modern Mediterranean(Princeton University Press, 2022).
This lecture is part of the Sid Lapidus Lecture Series, programs created in partnership with the exhibition How Jews Became Citizens: Highlights from the Sid Lapidus Collection. Click here for information about the exhibit.
The exhibit and program have been made possible by the generous support of Sid and Ruth Lapidus, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Warriors and Mystics
Iran’s Jewish community is one of the oldest diaspora communities in the world. But is there more to those 2700 years than Queen Esther and the Islamic Revolution? This talk examines the lesser-known parts of Iran’s Jewish History, a vast story of prophets, autonomous nations, divergent sects, epic poetry, and political intrigue. Through the music, languages, foods, writings, traditions, and stories of two millennia, along with their ties to neighboring and faraway communities, the Jews of Iran have forged a culture at once Persian and Jewish, with traditions and aesthetics uniquely their own. In this two-part series, we will explore notable personalities in this rich history, from over 1,500 years ago and more recently.
On Sundays
22 January at 12:00PM EDT
29 January at 12:00PM EDT
(Registration is required for each session; Tickets: $11)
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About the speaker:
Alan Niku is a filmmaker, writer, and scholar of Mizrahi culture from San Luis Obispo, California, based in Los Angeles. A native speaker of Persian, he spends his time learning related Jewish languages, deciphering Judeo-Persian manuscripts, and interviewing community members about their stories. He is also a musician and an amateur chef, teaches history and Jewish heritage at various levels, and seeks to educate the world about the underrepresented cultures of the Middle East through his writing and films.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
1925-1979:
How Iran’s Jews Flourished & Helped Iran Prosper
Join story-breaking Iranian American journalist Karmel Melamed for a look at how the Jews or Iran were at the forefront of arts, academia, international trade, industry, technology, medicine, and engineering before the Islamist revolution and persecution under the Khomeinist regime.
Monday, 23 January at 12:00PM EDT
(Tickets: $10)
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Sponsorship opportunities available:
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The American Sephardi Federation, the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America, the Sephardic Foundation on Aging, and Shearith Israel League Foundation proudly present:
Kontar i Kantar:
The 6th Annual New York Ladino Day
Curated by Jane Mushabac and Bryan Kirschen
Featuring:
Tony- and Grammy-nominated Broadway star Shoshana Bean
A conversation with Michael Frank, author of One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World
Judith Cohen, Sing Me a Story, on Sephardic Romansas
Musical Finale, Susana Behar and guitarist Michel Gonzalez
In-Person! Also on Zoom
Sunday, 29 January at 2:00PM EDT
(Early Bird Tickets are $20)
Sign-up Now!
Sign-up for Zoom Now!
Ladino is a bridge to many cultures. A variety of Spanish, it has absorbed words from Hebrew, Turkish, Arabic, French, Greek, and Portuguese. The mother tongue of Jews in the Ottoman Empire for 500 years, Ladino became the home language of Sephardim worldwide. While the number of Ladino speakers has sharply declined, distinguished Ladino Day programs like ours celebrate and preserve a vibrant language and heritage. These programs are, as Aviya Kushner has written in the Forward, “Why Ladino Will Rise Again.”
Since 2013, Ladino Day programs have been held around the world to honor Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish. January 29th marks New York’s 6th Annual Ladino Day hosted by the American Sephardi Federation.
© Rhodes, mid-19th century Sephardi & Romaniot Jewish Costumes in Greece & Turkey. 16 watercolours by Nicholas Stavroulakis published by the Association of the Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece, Athens, 1986.
Sponsorship 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.