In Memory of Daniel Bitton, A”H
~Marissa Sappho
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
📺“Reviving endangered Ladino language in Turkey”
By Andalou Agency, Daily Sabah
Forti Barokas, Istanbul, Turkey, 19 February 2022 (Photo courtesy of Anadolu Agency)
Approximately 8,000 Ladino-speakers remain in Turkey, descendants of Iberian-Jewish exiles who speak a Spanish spiced with Hebrew and Turkish but that is no longer spoken by Turkish Jewish youth. Forti Barokas is one of those Ladino-speakers, and she works as a consultant on “The Club,” the popular Netflix program depicting “the life of a Ladino-speaking Jewish woman in the Istanbul metropolis amid some difficult days in the 1950s.” Despite the well-known, 20th century campaign of Turkish authorities to compel the use of the Turkish language, Barokas believes Turkish Jews also shoulder some of the responsibility for Ladino’s fate: “‘[W]e are the ones who killed the language… It’s my generation, so there is regret.’”
Feature: A Delicious Musical Dish: “Hamina!” 🎶
Omer Avital
(Photo courtesy of Enlace Judío)
What happens when you extend, elaborate, and refine Mizrahi music into jazz? “Hamina!” Composed by Omer Avital, the Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based jazz bassist, bandleader and pioneer of Israel's “east-west” sound—an eastern core expanded through Western orchestration and harmony together with jazz improvisation and swing—"Hamina" was first recorded by Third World Love, the all-star jazz band featuring Avishai Cohen on trumpet, Yonatan Avishai on piano, Daniel Freedman on drums, and Avital on bass. As for the name, it's the celebratory, musical equivalent of what Greater Sepharadim eat on Shabbat, “Hamina!”
🏠“The lost story of how a Jewish family saved Thomas Jefferson’s famous home – twice”
By Renee Ghert-Zand, The Times of Israel
Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy, American Sephardi patriot, savior of Monticello, and “author of the law for the abolition of the barbarous practice of corporal punishment in the United States Navy” (Image courtesy of The National Center for Jewish Film)
Did you know that a distinguished American Sephardi family, the Levys, played a leading role in preserving one of America’s most important National Historic Landmarks, Monticello, the architectural masterpiece that Thomas Jefferson built just outside of Charlottesville? A new documentary, The Levys of Monticello, tells the story. Says director Stephen Pressman: “‘You can’t get more American than the Levys, yet they, as Jews, were dismissed as aliens and outsiders,.. I wanted to make a film with a narrow focus on a personal experience of a single family, but also a broader focus on the Jewish American experience.’”
📝✡️️“Seeing the Light, With Shadows: Thoughts for Parashat Vayakhel”
By Rabbi Marc D. Angel, The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals
Rabbi Marc D. Angel, Ph.D
R’ Marc Angel, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel: the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of New York City and an ASF Advisory Board Member, identifies a beautiful image of the origin, progression, and delicate refinement of wisdom embedded in the language of last week’s Torah Portion, VaYakhel. The weekly portion details the structure of the Tabernacle, designed by the Biblical architect, Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur. Writes Angel: “The name Hur is related to the Hebrew word ‘Hor’—meaning a cave, a dark place. Uri is related to the Hebrew word ‘Or’—meaning light. Bezalel literally means “in the shadow of God”… Hur reminds us of darkness. Wisdom begins in “nothingness,” in a dark void of inner searching. But then wisdom proceeds into the light, into flashes of insight. This stage is suggested by the name Uri, light. Finally, though, wisdom requires the ability to balance darkness and light, to see nuances and subtleties. This is suggested by the name Bezalel, whose very name reminds us of shadowrs; not just any shadows, but “Godly” shadows, shadows of a wisdom so deep that it is sensitive to the mysteries of darkness and light.”
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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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The Historic Synagogues Of Turkey / Turkiye'nin Tarihi Sinagoglari
(In Turkish and English)
By Joel A. Zack
Photographs by Devon Jarvis
Drawings by Ceren Kahraman
Published by the American Sephardi Federation
This project testifies to a historic Jewish community of vibrancy and dynamism that once dotted Turkey. Dating back to Roman and Byzantine times, Jews thrived on Turkish soil, finding refuge in the tens of thousands after their expulsions from Spain, Portugal, and Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Joel Zack and his team have performed an important cultural service, retrieving for posterity rich testimony of the Jewish architectural heritage in Ottoman and modern Turkish History.
Saving Monticello; The Levy Family's Epic Quest to Rescue the House That Jefferson Built
By Marc Leepson
Levy discovered that Jefferson’s mansion had fallen into a miserable state of decay. Acquiring the ruined estate and committing his considerable resources to its renewal, he began what became a tumultuous nine-decade relationship between his family and Jefferson’s home. After passing from Levy control at the time of the commodore’s death, Monticello fell once more into hard times, cattle being housed on its first floor and grain in its once elegant upper rooms. Again, remarkably, a member of the Levy family came to the rescue. Uriah’s nephew, the aptly named Jefferson Monroe Levy, a three-term New York congressman and wealthy real estate and stock speculator, gained possession in 1879.
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Jewish Languages Today: Endangered, Surviving, and Thriving
Throughout history Jews have spoken many languages, such as Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, Jewish Neo-Aramaic (Iraq-Iran), and Judeo-Malayalam (Southern India). Over the past two centuries, migrations and other historical events have led to many of these languages becoming endangered. At the same time, Jews are now engaging with these languages in post-vernacular ways, such as through song and food, and new Jewish language varieties are developing, including Jewish English, Jewish Latin American Spanish, and Jewish French. This talk explains these developments and makes the case for the urgent need for documentation and reclamation.
Wednesday, 28 February at 12:00PM EST
Sign-up Now!
(Complimentary RSVP)
About the Speaker:
Dr. Sarah Benor is Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Los Angeles campus) and Adjunct Professor (by courtesy) in the University of Southern California Linguistics Department. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in Linguistics in 2004. She has published and lectured widely about Jewish languages, linguistics, Yiddish, American Jews, and Orthodox Jews. Her books include Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism (Rutgers, 2012) and Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps (Rutgers, 2020). Dr. Benor is founding co-editor of the Journal of Jewish Languages (Brill) and co-editor of Languages in Jewish Communities, Past and Present (De Gruyter Mouton, 2018).
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Torah and “Secular” Studies in the writings of Hakham Yosef Qafih (1917-2000)
(3 Part Series)
Join us for Part 1 with David Hazan: “Insights from our hakhamim by students of The Habura”.
Thursday, 3 March at 12:00PM EST
(Ticket: $5 per session)
Sign-up Now!
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Paving a New-Old Path: The Integration of Jewish Yemenite Folk Music in Israeli Art Music
The immigration of the Jews of Yemen to Israel began in the 13th century and lasts until this day. With them, Yemenite Jews brought their unique culture as reflected in their clothes, jewelry, food, art, dance and music.
The presentation deals with the meeting of five Israeli composers from the first generation who were educated in the western music style, combining the folk Yemenite music that the immigrants brought with them. In analyzing the Jewish Yemenite folk music as well as music compositions influenced by these folk songs, the level of influence was checked in matters of folk vocal sound production, texture, typical intervals, modes and maqamat and other folk-Yemenite parameters.
This research examines the ways any of those parameters appear in the concert music in pure, altered or complex way.
Sunday, 6 March at 12:00PM EST
(Ticket: $10 per session)
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About the speaker:
Naama Perel-Tzadok completed her MA studies in Music Composition at Haifa University, Israel. She has written music for diverse ensembles, and today they are performed by different orchestras, ensembles and choirs in Israel.
These days, she’s a lecturer at the technological college “Kineret”, in the sound engineering department.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Iranian Jewry: A Brief History
Dr. Daniel Tsadik Shares History
Jews have lived in Iran for more than 2,000 years. This ancient community had its trials and tribulations, but remained until today. Despite all vicissitudes, Iranian Jews remained true to their roots and connected to their heritage for generations. Dr. Daniel Tsadik will provide an overview of the Jews in that region from ancient times until today.
Tuesday, 8 March at 12:00PM EST
(Ticket: $10 per session)
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About the speaker:
A Fulbright scholar, Dr. Daniel Tsadik obtained his PhD in 2002 from the Yale University History Department. He authored several articles, a book entitled Between Foreigners and Shi‘is: Nineteenth-Century Iran and its Jewish Minority (Stanford University Press, 2007), another book entitled The Jews of Iran and Rabbinic Literature: New Perspectives (2019), which won the Israel Prime Minister Prize, and co-edited the book Iran, Israel and the Jews: Symbiosis and Conflict from the Archaemenids to the Islamic Republic (2019). From 2008 to 2020, Professor Tsadik taught at Yeshiva University, where he served as Associate Professor of Sephardic and Iranian Studies. His current research is on Shi‘ite-Jewish polemics.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The Department of Anthropology & Archeology at the University of Calgary, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University and Belzberg Program in Israel Studies, University of Calgary, & the American Sephardi Federation present:
Sephardi Thought and Modernity 2022 Webinar Series
Continuity and Rupture in Sephardi Modernities
(Second Edition)
On Wednesdays at 1:00PM EST
(10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK / 8pm Israel / 9:30pm Iran)
(Complimentary RSVP)
9 March
Deborah Starr (Cornell University) and Eyal Sagui Bizawe (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) Nostalgia as Critique: The Case of Jews in Egyptian Cinema
13 April
(10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 5pm UK / 7pm Israel / 8:30pm Iran - note time - US Daylight Savings)
Julia Philips Cohen (Vanderbilt University) and Devi Mays (University of Michigan) Middle Eastern and North African Jews in Paris: A Forgotten Chapter
11 May
(10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 5pm UK / 7pm Israel / 8:30pm Iran - note time - US Daylight Savings)
Vanessa Paloma Elbaz (University of Cambridge) Rhizomic networks of unruptured continuity from 16th c. Italy to 21st c. Casablanca: Music, Power, Mysticism and Neo-Platonism
In this second edition of the Sephardi Thought and Modernity Series we will focus on the question of continuity and rupture as a way to deepen our dialogue about the different forms that modernity has adopted throughout Sephardi history. We will discuss questions such as the meaning of the concept of “modernity” in non-European contexts such as the Levant and/or the Arab world. We will explore how non-European Jewish societies developed ways of life and practices that synthesized tradition, change and cultural diversity throughout time. We will delve into Sephardi intellectual life, cosmopolitanism, cultural belongings, language, translation and mobility.
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Sepharadi approach to Talmud Torah in the writings of Hakham Yosef Faur (1934-2020)
(3 Part Series)
Join us for Part 2 in our series “Insights from our Hakhamim with the students of The Habura.”
Thursday, 10 March at 12:00PM EST
(Ticket: $5 per session)
Sign-up Now!
About the speaker:
Yonatan Rahmani is a Jewish educator living in NYC. After completing the Springboard Fellowship at CUNY Queens College Hillel, he moved to Jerusalem to study at the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators. Yonatan returned to NYC as a member of the NYU Bronfman Center’s Student Life team, before joining YCT as a member of the inaugural JEWEL program. Yonatan is happiest when cooking, learning, hosting guests for Shabbat, and spending time with his family.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project, Iranian American Jewish Federation, Nessah Synagoque, and USC Caden Institute present:
Languages of the Jews of Iran: A series of online conversations and performances
On Sundays at 1:00PM EST
(10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK / 8pm Israel / 9:30pm Iran)
(Complimentary RSVP)
13 March
(10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 5pm UK / 7pm Israel / 8:30pm Iran - note time - US Daylight Savings)
Judeo-Persian in the 20th century: New research
Dr. Habib Borjian and Ibrāhīm Šafiʿī present personal documents written in Persian in Hebrew letters, and Alan Niku discusses the distinctive Tehran Jewish dialect of Persian based on recordings and fieldwork. Then, Cantor Jacqueline Rafii presents Passover psalms translated into Judeo-Persian and recorded by her grandfather in Tehran in 1971.
Jews in Iran historically spoke many languages - from Semitic, Median, and Persian language families. The languages/dialects of Jews in different cities and towns were so different that their speakers often could not understand each other. Now these longstanding Jewish languages are endangered, as most Jews shifted to standard Persian in Iran or to Modern Hebrew, English, and other languages after emigrating.
The HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project presents a series of conversations and performances highlighting this rich linguistic heritage. By attending these events, you will learn how Jewish languages compare to each other and to local Muslim, Zoroastrian, and Christian languages. You will be inspired by the elderly speakers and young activists who are working hard to preserve them for future generations. And you will be entertained by new songs in Judeo-Isfahani, Judeo-Hamadani, and Jewish Neo-Aramaic.
These events will last for 75 minutes. Please register for each event separately. While the Jewish Language Project usually posts recordings of events the following day, these events will only be accessible at the times they are presented (due to security concerns and preferences of some of the presenters). These events will also be screened in person at Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills, California. Learn more and RSVP for the in-person screenings here.
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Kavkazi, Georgian, and Bukharian Jews: At the Crossroads of Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian-Speaking Worlds
(3 Part Learning Series)
The histories and cultures of Bukharian, Kavkazi (Mountain), and Georgian Jews are situated at the unique intersection of Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian-Speaking Jewish (RSJ) identities. Through this 3-part learning series, we will explore the multilayered and rich stories of these millennia-old communities in Central Asia and the Caucasus—discovering the ways in which they have developed their mosaic cultures through dynamic interactions with the dominant and changing societies surrounding them. Our discussion will also shed light on how their experiences fit into the broader historical saga of the Jewish people.
On Tuesdays at 12:00PM EST
(Ticket: $10 per session)
22 March
(Part 3)
Sign-up Now!
About the Speaker:
Ruben Shimonov is an educator, community builder, and social entrepreneur with a passion for Jewish diversity. He previously served as Director of Community Engagement and Education at Queens College Hillel. Currently, Ruben is the American Sephardi Federation’s National Director of Sephardi House and Young Leadership. He is also the Founding Executive Director of the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network and Director of Educational Experiences & Programming for the Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee. He is an alumnus of the COJECO Blueprint, Nahum Goldmann and ASF Broome & Allen Fellowships for his work in Jewish social innovation and Sephardic scholarship. He has been listed among The Jewish Week's "36 Under 36" Jewish community leaders and changemakers. Currently, he is a Jewish Pedagogies Research Fellow at M² | The Institute of Experiential Jewish Education. Ruben has lectured extensively on the histories and cultures of various Sephardic and Mizrahi communities. He is also a visual artist specializing in multilingual calligraphy that interweaves Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
New Works Wednesday with Lior Sternfeld
Join us for New Works Wednesdays with Associate Professor Lior Sternfeld as he discusses his book Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran
Wednesday, 23 March at 11:00AM EST
(Complimentary RSVP)
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About the book:
"Between Iran and Zion" offers the first history of this vibrant community over the course of the last century, from the 1905 Constitutional Revolution through the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Over this period, Iranian Jews grew from a peripheral community into a prominent one that has made clear impacts on daily life in Iran.
About the author:
Lior is an associate professor of history and Jewish Studies. He is a social historian of the modern Middle East with particular interests in the histories of the Jewish people and other minorities of the region. His first book, titled Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran (Stanford University Press, 2018) examines, against the backdrop of Iranian nationalism, Zionism, and constitutionalism, the development and integration of Jewish communities in Iran into the nation-building projects of the last century. He is currently working on two book projects: The Origins of Third Worldism in the Middle East and a new study of the Iranian-Jewish Diaspora in the U.S. and Israel. He teaches on the modern Middle East, Iran, Jewish histories of the region, and Israel-Palestine related classes.
For more about the book: “Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran.”
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
The Evolving Nature of Humanity in the writings of Hakham Eliyahu Benamozegh (1822-1900)
(3 Part Series)
Join us for the final part of the series “Insights from our hakhamim by students of The Habura”.
Thursday, 24 March at 12:00PM EST
(Ticket: $5 per session)
Sign-up Now!
About the speaker:
Ohad Fedida attended the Talmudic University of South Florida. He is now completing a B.S in Psychology from Florida International University and is a research assistant at the TIES Lab. He is working toward a Clinical Psychology, PhD. Ohad is also a student at TheHabura.com
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org