The American Sephardi Federation joins our friends and partners, Association Mimouna, in mourning the passing of Morocco's Chief Rabbi, Rav. Aaron Monsonego, A"H.
How did Zakaria Siraj, a young, promising Moroccan filmmaker, find his way to this summer’s Jerusalem Film Workshop? The American Sephardi Federation, of course. Once in Israel, Siraj quickly saw beyond the media headlines: “‘When I came here, on the first day I went to the Old City, and I saw that it was safer than the US.’”
Casablanca, Morocco-born Zakaria Siraj has created a series of exceptional films of ASF events, beginning in January with Manhattan’s 1st International Ladino Day
The Israeli “Yamma Ensemble” performs Greater Sephardi music (as well as Hasidic music) with delicacy, technical proficiency, and soulfulness. In this live performance, the Ensemble performs a beautiful Ladino classic, Sien Drahmas Al Dia (“One Hundred Drachmas for a Day”), a song preserved among Greek Jewish communities from the time of the expulsion from Spain.
The Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca is the only Jewish museum in the Arab-Islamic world. That might soon change, however, as another museum is may open in Morocco, this time in Fez. Mehdi Qotbi, President of the National Foundation of Moroccan Museums, explains that all Moroccans possess a “common memory,” and, “an essential part of our culture… is Judaism.”
Maktuv*: An Evening of Islamic and Jewish Calligraphy:
Monday, 13 August 6:00- 7:30PM Join MALA and ASF for an interactive workshop led by experiential educator and artist Ruben Shimonov!
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
Sold Out!
We will explore the significance of Arabic in Islam and Hebrew in Judaism, as well as the close relationship between both Semitic languages. It'll be a space to share our personal connections with the holy languages of our respective faiths and to engage with these two languages through a hands-on calligraphy workshop!
No background in Arabic or Hebrew calligraphy necessary. Refreshments will be served.
*As cognates, Maktoob and Ketuv mean “written” in Arabic and Hebrew respectively.
About our workshop leader:
Born in Uzbekistan, Ruben Shimonov belongs to the native Persian-speaking Jewish population of Central Asia. This community—the Bukharian Jews—have lived alongside their Muslim neighbors for 1300 years, engaging in cultural and intellectual commerce.
Given his background, Ruben possesses a strong passion for Muslim-Jewish community building. He has brought this interest to his academic, professional and community leadership work, including his involvement with the American Sephardic Federation (ASF) where he currently serves as the Vice-President of Education and Community Engagement on the Young Leadership board. Ruben is also an ASF 2018 Broome & Allen Fellow.
His interest in Muslim-Jewish dialogue has also informed his artistic work, inspiring him to create multilingual calligraphy that juxtaposes and weaves together Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian. He currently studies at New York University, pursuing a dual Master’s in Public Administration and Judaic Studies.
We look forward to seeing you!
The American Sephardi Federation highly recommends attendance at this fascinating event exploring the Western Sephardi tradition: Congregation Shearith Israel Presents:
Monday, 13 August 7:00PM Congregation Shearith Israel
The Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue
2 West 70th Street
New York, NY 10023
How much do you really know about our "sister" S&P communities around the world?
Jamaica, Philadelphia, Montreal, Paris, and other wonderful communities, near and far, share in our rich, historical tradition.
Learn about them and hear first-hand accounts directly from friends who grew up in these communities, who will tell us about their unique histories and traditions as well as our shared ties going back hundreds of years.
Moderated by our lifelong S&P and ASF member and founder of S&P Central Joshua Mendes.
The ASF’s Sephardi Scholars Series Presents:
Bayt Farhi and the Sephardic Palaces of Ottoman Damascus
Monday, 17 September, at 7:00PM Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
Professor Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis will present new research on the remarkable courtyard houses of the Farhi and other important Sephardic families in late 18th/early 19th century Damascus.
Her analysis of architecture and décor offers a lens into the Damascene Jewish community and its interaction with Ottoman culture.
Professor Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis, an active archaeologist and architectural historian, is the author of Bayt Farhi and the Sephardic Palaces of Ottoman Damascus in the Late 18th and 19th Centuries(American Schools of Oriental Research, 2018). She currently teaches at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY), where she also serves as the Acting Executive Officer in M.A. in Liberal Studies and directs the M.A. in Liberal Studies concentration in Archaeology of the Classical, Late Antique, and Islamic Worlds. She is the Deputy Director of Manar al-Athar, an open-access digital humanities resource for the study of the Middle East, co-director of the Upper Egypt Mosque Project, serves on the governing board of the Archaeological Institute of America, and is both Smarthistory’s Governing Board Chairperson and Contributing Editor for Art of the Islamic World. Professor Macaulay-Lewis has a DPhil in Classical Archaeology from Oxford University.
We look forward to seeing you!
Image Credit: "Old Damascus, Jew's Quarter" by Frederick Leighton, 1874 (Photo courtesy of Museum Syndicate)
Yemenite Faces and Scenes & Episodes in Yemenite History
The Teimani Experience, which closed on 5 June, continues in part with a photographic exhibit in our Leon Levy Gallery and an art exhibit in the Myron Habib, A"H, Memorial Display.
On view until September
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
Yemenite Faces and Scenes: Photographs by Naftali Hilger
Intrepid photographer and photo-journalist Naftali Hilger traveled extensively in Yemen in the late 1980s and early 1990s photographing structures, street scenes, and the last remnants of Jewish life. These images—including of Yemenite children learning to read Torah upside-down in their father’s shop and a family relaxing in their diwan (salon)—depict an existence that has faded into history as the ever-shrinking community has found refuge in a government compound at Sana’a.
Episodes in Yemenite History: Paintings by Tiya Nachum
A series of eight paintings by the artist and sculptor Tiya Nachum of Encino, CA. The paintings reflect the tragedies and triumphs of Yemenite Jewish history, from the Mawza exile to the founding of the Inbal Dance Troupe by Sara Levy. Each painting tells a story and each story is a history onto itself.
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The American Sephardi Federation is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street, New York, New York, 10011).