Argentine Jewish writer Marcos Aguinis has been, “a Latin American literary powerhouse for 50 years.” His recently translated 1991 novel, Against the Inquisition, “is based on the astounding true story of… a 17th-century doctor descended from conversos, who re-embraced his Judaism.” The novel’s mind-bending launching point is an historically accurate secret rite, a kind of converso “Bar Mitzvah,” in which a young man, upon turning thirteen, is informed for the first time that he is Jewish. But the book is not simply a period piece, “The novel’s bones are those of the author’s own encounters with authoritarian regimes and the groupthink that supports them.”
Cover of Against the Inquisition, "[a] stirring song of freedom," according to Mario Vargas Llosa, Noble Prize Laureate and Latin American proponent of liberty (Photo courtesy of Amazon)
Yaron Pe’er performs a Succot piyyut from the Afghani tradition, Yevorakh Shem Kavod (“Blessed be the Name of Glory”) by Yitzhak Ben David. Even though Ben David embedded his name as an acrostic in the beginning of each rhyme and added in the last line that he is the father of six sons, we know little else about him, including when and where he lived.
Sephardi woman wearing a pearled swalf, Fez, Morocco, 1930s (Photo courtesy of J. Besancenot/J Weekly)
The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco is hosting an exhibit, “Veiled Meanings: Fashioning Jewish Dress, from the Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem,” that tells the story of the Diaspora through an unconventional source: clothing. Running through January, 2019, the exhibit especially highlights, “garments from nations in Central Asia, the Mideast and North Africa.” Among the remarkable items on display is the “Great Dress,” a garment tailored in post-Renaissance style that originated in Spain and was worn in the 20th century by Moroccan Jewish women, “a reminder that many of the Jews of Morocco… were descended from refugees who were forced to leave the Iberian Peninsula, or face death, in the late 15th century.”
The photo in the 7 September edition of The Sephardi World Weekly purporting to be of Moroccan Chief Rabbi Aharon Monsongo, A”H, was actually of Rabbi David Messas, A”H. We thank perceptive SWW reader Yaacov Sultan for noting the mistaken identification, which was unfortunately in our original source (Yabiladi) and other news websites. We regret the error.
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
Please click here to make a reservation Festival Passes and VIP Festival Passes are available.
VIP Tickets and VIP Passes include access to the Closing Night Afterparty
Sophisticated Sephardi sounds will be heard at the second edition of the American Sephardi Music Festival. Featuring world-class artists who reflect the rich mosaic culture of Greater Sephardic communities, the ASMF is a proud partner of the renowned Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques in Essaouira, Morocco.
The Philos Project and American Sephardi Federation cordially invite you to “Nosotros," an exhibition composed of pieces by Latino artists celebrating the shared history and culture of Jewish and Latino communities, and expressing hope for a more positive future. Latin American artistry is rich with Sephardi and Crypto-Jewish allusions and symbols.
The exhibit is titled “Nosotros,” the Spanish word for “us,” and all of the art represents the growing relationship between the Jewish and Hispanic communities in New York and around the world. The exhibit is one of the many things Jesse Rojo, The Philos Project's Hispanic Affairs Director, is doing to bridge the gap between Hispanics and the Middle East.
Rachael Reynolds, a graduate from our 2018 Philos Leadership Institute (PLI) cohort, is one of the featured artists. She will be showcasing portraits she took on PLI that compare the lives of Christians living freely in Israel to the lives of Christian refugees in Jordan. Through her project, Rachael is not only advocating for the protection of Christians in Arab states, but also elevating Israel as the model for state protection of religious freedom in the Middle East.
We look forward to seeing you!
The Jewish Genealogical Society and The American Sephardi Federation Present:
Branching out from Sepharad: Solving a Converso Mystery with Sarina Roffé
Sunday, 21 October, at 2:00PM Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
Ticket Info:
For non-members: $5 at the door
Free for JGS, ASF, NYG&B members
Sarina Roffé, professional genealogist, founder of the Sephardic Heritage Project, and author of Branching Out from Sepharad: A Global Journey of Selected Rabbinic Families with Biographies and Genealogies (Forward by Professor Walter P. Zenner, Sephardic Heritage Project, 2017), outlines the history and expulsion of Jews in Spain, their history in Syria, and immigration to the Americas.
She discusses the Kassin rabbinic dynasty from the 12th century through the 50-year leadership of Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin in Brooklyn, and solves a Converso mystery.
Professor Mohammad Gharipour will discuss his research and recently published book, Synagogues of the Islamic World: Architecture, Design, and Identity (Edinburgh University Press, 2017), which explores how the architecture of synagogues in Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain responded to contextual issues and traditions, as well as how these contexts influenced the design and evolution of synagogues. The book considers patterns of the development of synagogues in urban contexts in connection with urban elements and monuments, while revealing how synagogues reflect the culture of the Jewish minority at macro and micro scales.
This presentation is being made possible by the generous support of The Cahnman Foundation.
Mohammad Gharipour is Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University at Baltimore, Maryland. He obtained his Masters in Architecture from the University of Tehran and a Ph.D. in Architecture and Landscape History from Georgia Institute of Technology. He has received several awards, including the Hamad Bin Khalifa Fellowship in Islamic Art, the Spiro Kostof Fellowship Award from the Society of Architectural Historians, the National Endowment in Humanities Faculty Award, and was recognized as "one of the twelve minority scholars in the US who are making their mark in academia" in 2016 by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine. Professor Gharipour's books include Bazaar in the Islamic City (American University of Cairo Press, 2012), Persian Gardens and Pavilions: Reflections in Poetry, Arts, and History (I.B. Tauris, 2013), Calligraphy and Architecture in the Muslim World(co-edited with Irvin Schick, Edinburgh University Press, 2013), The City in the Muslim Word: Depictions by Western Travelers (co-edited with Nilay Ozlu, Routledge, 2014), and Sacred Precincts: The Religious Architecture of Non-Muslim Communities across the Islamic World (Brill, 2014). He is the director and founding editor of the International Journal of Islamic Architecture (www.intellectbooks.com/ijia)
How do you want to present yourself to, and be remembered by, someone who never knew you in your life?
What facet of your existence do you want the world to be aware of in 100+ years?
Tuesday, 30 October, 4:30PM - 6:30PM Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City Please note that there are two parts to this event:
1.) Tour of the Spanish and Portuguese cemetery on 21st St west of 6th Ave,
&
2.) A workshop in American Sephardi Federation at The Center for Jewish History.
One of the public things that people leave behind after they die are epitaphs and final disposition markers. These texts are curated presentations of a life lived and represent what people think of their life's achievements and how they want to be remembered by others. Join us as we think about this question and craft our own presentations, framed by the larger question of: what remains of this text and these tombstones after 100+ years?
"Let's bring death out of the shadows and into the light." #LetsReImagine
We look forward to seeing you!
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 October
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).