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22 May 2020

In Memory of Janet Nassim, A”H., who “was blessed. She loved and was greatly loved by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was an exceptional role model of grace! She had a contagious love of life, love of laughter, and above all, love of family. She was always at her husband Albert’s side greeting friends, community members and supporting the establishment of the Babylonian Jewish Center in Great Neck. She will be greatly missed by all in our community and beyond. She is survived by her husband Albert, and her 3 children, Linda, Eddie, and Dina.”~David E.R. Dangoor, President of the American Sephardi Federation
 
Click here to dedicate a future issue in honor or memory of a loved one. 
“The Global Nação: Two Weeks of Western Sephardi-themed Sessions” continues on Sunday, 24 May at 10AM EDT with Azharot featuring Hazzanim in Amsterdam, Bayonne, Curaçao, Livorno, London, Manchester, Montreal, Paris, Philadelphia, and Rome!
 Sign-up now! 

And, on Tuesday, 26 May at 12PM EDT: a Tour of Western Sephardi Synagogues in Bayonne, Florence, Jamaica, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, London, Amsterdam, and Rome! 
Reserve your place!
“The Ancient Beauty of Yemenite Wedding Ceremonies, Up Close” 
By Liana Satenstein, Vogue
 
Vogue attends a Yemenite henna ceremony outside of Tel Aviv, and is struck by the splendor of it all – from the “beaded headdress” to the “chestful of necklaces” to the “temporary natural dye” painted in “intricate patterns” on “the hands of the bride.” Yafa Yehuda has been the go-to person for organizing henna ceremonies in Israel for the past twenty years, and she’s optimistic that the ancient ceremony has a bright future: “‘The younger generation wants to pass down the traditions of their parents and their grandparents… If they didn’t continue to have the henna celebration, it would die out. But people don’t want that to happen.’” With photos and a brief but wonderful video.

Don't miss Barak Oded’s series on the uniqueness of Yemenite songs and prayers presented by the ASF’s Institute of Jewish Experience & E’eleh BeTamar (Sundays at 12PM EDT on 31 May and 7 June).
Traditionally dressed Yemenite city bride Adva Tsur (née Zabari), Tel Aviv, Israel, Summer 2019
(Photo courtesy of Talia Collis/Vogue Magazine)
Feature: Six Songs with R’ Hayyim Louk


R’Hayyim Louk

Rabbi Hayyim Louk is the acknowledged master of the Moroccan-Jewish tradition of piyyut, liturgical (soul) music. A student of the legendary Rabbi David Buzaglo (1903 -1975), R’ Louk has broken through to Israel’s mainstream in recent years thanks to musical collaborations with popular recording artists. The Israel-born and Brooklyn-based jazz musician, Omer Avital, calls R’ Louk, “our Billie Holiday – a master at conveying emotion through a microphone.”

1) R’ Louk offers a stirring rendition of Naqdishakh with the New Jerusalem Orchestra. This song-prayer was adapted into Hebrew from the 20th-century Spanish opera, La Leyenda del Beso, by Yitzhak Kedoshim, the conductor of Louk’s childhood choir in Morocco. Louk remembers learning the music as a young boy who had recently lost his father.
 
2) R’ Louk opens with Yismach Moshe before seguing into a spirited version of Ashorer Shira, a 20th century love-song to the Torah composed by R’ Raphael Baruch Toledano (1890-1971). The piyyut is traditionally sung on Shabuot and Simhat Torah, the holidays celebrating the gift of the Torah.
 
3) R’ Louk at home with the Royal Andalusian Orchestra, in Morocco.
 
4) R’ Louk performs a touching Andalusian interpretation of Rachel’s poem, itself a beautiful classic Zionist anthem, VeUlay.
 
5) R’ Louk has fun backstage with Muslim friends before a performance in Morocco. The best part is when everyone joins together to sing Adon HaSelihot, a Hebrew-language piyyut pleading for mercy and associated with the High Holiday prayers.
 
6) R’ Louk peforms Tzur Shecheyani, also with the New Jerusalem Orchestra. The piyyut was written by Louk’s teacher, legendary 20th-century master Moroccan payytan Rabbi David Buzaglo, who adapted it from the Arabic song Ayli Hayani, composed by Mohamed Fouiteh (1928–1996).

The ASF Young Leaders led the only Sephardi Seder on Zoom in accordance with the ruling. Pictured are Seder leader and ASF YL Educational Coordinator Ruben Shimonov, ASF YL Founder & President Lauren Gibli, ASF Broome & Allen Fellow Richard Sassoon, and ASF YL Member Ben Cohen

 
“Why Sephardi and Mizrahi Approaches to Jewish Law Were Friendlier to the Zoom Seder” 
By Daniel Bouskila, Mosaic Magazine
 
What informed the thinking process of the rabbis who ruled that it is permissible to use Zoom on Passover? And what can that thinking process, particular to Classic Sephardi Judaism, contribute to Judaism, in general? One of the signatories to the ruling, R’ Daniel Bouskila, explains, citing Hakham Rabbi Yitschak Chouraqui, “attention to the ‘dynamic sources of human life,’… is a ‘central element’ in classic Sephardi and North African jurisprudence.” R’Bouskila goes on to say that “[t]o put this approach into practice as a factor in halakhic decision making, a sage must exhibit love for those affected by his decision, and sympathy for their needs and circumstances.”
 
“Outcry as Tomb of Mordechai and Esther in Iran reportedly set ablaze” 
Times of Israel
 
The partially subterranean synagogue topped by a “Jewish Star” visible from space adjacent to the Shrine of Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan, Iran, was set ablaze last week. While they deny involvement now, “members of the hard-line student Basij group in Hamadan province… released a statement [in February] threatening to tear down the building and replace it with a Palestinian consulate.”
Dr. Homayoun Sameh Yah, President of the Kalimian (Jewish) Association of Tehran, scored Shrine to Esther & Mordechai synagogue, Hamadan, Iran, May 2020
(Photo courtesy of The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)) 
Sephardi Gifts:
Ascending The Palm Tree
Edited by Dr. Rachel Yedid and Dr. Danny Bar-Maoz

Until about one hundred and thirty years ago, the Jewish community in Yemen was largely unknown. Despite the irregular connections that this ancient Diaspora held with the various centers of the world's Jewry, knowledge about the community remained somewhat vague.

E'ele Betamar ASF's partner in presenting The Yemenite Conference: Shared Jewish Cultural Values of Jews & Muslims in Yemen, has embarked on this great research project, which aims to document, preserve, research, and distribute Yemenite Jewry's heritage by publishing books that treat on Yemenite Jewish research in it's various branches.

Ascending the Palm Tree: An Anthology of the Yemenite Jewish Heritage includes several new studies that have been written specially for this book. Thus twenty-two articles have been collected, along with dozens of photographs, which gives the readers a glimpse into the special world of Yemenite Jews in the following areas: their history and their manner of life in their country of exile; the miraculous manner in which they immigrated to Eretz Israel; their costumes; the eye-catching, ornate decoration and architecture of their homes; the Jewish daughter's way of life in Yemen; and the expression of all these in song, in storytelling, and in dance.
Amallel Shir: Yemenite Poems Anthology
Edited by Professor Yosef Tobi and Shalom Seri

Amallel Shir is an annotated anthology of Yemenite poetry, featuring poems (songs) for Shabbat, holidays, weddings, and other events. The poems are in Hebrew and Yemenite Judeo-Arabic.

*Exclusively available at the ASF's Sephardi Shop 
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities:

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:



The Global Nação: 
 Azharot

Sunday 24 May at 10:00AM EDT 
Sign-up Now!

Shabu`ot celebrates the giving of the Torah. According to ancient tradition, the Torah enumerates 613 mitzvot:  248 positive commandments and 365 negative ones. In the Sephardic tradition, several poems enumerating each of the commandments have been written by various poets, these are called “Azharot” - Admonitions. The Western Sephardi custom is to read the version written by Solomon ibn Gabirol (1020-1069) with an introduction by David ben Eleazar Pekuda (12th c.) Traditionally, in Congregation Shearith Israel, they chant the Azharot “round-robin” style on the afternoons of Shabu`ot (reading the positive commandments on the first day and the negative commandments on the second day).  

This year since we cannot meet in the synagogue, Shearith Israel has joined together with sister congregations and hazzanim from around the world to host a special joint Azharot service in advance of the holiday. Rabbi Meir Soloveichik will give a brief introduction and Rabbi Ira Rohde will chant the Azharot together with Hazzanim from Philadelphia, Montreal, Paris, Bayonne, Florence, Amsterdam, London, and Israel.

This type of joint service brings together almost all of the Spanish and Portuguese communities extant today; something that has never been done before! 

We at the ASF IJE are proud to host this event via a Zoom Webinar. The greater community is invited to this unique experience.

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:

Values and Consequences in the Halakhic Process: A Sephardi Perspective

By Bar-Ilan University Professor Zvi Zohar

On Mondays
25 May
&
1 June at 12PM EDT

Sign-up Now!
(Pay via PayPal by Credit or Debit Card)
*Registration required for each date

The ASF’s Institute of Jewish Experience & E’eleh BeTamar present:

Series with Rabbi Dr. Ratzon Arussi
*Lectures will be conducted in Hebrew

Tuesday 26 May at 10AM EDT 
(17:00 Jerusalem)
מנהגי שבועות בקרבת יהודי תימן
מרדכי יצהרי
Sign-up Now!




Rabbi Dr. Ratzon Arussi is a City Rabbi of of Kiryat Ono and a member of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Council, founder and chairman of Halichot Am Yisrael, a movement bringing people closer to Judaism through Torah lessons, Yarchei Kalla (Torah conventions in the months of Adar and Elul), and other activities.

Dr. Arussi has a Ph.D. in law from Tel Aviv University, and lectures on Jewish law at Bar-Ilan University. He heads Kiryat Ono’s rabbinical court for monetary law. Following the passing of Rabbi Yosef Kapach, some see Rabbi Arussi as the role model for practical implementation of Maimonides’ teachings.

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:



The Global Nação: 
Western Sephardi Synagogue Tour
with Joshua Mendes

Tuesday 26 May at 12PM EDT 
Sign-up Now!

When the dark shadow of the Inquisition of 1492 fell over the Jews of Spain, a frantic effort ensued to find safe haven elsewhere. Many fled to the Ottoman Empire and to North Africa.

Yet another group - the subject of this session - fled westward, many of them first to Portugal and then onward to Amsterdam, London, southern France, Italy, and to the port cities of the New World – from Montreal in the north to New York, Philadelphia, and on downward to the Caribbean, including such places as Jamaica and Curacao.

There they reestablished Jewish communal life, building majestic synagogues, Hebrew schools for educating their youth, and a distinctive Jewish culture marked by the dignity of their synagogue rituals and inspiring beauty of their melodies. These communities also continued their connections, sending kosher food, prayers books, brides and bridegrooms, and both moral and financial support.

Happily, these Western Sephardic communities continue on today - praying, educating, and building toward the future! In this session we will have the pleasure of visiting with some of them, hearing about their rich history as well as present-day life, and seeing some of their beautiful sanctuaries. Join us!

Synagogues and our tour guides:

Bayonne - Deborah Loupiens-Suares, President of the Community
Florence - Gadi Piperno, Rabbi of the Community
Jamaica - Ainsley Henriques, Former President of the Community
Montreal - James Archibald, Former President of the Community
New York - Joshua Mendes
Philadelphia - Albert Gabbai, Rabbi of the Community
London - Rabbi Shalom Morris
Amsterdam - Jaap Sondervan
Rome - Rabbi Amedeo Spagnoletto

ASF IJE Travels in Jewish History... from home presents:

Mission to Mt. Sinai:
A Pre-Shabuot Pilgrimage to Iraqi-Kurdistan

Journey to Iraqi Kurdistan features stops in Zakho, Al-Qosh and the Tomb of the Prophet Nahum, Harir-Batas, and Sandur.

Tour departs promptly on Wednesday 27 May at 2PM EDT 

Sign-up Now!
(Pay via PayPal by Credit or Debit Card)

No Passport, Airfare, or Quarantines! 



Feedback on Previous Experiences: 

>>Your online programming is STELLAR!!! It’s part of my quarantine “must haves”!!! Thank you and many blessings!!!

>>“Totally engrossing program … thank you” 

>>“I loved the Egypt Tour, as it personally connected me, truly, authentically to the spirit of the ASF, which I sorely miss.
 
It was also so satisfying to be connected (via Zoom) to all the scholars 
across many lands and learn new things.”

>>“Thank you so much for a truly enjoyable and educational trip to the Jewish sites of Egypt!  I visit[ed] Cairo in 2009 and am so happy to have had the opportunity to ‘return’ to Egypt today! Kol ha’kavod v’todah rabah for the wonderful presentation!” 

>>“I just wanted to say how informative and impressive it was.... It was also reassuring in these incredible ‘science fiction times’, that we had a chance to band together and share our resources, and keep optimistic.”

>>“Thanks so much. Truly fascinating, we really enjoyed it. We have signed up for more information so hopefully we will be able to join further tours.” 

Sponsorship Opportunities: 

Possible future tour destinations include: Iran, Morocco, Syria, Kurdistan, and Tunisia.

Naming opportunities available.

Please click here to sponsor a tour today!
(Donations are tax-deductible)



On an ASF IJE Travels in Jewish History tour, you will... explore the Middle Eastern and North African heartlands of Jewish history with live Diarna Geo-Museum guides and historians, meet special guests, see historical sites that are off the beaten path or even inaccessible to visitors, hear fascinating stories, and reconnect with your roots.

At this terrible and turbulent time, we are here to serve the community, preserving and promoting our Greater Sephardic history, traditions, and rich mosaic culture.

The ASF’s Institute of Jewish Experience & E’eleh BeTamar present:


Barak Oded on the uniqueness of Yemenite song and prayers

(Pay via PayPal by Credit or Debit Card)
*Registration required for each date 


Musical Source of the Yemenite Tefillah and its Distinction from Other Groups 

Sunday 31 May at 12PM EDT
(19:00 Jerusalem)
Sign-up Now!


Yemenite Men & Women and their Music 

Sunday 7 June at 12PM EDT
(19:00 Jerusalem)
Sign-up Now!

The Yemenites were a fixed community in the southern Arabian peninsula for 3,000 years. Barak Oded is a musicologist who specializes in Yemenite songs of all types, as well as the language and tunes involved in the context of other Jewish communities. In these sessions, Barak will show the uniqueness of Yemenite song and prayers as they were distinct from other communities. Prayers were chanted, there wasn't and still isn't music and song in liturgical services. Men would sing songs based on Jewish texts, and in Hebrew, while women would sing in Arabic about daily life.

Samples of each of these categories will be presented throughout these presentations.

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:

The Muslim World’s Reaction to the Six Day War

By Bar-Ilan University Lecturer Dr. Mordechai Kedar 

Tuesday 2 June at 10AM EDT
Sign-up Now!
(Pay via PayPal by Credit or Debit Card)


The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:

The Crypto Experience
The Global History of Secret Jews

An online course presented in 10 minute episodes.
Learn at your own pace.

Please sign-up now!
Total cost of the course is $75.00

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience is proud to present “The Crypto Experience,” an online course on Crypto-Jews. It is part of a series of online courses on a variety of topics that make up the robust Jewish experience.

For hundreds of years there have been descendants of Crpto-Jews, who have covertly kept some of their traditions while maintaining a very different public persona. It is a question of identity, be it Huegenot, Catholic, Sephardi, or Mashadi. Professing one faith on the outside and another on the inside speaks to our quest for defining identity today.

These questions of identity that we think are so new and so relevant are really rather old questions under different circumstances. In this course Dr. Hilda Nissimi (Bar Ilan University) presents an overview of crypto societies historically and in the context of today. She challenges the participants to ask themselves difficult questions like: What defines identity? If I project this outer self, how do I keep my real me? Who is the real me? Am I the me before the expression of an outer facade? Is it a new me?

The course discusses these questions as they pertain to Jews, specifically. What does it mean to be a Jew? What do I have to keep if I want to call myself a Jew? Am I allowed to change? Am I the person to decide? Who will decide? How can anyone decide under such circumstances?

In order to understand this in historic and cultural contexts, world-renowned scholars and experts in the field have joined Dr. Nissimi and will be presenting the challenges facing a range of crypto societies: 

Huegenots – Dr. Hilda Nissimi
Spanish-Portuguese Crypto Society – Dr. Ronnie Perelis (Yeshiva University)
Bildi’in of Morocco – Professor Paul Fenton (Sorbonne Université, Paris) 
Mashhadi Jews of Iran – Dr. Hilda Nissimi
Tracing Jewish Roots – Genie and Michael Milgrom
Growing Up Mashhadi– Reuben Ebrahimoff


For more information and other ASF IJE online course offerings visit: https://courses.instituteofjewishexperience.org/


The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:

The Greek Experience
Explore the world of Greek Jewry from the ancient Romaniote to the Sephardim and others who made it to and through Greece.

An online course presented in 10 minute episodes.
Learn at your own pace.

Please sign-up now!
Total cost of the course is $75.00

Jews have been in Greece since before the Temple was destroyed. They were in Greece upon the founding of the Greek Orthodox Church. Community members, known as Romaniote, made their way through Venice, Byzantium, Spain, across the Ottoman Empire, and beyond.
 
Dr. Yitzchak Kerem provides an overview of the unique languages, liturgical nuances, and communal life of Jews across Greece. Dr Kerem spent significant time living in Greece and researching Greek and Sephardic history. Photographs, maps, and personal accounts provide course participants with a full picture of the unique nature of the Jews of Greece and its surroundings.
 
In the course, participants will look at major influential points in Greek Jewish history. They will explore The Golden Age of Salonika, a time when Greece’s northern city was a hub of Jewish scholarship. Kerem introduces the tension arising in the Greek Jewish community because of Shabtai Tzvi and the Sabbateanism movement that brought with it false messianism and conversion to Islam, at least outwardly.
 
The course looks at when the Alliance Israélite Universelle moved in and the Sephardic culture in Greece developed a rich secular culture with its own novels, theater, and music. 
 
This is part of the greater Jewish heritage and history that is often overlooked. ASF IJE online courses will bring to life all parts of the greater Jewish Experience.

For more information and other ASF IJE online course offerings visit: https://courses.instituteofjewishexperience.org/

 and your generous tax-deductible contribution will empower the ASF to fight for Jewish unity and champion the Sephardi voice in Jewish communal affairs at home and abroad, as well as in our programs, publications, and projects. 

Contact us by email to learn about giving opportunities in honor or memory of loved ones
Copyright © 2020 American Sephardi Federation, All rights reserved.

Thank you for opting (on our websites, at an event, or by email) to receive American Sephardi Federation Programming Updates and Publications. We apologize if this message was sent in error.

The American Sephardi Federation is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street, New York, New York, 10011).

www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@AmericanSephardi.org | (212) 294-8350

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