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24 May 2019 

Hazak u’Barukh to Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue Trustee, Director of the Greek Jewish & Sephardic Young Professionals Network, and ASF Young Leaders Board Member, Andrew Marcus, on the resounding success of the 5th Greek Jewish Festival! 
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“My House in Cairo” 
By Peter Hessler, The New Yorker
 
Shortly after Peter Hessler wrote a 2018 essay about his family’s experience in Cairo during the Arab Spring, including a description of the building where they lived, he received a letter from Palo Alto: “From your description… it seems that it could be… where I lived as a child until 1956.” The letter’s author, Dr. Albert Bivas, was a descendant of Jews who fled the Inquisition, settled in Constantinople, and then migrated to Egypt. Bivas was right about the house. What’s more, when it came to remembering his old neighborhood, Bivas’ memory proved to be as “clear as a child’s… He remembered going to outdoor movies in Zamalek and how the children shrieked with joy whenever a lizard crawled across the face of a starlet in closeup.”
 
Dr. “Albert Bivas’s grandparents and others, at the spiderweb building’s inauguration,” Cairo, Egypt, 1935
(Photo courtesy of Albert Bivas/The New Yorker) 
Feature of the week: Shimon Bar Yohai Piyyut in a Moroccan Mode
 

Sephardic women dancing on Lag B’omer at the Shrine of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, Mount Meron, Israel, 1970 (Photo courtesy of Jewish Virtual Library/National Photo Collection of Israel) 
 
The 2nd century sage Shimon Bar Yohai is the hero of the Zohar, the canonical text of Jewish mysticism, and his Galilee grave becomes a pilgrimage site each year for hundreds of thousands of Jews on the 33rd day of the Omer, which was commemorated this year on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. A 15th-16th century piyyut written by Shimon B’Lavi in Bar Yohai’s honor—called, simply enough, Bar Yohai—has become famous throughout Israel. This week’s video features a swinging Moroccan version of the piyyut performed by the great Moroccan-Israeli payytan, Lior El-Malih. 

Florence Cohen launched Grandma's Cheese in 2013 to replicate her Grandmother's recipies and perpetuate the tradition of cheesemaking in the Syrian Sephardic Community (Photo courtesy of Grandma’s Cheese)  
“Business Booms for Sephardic Food” 
By Esther Levy-Chehebar, Tablet Magazine
 
Why is food so integral to Sephardi identity? Recipes are passed down, “shared and ‘willed’ to family members like edible talismans,” which makes food much more than just a transient necessity, or pleasure, but, “a direct line to our ancestors.” It also makes the recent, female-led, commercial culinary boom among Brooklyn’s Syrian and Egyptian communities all the more noteworthy: food isn’t just for family anymore. As Brooklyn grandmother and now commercial cook, Sallie Mishaan, reports: “‘My younger grandson called me to say, ‘Grandma! Your ka’ak [SWW: Arabic for “cake”] went viral in school.’’”
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American Sephardi Federation Presents:

NABUCCO
Opera by Giuseppe Verdi

Wednesday, 29 May at 8:00PM
Sunday, 2 June at 6:00PM
Closing Night; Followed by After Party

Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City

Reserve tickets here

An opera by Giuseppe Verdi as adapted by and starring David Serero in the role of Nabucco. Building on the Biblical accounts of the Babylonian Exile found in Jeremiah and Daniel, Verdi's Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar) combines political and love intrigues with some of the greatest songs ever written (including Va, pensiero, The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves).


The American Sephardi Federation & Consulate General of Spain at New York present:

Visados para la Libertad (Visas for Freedom)

Thursday, 13 June at 7:00PM
Exhibit Opening (RSVP Required)

Please RSVP here

On view until July
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City

“The history of the Holocaust is not merely one of villains and their victims. There were also those who did not want to stand idly by in the face of tragedy; driven by their conscience, they decided to take action. Among these are the heroes, those who risked, or even sacrificed, their own lives to save others. However, there is also another group of individuals, whose actions behind the scenes, albeit more modest, are no less deserving of remembrance and tribute. They took advantage of the scope of Influence offered by their position or profession to protect and help, as far as was at all possible, Jews condemned to extermination in Europe. This was the case of some Spanish Diplomats. In the aftermath of the World War II, The Spanish government would claim that the regime’s official policy was devoted to humanitarian concerns, which they either tolerated or hindered.  It was, rather, individual diplomats, those to whom this exhibition pays homage, who did what was possible, and sometimes impossible, to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.”


American Sephardi Federation Presents:

Romeo & Juliet
Jewish Adaptation 
Starring  David Serero as Romeo.

Thursday, 13 June at 3:00PM
Sunday, 16 June at 6:00PM
Opening Night; Followed by After Party
Tuesday, 18 June at 8:00PM
Thursday, 20 June at 8:00PM
Sunday, 23 June at 6:00PM
Closing Night; Followed by After Party

Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City

Please register here

Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and loss reconceived as the story of two Jewish lovers, one from a Sephardi family and one from an Ashkenazi family. Featuring Ladino and Yiddish songs. Original Jewish adaption by David Serero.


The American Sephardi Federations Institute of Jewish Experience in partnership with Association Mimouna present:

The Morocco Conference
Uncommon Commonalities: Jews and Muslims of Morocco


Monday, 17 June at 7:00PM
Opening Cultural Night
Tuesday, 18 June, 9:00AM-6:00PM
Academic Sessions
Wednesday, 19 June, 9:00AM-6:00PM
Academic Sessions
Wednesday, 19 June at 7:00PM
Closing Night

Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City

Please register here
or call: 1.800.838.3006

The American Sephardi Federation’s Institute of Jewish Experience in partnership with Association Mimouna present a three-day scholarly and cultural conference dedicated to exploring the uncommon commonalities shared by Moroccan Jews and Muslims. The Morocco Conference is bringing together 40 of the world’s leading academics and artists to explore the historical, spiritual, and cultural expressions of Morocco’s exceptional culture of coexistence. Scholars, dignitaries, and communal leaders will convene to share research, knowledge, and experiences to foster enhanced understanding and engagement with Morocco’s tradition of tolerance and interconnectedness as a model for other Muslim nations and, moreover, the entire world.


Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America Presents:

Sephardic Birthright Israel Trip

26 June - 7 July, 2019

Please register here 
or email: info@sephardicbrotherhood.com 

“Join Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America for the Birthright Israel - Sephardic Israel Trip this Summer from June 27 - July 7! For 10 days, you'll be able to travel around the country with amazing people with Sephardic, Greek, and Turkish backgrounds, all while exploring everything Israel has to offer. You'll be able to ride camels in the desert, raft down the Jordan River, explore the Old City in Jerusalem, and a whole lot more. especially for Sephardic Jews from across the United States.”

Sign up now or learn more here

Note: While not an ASF program, ASF is proud of the members of our Young Leadership Board who are involved in organizing this trip


Nosotros 2.0: Strengthening Bonds Between Jewish and Latino Communities

Nosotros 2.0, which opened as a one-night pop-up exhibition on 11 October. continues in part as an exhibition in our Leon Levy Gallery.

On view until June

Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street 
New York City

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.

 and your tax-deductible contribution will help ASF preserve and promote the Greater Sephardi history, traditions, and culture as an integral part of the Jewish experience! 

Contact us by email to learn about giving opportunities in honor or memory of loved ones
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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).

www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@AmericanSephardi.org | (212) 548-4486

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