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28 August 2020 

In Honor of Levi Salem Musa Marhabi, a Yemenite Jew, who suffered a stroke and yet continues languishing in a Houthi prison for allegedly saving a Torah scroll! 
#FreeLeviMarhabi

  
 Click here to dedicate a future issue in honor or memory of a loved one.

Thank you to 
Sephardi World Weekly Patrons Professor Rifka Cook,  Maria Gabriela Borrego Medina, and Distinguished ASF Vice President Gwen Zuares!
Become a Patron today!
 
All Jews Together @ ASF's Institute of Jewish Experience  

“We have to unite our energies together. All Jews, together…. If we are united, all Sephardim and also Ashkenazim, together... we will see the light!”
~Enrico Macias

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience is uniquely dedicated to ensuring that today’s Jews know our history; appreciate the beauty, depth, diversity, and vitality of the Jewish experience; and have a sense of pride in Jewish contributions to civilization.
 

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New Israeli TV series explores life of pop star Ofra Haza” 
By Hannah Brown, The Jerusalem Post

Yemenite-Israeli singers, from Bracha Tzfira and Shoshana Damari to Zohar Argov, have played an oversized role in the history of Israeli popular music. A new, three-part documentary series explores the career and sad personal life of perhaps the most famous of Yemenite-Israeli vocalists, Ofra Haza: “Haza’s life was a rags-to-riches story in which she soared high, helped change the Israeli music industry’s perception of Mizrahi music, had a huge international career and died tragically young, at age 42, from AIDS, concealing her diagnosis even from those closest to her.”
Ofra Haza
(Photo courtesy of Discos Para El Recuerdo
Feature of the week:  Ofar Haza Sings Shecharchoret
 

Ofra Haza
(Photo courtesy of YouTube)

The legendary Yemenite-Israeli star Ofra Haza uses her unbelievably resonant voice to put a personal stamp on Shecharchoret (“Dark Beauty”), the Hebrew adaptation of the Ladino classic,“Morenika” (sung here by Nani Noam Vazana). 

Miniature Portrait of Aemilia Bassano by Nicholas Hillard, 1593
(Photo courtesy of The Attic on Eighth
The Sephardi story of being different” 
By John Nathan, The Jewish Chronicle

Julia Pascal, playwright and director, has inaugurated a website “dedicated to telling the stories of Sephardi Jews whose place in the narrative of English history has been lost.” Says Pascal, “‘When you learn about 1066… you don’t learn that the Normans came with Jews’” or how Emilia Lanier (née Aemilia Bassano) was “‘the first woman poet in English literature. She was a contemporary of Shakespeare’s and possibly his lover and the Dark Lady of his sonnets. She was the daughter of a Sephardi Venetian musician who Henry VIII brought in. She was brought up in Elizabeth’s court and penned this amazing poem which challenges the idea of Eve as the sinner in the garden of Eden story.” However, Pascal’s particular interest seems to lie along the “fringes” of Sephardi experience. Take Hannah Genesi, a 19th century factory worker who made ostrich-feather plumes for the hats of the aristocracy: “‘She lived in an alms house and the dust from the plumes and feathers went into her lungs. She died at 31. So you get stories about the Sephardi poor which are not the Jews you usually learn about.’”
Sephardi Gifts:
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

 
A Ladino Legacy: The Judeo-Spanish Collection of Louis N. Levy
By Professor Aviva Ben-Ur 

A complete, descriptive bibliography of library of the late Louis N. Levy, which includes one of the most important Ladino collections in the world. Amassed over the course of more than three decades, this library contains more than 150 publications in Judeo-Spanish and upwards of 150 rare books in Hebrew, Spanish, Yiddish, Portuguese, Italian, French and other languages.

A tribute from his grandchildren, Rena Marcy Levy, Jeremy Eliahu Levy, and Louis Agnew Levy. The Louis N. Levy Rare Book Collection is part of the ASF’s National Sephardic Library & Archives
 
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities:
 
Announcing ChaiFlicks, the American Sephardi Federation's Official Streaming Service.
Featuring the Best in Jewish Entertainment, including your favorite films from the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival!
 
Sign-up Now!

Sponsorship and Naming opportunities avaialble:
info@americansephardi.org


Be’chol Lashon in collaboration with the Sephardic Brotherhood, PJ Library, and The American Sephardi Federation
Presents:


Ladino Kabbalat Shabbat
Inspired by the Sephardic traditions of Salonica 

Rabbi Nissim Elnecavé will lead a Sephardic-style service, with musical selections from singer Sarah Aroeste and historical context provided by Prof. Devin E. Naar of the University of Washington


Friday, 28 August at 5:00PM EDT

Complimentary RSVP

Sign-up Now!

Rabbi Nissim Elnecavé is an active rabbinic educator in the New York Sephardic community and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America, the national umbrella organization for the Ladino-speaking Sephardic community. He was born in Mexico City to a family descendant from the Sephardic communities of Istanbul and Salonica. He received his rabbinical training in Jerusalem at the Shehebar Sephardic Center and Yeshivat Porat Yosef, focusing on the customs of the Ladino-speaking Sephardic Jews of Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans. Rabbi Elnecavé spoke at the ASF's 2nd International Ladino Day in 2019.

Determined to help bring Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) culture to a new generation, Sarah Aroeste, an international Ladino singer/songwriter, author and cultural activist, draws upon her Sephardic family roots from Greece and Macedonia (via Medieval Spain) to present traditional and original Ladino songs with her unique blend of rock, pop, and jazz. In addition to writing music, Aroeste has published numerous articles and essays about Sephardic cultural preservation, and pens Sephardic-themed books for children. Her most recent book, Buen Shabat, Shabbat Shalom (Kar-Ben and PJ Library), was published March 2020. Sarah performed at the ASF's American Sephardic Music Festival and the ASF's 3rd International Ladino Day in 2020.

Devin E. Naar is the Isaac Alhadeff Professor in Sephardic Studies and Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and History at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he founded and directs the Sephardic Studies Program. Naar received his PhD in History from Stanford University and served as a Fulbright Scholar in Greece. His first book,  Jewish Salonica:Between the Ottoman Empire and Modern Greece, won a 2016 National Jewish Book Award and the prize for the best book from the Modern Greek Studies Association. Naar’s great-grandfather served as a rabbi in Salonica and subsequently as the first ordained spiritual leader of Congregation Etz Ahaim in Highland Park, New Jersey.


Sephardic Culinary History with Chef Hélène Jawhara-Piñer


Episode One:
Eggplant Almodrote and Moroccan Flatbreads


Sephardi Culinary History is a new show that combines chef and scholar Hélène Jawhara-Piñer’s fascination with food studies and flair for creating delicious cuisine. Join along as she cooks Sephardic history!

Sunday, 30 August at 10:00AM EDT


Sign-up Now!

Tickets support Chef Hélène’s forthcoming publications and the ASF’s Institute of Jewish Experience


ASF Broome & Allen Fellow Hélène Jawhara-Piñer earned her Ph.D in History, Medieval History, and the History of Food from the University of Tours, France.

Chef Hélène’s primary research interest is the medieval culinary history of Spain through interculturality with a special focus on the Sephardic culinary heritage written in Arabic. A member of the IEHCA (Institute of European History and Cultures of Food), the CESR (Centre for Advanced Studies in the Renaissance), and the CoReMa Project (
Cooking Recipes of the Middle Ages), Chef Hélène has lectured at Bar-Ilan University (in collaboration with the Stali Institute and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC): “El patrimonio culinario judío de la Península Ibérica a través de un manuscrito del siglo XIII. Ejemplos de la pervivencia de recetas en la cocina de los sefardíes de España y de Marruecos,” 2018), as well as at conference of the Association Diwan (“Reflections on the Jewish heritage according to the Kitāb al-ṭabīẖ,” 2015), IEHCA of Tours (“Jews and Muslims at the Table: Between coexistence and differentiation: state of affairs and reflections on the culinary practices of Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula and in Sicily from the 12th to the 15th century,” 2017), and Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies (“The hidden Jewish culinary heritage of the Iberian Peninsula through a manuscript of the 13th century. Examples of the provenance of some recipes in Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine,” 2017).

In May, Chef Hélène hosted “
Shavuot in the Sephardic Kitchen: Bread of the Seven Heavens,” one of the most popular sessions of the Great Big Jewish Food Fest. Her recipes have appeared in the Sephardi World WeeklyTablet MagazineThe Forward, and S&P Central’s Newsletter. Chef Hélène is currently writing a scholarly book and accompanying cookbook on the Jewish culinary history of Spain.

We are proud Chef Hélène is serving as one of the judges for the ASF's Great Sephardic Chef Competition!



Sponsorship and Naming opportunities avaialble:
info@americansephardi.org

 Enkontros de Alhad 
(Sunday encounters/ meetings)


A weekly online program that features alternating hosts - activists and leaders throughout the Ladino-speaking world.

Professor Bryan Kirschen will interview Dr. Joe Halio. Their conversation will focus on Judeo-Spanish and Sephardic life in the United States, with particular attention to New York City from the earlier 20th century onward. 


The program will be conducted entirely in Ladino!

Sunday, 30 August at 12:00PM EDT


Click here to join!
(Pre-registration is not required)



Bryan Kirschen is Assistant Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Binghamton University, where he specializes in Judeo-Spanish and Sociolinguistics. He co-directs the Ladino Collaboratory at his university and directs the National Authority of Ladino’s international delegation of Shadarim.

Joe Halio is a doctor of Geriatric Medicine based in Long Island. He is a board member of a number of Sephardic organizations, including: the American Sephardi Federation, the Sephardic Brotherhood of America, and the Foundation of the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture.


The Axelrod Israel Jewish Film Festival in Partnership with The American Sephardi Federation Presents:

The Virtual Sephardic Film Festival

The Film Series Pass Includes Six Award-Nominated Films
Plus an Exclusive Bonus
Tours of “The History of Jews” in the Middle East
Including Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Persia, and Kurdistan 
presented by the ASF Institute of Jewish Experience and Diarna Geo-Museum of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Life.


Sunday, 30 August 
through
Sunday, 13 September

Don't miss Live Zoom Q&A with Avi Dabach the Great Grandson of the Keeper of The Aleppo Codex on Sunday, 13 September at 5:00PM 

All Films Start at 7:00PM
Links and Passwords will be sent out a few hours prior to the start of each film.
Each film is Available for Streaming for 3 Days


Sign-up Now!

Check out the Trailers Below!

(Talkbacks for These Films Coming Soon)
 

      

    

           




Sponsorship and Naming opportunities avaialble:
info@americansephardi.org


Saving the Iraqi Jewish Archives: A Journey of Identity

Premiére at the American Sephardi Federation’s NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival

Sunday, 13 September

11:00AM EDT (18:00 Israel Time)

Followed by the Q&A with the Filmmakers 
ASF Vice President Carole Basri, Esq. & Adriana Davis


6:00PM EDT 
Rebroadcast


Sign-up Now!

The Iraqi government, under color of law, stripped the Iraqi Jews of their property, including religious and cultural artifacts, starting in 1952. Rescued by US soldiers in 2003 from a flooded basement of the Iraqi secret police, the Iraqi Jewish Archives consist of over 4800 books and artifacts. Among those are the records of the last Jewish education center in Iraq – The Frank Iny School. Presently, the US and Iraqi governments are planning to return those same archives to a politically unstable Iraq. One day there will be little hard evidence for the community to prove they ever existed in Iraq. Moreover, this same plight is being inflicted upon other minorities in the middle east. NYSJFF is pleased to present this eye-opening feature documentary that includes personal stories of escape, how the archives were discovered, and what the archives mean to future generations to come.

Sponsorship opportunities avaialble:
info@americansephardi.org


The ASF’s Great Sephardic Chef Competition


Enter for a chance to win a spot in the ASF’s Virtual Cookbook and other prizes!

Does your family have the best Sephardic recipe? Like to cook Sephardic? Let the world know by submitting  your recipe to the ASF’s Great Sephardic Chef Competition. Entries will be judged by a panel of scholars, chefs, restaurateurs, and authors in the following categories:

Appetizers
Bread
Communities (Greek, Iraqi, Italian, Moroccan, Persian, Spanish, Syrian, et al...)
Desserts
Entrees
Grandma’s Favorite
Mom’s Best
Salads
Shabbat 
Soups
Special Occasions & Creations
Vegan
Yom Tov


Submission Due Date: 15 October 2020 

$10 per entry; unlimited entries!

Submit Your Video Here!


Finalists will be announced on 17 December 2020 by our international panel of judges!


Sponsorship and Naming opportunities avaialble:
info@americansephardi.org


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 visithttps://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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