Most of our religious observances are indoors--in our homes, in our synagogues. We generally do not like to create a public spectacle of our religious experiences, but we behave modestly and try not to call attention to ourselves as we perform mitzvoth. There are some exceptions to this. On Hanukkah, it is a particular mitzvah to publicize the miracle by placing our hanukkiyot where they can be seen by the passers-by. Sukkoth also has some aspects of taking our religious obse

“Ombre mortal, porke duermes? Es tiempo ke roges i te konyores.” Mortal human, why do you sleep? It is time to rise and plead your case! With these stirring words, generations of Sephardic Jews have begun the famous Selihah Ben Adam, Lekha Nirdam. Recited during the month of Elul and in the days leading to Yom Kippur, its message reaches across the centuries: Wake up. Reflect. Remember who you are and consider who you still have the power to become. As we enter a new Jewish y

Community lecture in August at Congregation Shearith Israel in New York We’ve had a wonderful summer of community programming in New York! First, our partners at Kehila Kedosha Janina opened up a wonderful new exhibit: The Synagogues of Greece - Making the Invisible Visible through Architecture, Technology, and Storytelling by Greek Jewish architect Elias Messinas. In this exhibition, based on the 30-year in-situ documentation and research of Messinas, and the digitization o

Un djudió da haber en el kal, ke día de lúnes a midí va dar una performans de kaminada enriva de kuedra, del minaré de la djamí asta la torre de la eglisia. Todos son invitados, el bilyeto kosta 10 groshes. Lúnes a midí se arekojó una djentoria en la plasa entre la djamí i la eglisia. Después ke vendió bilyetos a kada persona del públiko tresalido, se les adresó i les disho kon muncha emosión: "La verdad es ke no se kaminar enriva de kuedra. Si metésh inat, ya lo vo aprovar..

1. Sovre animales Un gato ambierto estava asegiendo detrás de un ratón. Se fuyó el ratón i se entró en un burako en la pared. Asperó el gato kon pasensia. Pasó tiempo, i el gato no se iva, i el ratón ya kería salir. En súpito, empesó el ratón a gritar komo un perro, i el gato se fuyó. Pasó por ayá un amigo del ratón i le demandó, "kuálo estás aziendo?" Disho el ratón, "Akí para kedar bivo, kale ambezarse una otra lingua..." 2. El kasador (hunter) Un kasador entró

There is a tasty play between sweet and the mix of spices in these peras reyenados, stuffed pears, as well as the textures of the baked, softened pear with the crunchy nuts. It’s an easy, yet elegant dessert for Shabbat and holidays. Honey and dates are traditional foods for the Sephardic Rosh Hashanah seder, and this dessert also works well for Sukkot as stuffed foods symbolize an abundant harvest. Naturally sweet Bosc pears hold their shape well, so are a good choice for

Congratulations to Ed Barocas, son of Ellen and former Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood President Irving Barocas, on the publication of his inspiring memoir, Chasing Justice and Butterflies: A Memoir of Overcoming and Becoming (Archway Publishing). The book is the portrait of a person who refused to let physical limitations define the boundaries of his life. Born with FSHD muscular dystrophy and using a wheelchair by his early 30s, Ed tells the intertwined story of disability, la

Books on the Jewish view of death and afterlife tend to arrive in one of two registers: pastoral comfort or academic survey. Rabbi Michael Beyo's Choose Life belongs to neither. It is an argument — sustained, sharply constructed, and unfashionably confident — that the Torah's command in Deuteronomy 30:19, uvacharta bachayim, "choose life," is not a platitude but the organizing principle of an entire civilization's four-thousand-year dissent from the rest of human history. Bey

This book traces the largely overlooked history of the Sephardic Jewish pioneers who settled in the Belgian Congo during the first half of the twentieth century. Drawing on archival records, period biographical notices, family testimonies, photographs, and genealogical research, it brings together some 220 meticulously documented biographies of merchants, traders, industrialists, and entrepreneurs from Sephardic families, primarily originating from the island of Rhodes. Their

Venice, Italy Over the years, Fern and I have traveled through Europe on vacation, and some of our strongest memories come from the times we've unexpectedly run into fellow Sepharadim along the way. This past June we were in Venice, Italy. On our visit, we made a point of walking through the Jewish Ghetto. Of the five synagogues still standing there, only two can currently be toured: the Turkish and Greek, and the larger Spanish and Portuguese. Our guide mentioned that she he

Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai z"L As we experienced the awesome day of Yom HaKippurim, we find ourselves living through a moment in which the very idea of Jewish national return has become the subject of intense debate. Antisemitism and anti-Zionism are increasingly intertwined in the public discourse, while Jews themselves are once again asking fundamental questions about Jewish identity, peoplehood, sovereignty, and the meaning of the Land of Israel. At such a moment, understanding

An artistic rendering of Don Isaac Abravanel August 1492. An armada of sorts anchors in the port of Naples. Nine Spanish caravels of the same class that will soon carry Columbus to the New World. However, these ships are laden with adventurers of another kind: a thousand Sephardic refugees, packed up like sardines in a can. A sympathetic onlooker watches them disembark. “They were like wraiths,” he will recall. “resembling corpses in all but the power of motion.”[1] Their I

The author Madeleine Roer, watching a recording of her grandmother Stella Varon Tarica give her survivor testimony at the Jewish Museum of Rhodes My Nonnie, Stella Varon Tarica, was born in Rhodes and lived there until she was just 13 years old, when she and her family were deported to Auschwitz. After spending nearly a year there, she was liberated and reunited with her uncle, brother, and sister in the Belgian Congo. Eventually, Stella immigrated to the United States and se

Murray Perahia There are few honors more meaningful than watching one of our own rise to the very top of a field and never forget where he came from. This issue, we are proud to shine our alumni spotlight on Murray Perahia, one of the most celebrated classical pianists of our time — and a longtime member of our Sephardic Brotherhood family. From Our Community to the World Stage Murray Perahia was born in New York City in 1947 to parents who immigrated from Salonika, and it wa

Eleven years after first passing a (now repealed) law offering citizenship to people of Sephardic ancestry, a Spanish court has finally ruled that a surname once borne by Sephardic Jews and New Christians is not, of itself, evidence of Sephardic ancestry. Perhaps a little late to become compliant with genealogical standards. A ruling reported this week by Infobae is a useful reminder of where the evidential bar now sits for Spain’s Sephardic nationality law (Law 12/2015). The

Heinz Kounio z"L It is with tremendously heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of Heinz Kounio, one of the last Holocaust survivors of Salonika (Thessaloniki) and one of the most important witnesses to the destruction of a Sephardic Jewish civilization that had flourished for centuries. Kounio passed away in Thessaloniki in April 2026 at the age of 98, leaving behind not only children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but an extraordinary legacy of testimony, remembra

Attendees at the Sephardic Rabbinic Conference at Congregation Shearith Israel in New York A two-day summit proudly organized by the Sephardic Brotherhood of America, the Habura, and UJA-Federation of New York brought together more than 150 rabbis, scholars, and communal leaders to strengthen the future of Sephardic Jewish life NEW YORK, NY — Sephardic Jews make up a major part of the global Jewish population, yet their voices and leadership traditions have long operated on t

The New program by the University of Miami South Florida's vibrant Sephardic community has much to celebrate this season, with milestones spanning tradition, scholarship, and national recognition. The Sephardi Federation of Palm Beach County will hold its 33rd Annual Luncheon on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at 12 noon, continuing a beloved tradition that brings the community together to celebrate Sephardic heritage and support the Federation's ongoing work. Meanwhile, Temple Mos

This summer and early fall, Philadelphia's storied Sephardic community—anchored by Congregation Mikveh Israel, the nation's oldest continuous Jewish congregation—marked a historic season honoring 250 years of Jewish life in America. In July, the congregation hosted Jewish America 250, a community-wide celebration drawing neighbors from across the region for exhibits, local vendors, food, and music, along with access to Mikveh Israel's America 250 exhibition. The free, public