A previous issue of la Djente featured a review of my nonno Alfredo’s wartime diary, “We Are Here! We Are Alive!” (thank you Gloria Asher for the glowing review!). The diary sheds light on a network of unassuming heroes who saved my grandfather’s family from the Shoah. Yet this diary represents only a fragment of a much larger unpublished memoir, spanning Alfredo Sarano’s childhood in Izmir to his final years in Bene Berak. The bulk of that memoir unfolds in Rhodes to wh

Most Ashkenazim consider Sephardic Jews to be exotic yet somewhat naive, given to colorful garb and spiced food and characterized by sincere yet simple religious devotion, with perhaps more than a dab of Kabbalistic superstition thrown in for good measure. Their rabbis, too, are mild-natured individuals, innocent of worldly knowledge and perspicacity, who may be good at rote memorization but are third-rate in intellectual depth. Not long ago, even some talmidei-hakhamim held

The Passover Haggadah presents a dramatic format for dealing with questions relating to religious observance. It presents four children, representing different attitudes toward Jewish belief and ritual, along with the framework for how to answer each of the questioners. The "rasha" (wicked child) is antagonistic to Jewish tradition. He/she does not feel part of it, and asks: what's the point of all this ritual? Why do you do these things? The Haggadah realizes that there is l

Rabbi Eliyahu Benamozegh (1822-1900) Nineteenth century Livorno was home to a unique thinker whose life work centered on unity. Rabbi Eliyahu Benamozegh (1822-1900), whose parents were natives of Fez, Morocco, was orphaned at an early age. His guardians saw to it that this precocious child received a well-rounded education in Jewish and general subjects. Although as a young man he entered a business career, his real love was for religious and scientific thought. He went on to

Eleanor Roosevelt once noted: “Do not hesitate to do what you think you cannot do. Dare to reach beyond your perceived limits. Do not let...

New York, NY – AUGUST 10-11, 2025 – A historic milestone for Sephardic Jewry is set to unfold this summer as over 50 leading Sephardic...

Elias Canetti, a Sephardic Jew who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1981, offers some interesting observations about Jews in his...

Early in the Agada, we read of the gathering in B’nei B’rak of Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Akiva and...

An artistic rendering of Don Isaac Abravanel Don Isaac Abravanel (b. 1437; d. 1508) is remembered as a great rabbi and commentator among...

Keridos Ermanos i Ermanas, As we approach Passover, a time when we reflect on our freedom and the journey of our ancestors, I am reminded...

Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, the first Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, learning with young students in Jerusalem A quick...

Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool z"L Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool was the pre-eminent Sephardic Rabbi in America during the mid-twentieth...

Hatanu lefanekha rakhem 'allenu - We have sinned before you, have mercy on us. This is the chorus line of one of the classic Selihot,...

Paul Gaugin, the famous 19th century French artist, commented: “When I want to see clearly, I shut my eyes.” He was referring to two...

Some years ago, I served as scholar-in-residence on a trip to Spain and Israel sponsored by the American Friends of the Technion. The...

One of the great rabbinic lights of the twentieth century was Rabbi Benzion Meir Hai Uziel (1880–1953). Born in Jerusalem, he served as...

Esther the Jewess marries King Ahashverosh. Her Uncle Mordecai tells her not to reveal that she is Jewish. The Jews throughout the 127...

As Jews, we are very proud of our history. History connects us to our illustrious past and gives us guidelines on how to live our lives....

One of the great rabbinic lights of the twentieth century was Rabbi Benzion Meir Hai Uziel (1880–1953). Born in Jerusalem, he served as...

We were thrilled to announce three new Sephardic Holiday Booklets for Rosh ‘Ashana, Hanukkah, and Frutikas - Tu Bishevat this Fall and...