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  Yet this diary represents only a fragment of a much larger unpublished memoir, spanning Alfredo Sarano’s childhood in Izmir to his final years in Bene Berak.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

Turkish Haroset In all honesty, I have never met a haroset I didn’t like, and there are probably nearly as many different haroset as there are Jews!  I always have three or four at my Seder and sometimes a guest brings their own favorite.   Haroset is that mixture at Passover Seders that is evocative of the mortar and bricks the Israelite slaves made and used to erect Pharoah’s warehouses and other buildings (although probably not the pyramids, but that’s another story). The

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

Keridos Ermanos i Ermanas, As we welcome the season of renewal and prepare to celebrate Passover—a time that reminds us of resilience, faith, and shared destiny—I write to you with deep gratitude and pride. This year marks a remarkable milestone: the 110th anniversary of our Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America. One hundred and ten years of tradition.One hundred and ten years of service.One hundred and ten years of unity.One hundred and ten years of familya —family. Our

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...

Sephardic recipes call this dish apyo which is the Ladino word for the main ingredient, celeriac, also known as celery root or celery...

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...

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...

Pujados ke no amenguados  - may we be always growing and never diminishing, a sentiment I proudly shared with our entire community this...

As those of us familiar with Sephardic cuisine know, there are often different names and spellings for similar dishes. When it comes to...

1492 – The Exodus from Spain.  In 1992, my wife and I vacationed in Turkey during Passover. Prior to leaving I connected with the...

Purim purinado, Pésah a la mano! dizía mi madre, asperando muestra grande Fiesta de libertá.  Anyos después deskuvrí la version "djusta":...