“Hatanu lefanekha rakhem ‘allenu – We have sinned before You, have mercy on us.”This refrain, familiar to anyone who has recited the...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Felisitationes - Mazal Tov to the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in Los Angeles on the dedication of a new Sefer Torah! The community...

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...

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

The root of deepest human sadness is embodied in the word "separation." We feel this sadness especially at moments of transition: when we...

This Rosh Ashana, we’ll once again read the story of the Binding of Isaac, one of the most impactful stories in all of Tanakh (Hebrew...

Our ancient Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed in 586 BCE and 70 CE, and we are still fasting and crying! If this made sense during our...

​​Among the many beautiful Sephardic traditions, we practice is the recitation of the Yehi Rasones on Rosh Ha-Shana. What is the meaning...