We’ve had a busy fall and winter in NYC. For Hanukkah, we had three Sephardic Hanuka Celebrations. Our Greek Jewish & Sephardic Young Professionals Network had a Sephardic Hanukkah Party on the first night, with over 60 people joining us for a menorah lighting and party. The evening featured Greek & Sephardic music and dancing, gift exchange, and of course, ouzo. A highlight of the night was homemade Keftikas de Prasa, Sephardic fried leek patties, made by our Brotherhood Second Vice President Marvin Marcus.
Next, we had a Sephardic Brotherhood Hanukkah party as a special thank you to our various community leaders and supporters for their work this past year. The evening featured beautiful words of Torah from Rabbi Steven Golden of the Sephardic Temple of Cedarhurst and the lighting of the menorah led by Hazzan Yair Yonati, with classic Ladino songs like Ocho Kandelikas using our brand new Sephardic Hanuka Guide. Lastly, we joined the Turkish Consulate in New York for their first ever Hanukkah celebration, with a public Menorah lighting, delicious kosher Turkish foods, and participation live on zoom from our dear friend the Haham Bashi - Chief Rabbi of Turkey Isak Haleva, who addressed the crowd of nearly 200 people with warm holiday greetings. We also had the honor to welcome back Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Senior Rabbi of our sister S&P Sephardic Community of the United Kingdom, for a special communitywide pre-Hanuka lecture at the Magen David Congregation of Manhattan.
January still kept us busy, with the 6th Annual New York Ladino Day back in person and over zoom at the Center for Jewish History. Nearly 200 people joined us for a wonderful day of Ladino music, a book talk with author Michael Frank about his new publication One Hundred Saturdays, Sephardic folklore from Judith Cohen, and a beautiful closing concert with the amazing Susana Behar from Miami. We also held several Frutikas - Sephardic Tu BiShevat Seder celebrations, including a special Young Professionals Party in a Turkish Cafe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
We have a busy roster of community programs this Spring in the NYC-Metropolitan area. First up, we’ll be hosting a special Memorial Concert Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Deporations of the Jews of Monastir at Kehila Kedosha Janina in partnership with the Mission of North Macedonia to the United Nations. This project, led by 4th generation Brotherhood member Zach Youcha, will highlight newly rediscovered Ladino and Jewish music from North Macedonia, primarily the Sephardic Community of Monastir that was destroyed in the horrors of the Holocaust.
Additionally, we’ll be proudly co-sponsoring the 25th Annual New York Sephardic Film Festival, an amazing week of films and storytelling from around the world, elevating the voices of Sephardic and Middle Eastern Jews. Keep an eye out in April for our annual International Sephardic Yom HaShoah Commemoration, hosting on zoom and this year in person as well. Make sure to also save the date on May 21 for the annual Greek Jewish Festival with live Greek, Sephardic, and Israeli music, delicious food, kids activities, dancing, and more on New York’s Lower East Side. The annual Festival run by our affiliated Synagogue in Manhattan, Kehila Kedosha Janina, is sure to be an amazing celebration of all things Romaniote and Sephardic, and is free and open to the public.
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