#sephardic — Public Fediverse posts

Ashkenazi Jews

Author’s Note: This post has mentions of Nazis, the Holocaust, & Nazi Germany. We completely understand if you wish to skip over this post. We’ll catch you in the next one!

Also known as Ashkenazic Jews, Ashkenazis, or Ashkenazim.

This is a form of distinct ethnic subdivision of the Jewish Diaspora. Emerging from the Jewish communities that consolidated during the 10th century in the Rhineland (Western Germany) & northern France. They migrated there from centers such as the Italian peninsula & the Southern Levant. This includes present-day Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, & Jordan.

After numerous massacres of Jews during the Crusades (11th-13th centuries), they began a gradual eastward migration due to mounting restrictions within the Holy Roman Empire & the favorable policies of Casimir the Great & others.

This diaspora ramped up after the persecution during the Black Death of the 14th century. The bulk of the Ashkenazi Jews had migrated to the Kingdom of Poland (which includes modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, & parts of Russia). This area became the main center of Ashkenazi Jewry until the Holocaust.

Ashkenazim adapted their traditions, rites, & customs to Europe. They traditionally followed the German rite synagogue ritual & until the Holocaust primarily spoke Yiddish, an offshoot of Middle High German written in a variety of the Hebrew script, with significant Hebrew, Aramaic, & Slavic influences.

The Yiddish language progressively declined in prestige, in favor of national languages & Hebrew, being stigmatized by assimilationists & later also Zionists. Though it was spoken by over 11 million people worldwide before the Holocaust. The Yiddishist movement, which sought to preserve & revive the language, faded through the 20th century. Including Duolingo adding Yiddish as a language.

As a proportion of the world Jewish population, Ashkenazim were estimated to be 3% in the 11th century, rising to 92% in 1930, near the population’s peak. The Ashkenazi population was significantly diminished by the Holocaust carried out by Nazi Germany during WWII, which killed around 6 million Jews. Before WWII, the estimated worldwide Jewish population was 15.3-16.7 million, with 92% being Ashkenazi. As of 2023, the population of Ashkenazim was estimated to be around 10-13 million out of 15.8 million total Jews.

The name Ashkenazi comes from the biblical figure of Ashkenaz. He’s the 1st son of Gomer, grandson of Japhet, great-grandson of Noah, & a Japhetic patriarch in the Table of Nations. The name for Gomer has often been linked to the Cimmerians.

The Biblical Ashkenazis are usually derived from Assyrian Askuza, a people who expelled the Cimmerians from the Armenian area of the Upper Euphrates. The name Askuza is identified with the Scythians.

In Jeremiah 51:27, Ashkenaz figures as 1 of 3 kingdoms in the far north, the others being Minni (or Mannaea), an ancient kingdom that flourished in northwestern Iran, & Arrat (corresponding to Urartu), called on by God to resist Babylon.

Ashkenaz is linked to Scandza/Scanzia (usually identified with Scandinavia), viewed as the cradle of Germanic tribes, in the 6th-century gloss to the Historia Ecclesiastica of Eusebius. In the 10th century, in the History of Armenia of Yovhannes Drasxanakertci, Ashkenaz was associated with Armenia.

As it was occasionally in Jewish usage, where its denotation extended at times to Adiabene, Khazaria, Chimea, & areas to the east. They’re also identified with the Slavim or Slavs. In keeping with the custom of designating areas of Jewish settlement with biblical names, Spain was called Sefarad (Obadiah 20), France was called Tsarefat (I Kings 17:9), & Bohemia was called the Land of Canaan.

Given the close links between the Jewish communities of France & Germany following the Carolingian unification, the term Ashkenazi came to refer to the Jews of both medieval Germany & France.

In later times, the word Ashkenaz is used to designate southern & western Germany, the ritual of which sections differs somewhat from that of eastern Germany & Poland. Thus, the prayer book of Isaiah Horowitz (a prominent rabbi & mystic), & many others, give the piyyutim (a Jewish liturgical poem), according to the Minhag of Ashkenaz & Poland. A Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism.

In a religious sense, an Ashkenazi Jew is any Jew whose family tradition & synagogue ritual follow Ashkenazi practices (German rite). Until the Ashkenazi community 1st began to develop in the Early Middle Ages, the centers of Jewish religious authority were in the Islamic world, at Baghdad & Islamic Spain. German Ashkenaz was so geographically distant that it developed a minhag of its own.

The counterpart of Ashkenazi is Sephardic. Since most non-Ashkenazi Orthodox Jews follow Sephardic rabbinical authorities, whether or not they’re ethnically Sephardic. By tradition, a Sephardic or Mizrahi (a.k.a. Oriental Jews; Jews who lived in the Muslim world) who married into an Orthodox or Haredi (a.k.a. ultra-Orthodox) Ashkenazi Jewish family raises her kids to be Ashkenazi Jews.

On the other hand, an Ashkenazi woman who married a Sephardi or Mizrahi is expected to take on Sephardic practices & the kids will “inherit” a Sephardic identity. Though in practice, many families do compromise. A “convert” usually follows the practice of the rabbinical court (beth din) that converted them.

Culturally, an Ashkenazi Jew can be identified by the concept of Yiddishkeit, which means “Jewishness” in the Yiddish language. Before the Haskalah (a.k.a. the Jewish Enlightenment) & the emancipation of Jews in Europe, this meant the study of the Torah & the Talmud for men, & communal life governed by the observance of Jewish Law for men & women.

From the Rhineland to Riga (the largest city in Latvia) to Romania, most Jews prayed in liturgical Ashkenazi Hebrew, & spoke Yiddish in their secular (worldly) lives. But with modernization, Yiddishkeit now includes not just Orthodoxy & Hasidism, but a broader range of movements, ideologies, practices, & traditions in which Ashkenazi have participated & somehow kept a sense of Jewishness. Although pockets of Jews still speak Yiddish, Yiddishkeit can be identified in manners of speech, styles of humor, & in patterns of association.

As Ashkenazi Jews moved away from Europe, mostly in the form of aliyah to Israel. Or immigration to North America, South Africa, Europe (particularly France), & Latin America, the geographic isolation has given way to mixing with other cultures, & with non-Ashkenazi Jews who, similarly, are no longer isolated in distinct geographic locales.

Hebrew has replaced Yiddish as the primary Jewish language for many Ashkenazi Jews. Although many Hasidic & Hareidi groups still use Yiddish in daily life. Aliyah is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographic Land of Israel or the Palestine region, where the State of Israel was established.

France’s blended Jewish community is typical of the cultural recombination that’s going on among Jews throughout the world. Although France expelled its original Jewish population in the Middle Ages, by the time of the French Revolution, there were 2 distinct Jewish populations.

One consisted of Sephardic Jews, originally refugees from the Inquisition (which no one expects! Sorry, we’re Monty Python fans here.) & concentrated in the southwest. While the other community was Ashkenazi, concentrated in formerly German Alsace, & mainly speaking a German dialect similar to Yiddish.

The 3rd community of Provencal Jews living in Comtat Venaissin was technically outside France, & was later absorbed into the Sephardim. Comtat Venaissin (called Comtat, for short) was a part of the Papal States from 1274 to 1791.

But after emancipation, a sense of a unified French Jewry emerged, especially when France was wracked by the Dreyfus Affair in the 1890s. (We’ll be doing a post about the Dreyfus Affair.) In the 1920s & 30s, Ashkenazi Jews from Europe arrived in large numbers as refugees from antisemitism, the Russian Revolution, & the economic turmoil of the Great Depression.

By the 1930s, Paris had a vibrant Yiddish culture, & many Jews were involved in diverse political movements. After the Vichy years & the Holocaust, the French Jewish population was augmented once again, 1st by Ashkenazi refugees from Central Europe, & later by Sephardi immigrants & refugees from North Africa, many of them francophone. Francophone refers to people/organizations who use French (language) regularly.

Ashkenazi Jews didn’t transmit their traditions or achievements by text. Instead, these traditions were passed down orally from one generation to the next. The desire to maintain pre-Holocaust traditions relating to Ashkenazi culture has often been met with criticism by Jews in Eastern Europe.

In an ethnic sense, an Ashkenazi Jew is a descendant of the Jews who settled in the Central European region of “Ashkenaz.” For roughly 1,000 years, the Ashkenazim were a reproductively isolated population in Europe.

Despite living in many countries, with little inflow or outflow of countries from migration, conversion, or intermarriage with other groups, including other Jews. Since the mid-20th century, many Ashkenazi Jews have intermarried, both with members of other Jewish communities & non-Jews.

Religious persecution of the Jews in Western & Central Europe led to a significant migration of the Ashkenazi Jews into Eastern Europe. This resulted in a major cultural divide between Western/Central & Eastern Ashkenazi communities. In particular, this was reflected in the division of Yiddish into Western & Eastern Yiddish dialects. As well as in other cultural distinctions: traditions, food, dress, etc.

Initially, the Jews of Eastern Europe enjoyed relative freedom in terms of movement, being invited by the kings of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Over time, the situation was reversed. By the 19th century, the Jews in the West had gradually been integrated into the general society.

While the Eastern Ashkenazi maintained their strict Jewish traditions & were mostly confined to ghettos, especially in the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire, which incorporated a considerable amount of land where the Eastern Ashkenazi lived: Poland & Lithuania.

Well-known differences in practices include:

• Observance of Passover (Pesach)
  • Ashkenazi Jews traditionally refrain from eating legumes, grain, millet, & rice. Quinoa has become accepted as a food grain in North American communities. Sephardi Jews typically don’t prohibit these foods.
• Notwithstanding stricter requirements for the ACTUAL slaughter, Sephardi Jews permit the rear portions of an animal after proper Halakhic removal of the sciatic nerve. While many Ashkenazi Jews don’t.
• Ashkenazi Jews often name newborns after deceased family members, not after living relatives. Sephardi Jews often name their kids after their grandparents, even if those grandparents are still living. An exception to this is among Dutch Jews, where Ashkenazi for centuries used naming conventions otherwise attributed exclusively to Sephardim, such as Chuts. Chuts is the name given to Jews who immigrated to London from the Netherlands in the 1850s-1860s.
• Ashkenazi tefillins are wound toward the body, not away from it. Ashkenazim put on the tefillin while standing up. Other Jews generally do so while sitting down. A tefillin(s) is/are sets of small black leather boxes with leather straps having scrolls of parchment written with verses of the Torah inside.
• The prayer shawl (tallit/tallis) is worn by all Ashkenazi men AFTER marriage. Except for Western European Ashkenazi men who wear it from the bar mitzvah. In Sephardi or Mizrahi Judaism, the prayer shawl is commonly worn from early childhood.

The term Ashkenazi also refers to the Nusach Ashkenaz, the liturgical tradition used by Ashkenazi Jews in their siddur (prayer book). A nusach is defined by a liturgical tradition’s choice of prayers, the text of prayers & melodies used in the singing of prayers. 2 other major forms of nusach among Ashkenazi Jews are Nusach Sefard (not to be confused with the Sephardic ritual), which is the general Polish Hasidic nusach, and Nusach Ari, used by those in Chabad.

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"For more than two decades, #PJLibrary has mailed free #Jewish #childrensbooks to families around the world. Today, it distributes roughly 670,000 #books monthly in more than 40 countries. According to #AlisaKoyrakh, the organization’s director of books, those stories have historically reflected a familiar slice of Jewish life.

“There are just a lot of #Ashkenormative #stories out there—a lot of stories about #Yiddish, the #LowerEastSide and immigration from Eastern #Europe,” #Koyrakh said. “Those are all really important stories. But we saw gaps. It was kind of obvious.”

The #Sephardic Stories Initiative intends to fill those gaps, bringing together Sephardic and #Mizrahi #writers for a year of workshops, editorial mentorship and critique from their peers."

https://forward.com/culture/841487/pj-library-sephardic-stories-initiative/

"For more than two decades, #PJLibrary has mailed free #Jewish #childrensbooks to families around the world. Today, it distributes roughly 670,000 #books monthly in more than 40 countries. According to #AlisaKoyrakh, the organization’s director of books, those stories have historically reflected a familiar slice of Jewish life.

“There are just a lot of #Ashkenormative #stories out there—a lot of stories about #Yiddish, the #LowerEastSide and immigration from Eastern #Europe,” #Koyrakh said. “Those are all really important stories. But we saw gaps. It was kind of obvious.”

The #Sephardic Stories Initiative intends to fill those gaps, bringing together Sephardic and #Mizrahi #writers for a year of workshops, editorial mentorship and critique from their peers."

https://forward.com/culture/841487/pj-library-sephardic-stories-initiative/

"When #Jewish #immigration to #Brazil is mentioned, many immediately think of the large urban centers in the South and Southeast. Few know, however, that one of the most fascinating chapters of the Jewish #diaspora in the country began thousands of kilometers away, along the banks of the #Amazon rivers.

It was in the early 19th century that the first #Moroccan #Jews arrived in the Brazilian Amazon. Coming mainly from cities such as #Tangier, #Tetouan, and #Casablanca, they brought with them far more than merchandise: they carried centuries of history, a rich religious and cultural tradition, and above all, the hope of starting anew.

Descendants of #Sephardic Jews expelled from the #IberianPeninsula—especially from #Spain during the #Inquisition in the late 15th century and later settled in North #Africa—these families fled persecution and political instability in #Morocco. Their destination was a distant, lush, and virtually unknown land: the Amazon."

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/from-morocco-to-the-amazon-the-extraordinary-journey-of-moroccan-jews-in-brazil/

"When #Jewish #immigration to #Brazil is mentioned, many immediately think of the large urban centers in the South and Southeast. Few know, however, that one of the most fascinating chapters of the Jewish #diaspora in the country began thousands of kilometers away, along the banks of the #Amazon rivers.

It was in the early 19th century that the first #Moroccan #Jews arrived in the Brazilian Amazon. Coming mainly from cities such as #Tangier, #Tetouan, and #Casablanca, they brought with them far more than merchandise: they carried centuries of history, a rich religious and cultural tradition, and above all, the hope of starting anew.

Descendants of #Sephardic Jews expelled from the #IberianPeninsula—especially from #Spain during the #Inquisition in the late 15th century and later settled in North #Africa—these families fled persecution and political instability in #Morocco. Their destination was a distant, lush, and virtually unknown land: the Amazon."

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/from-morocco-to-the-amazon-the-extraordinary-journey-of-moroccan-jews-in-brazil/

An Interview with Esra Akkaya on #Sephardic Literature…

"Our guest this week is someone more people should get to know: Esra Akkaya. She is a young scholar who works with texts in #Ladino, English, French, and Turkish, using them to explore Sephardic culture, history, and literary heritage." https://www.salom.com.tr/salomTurkey/haber/140936/an-interview-with-esra-akkaya-on-sephardic-literature

An Interview with Esra Akkaya on #Sephardic Literature…

"Our guest this week is someone more people should get to know: Esra Akkaya. She is a young scholar who works with texts in #Ladino, English, French, and Turkish, using them to explore Sephardic culture, history, and literary heritage." https://www.salom.com.tr/salomTurkey/haber/140936/an-interview-with-esra-akkaya-on-sephardic-literature

Biblical Hebrew. Modern Hebrew. Ashkenazi pronunciation. Sephardic pronunciation. Yiddish. Israeli Hebrew. Wait, are these all the same language?! 😅

One of the most fascinating things about Hebrew is that its story stretches across thousands of years, continents, exiles, revivals, and generations of Jewish history.

In this video I dive into the evolution of the Hebrew language, how it changed, how it survived, and why the Hebrew spoken in Israel today is both ancient and completely alive.

If you’ve ever been confused by the different pronunciations, traditions, or forms of Hebrew, this lesson is for you ❤️

https://youtu.be/i5YEScJFXWY?si=wuJIIsuGBQqhiQ5S

#ModernHebrew #BiblicalHebrew #Ashkenazi #Sephardic #LanguageLearning

Biblical Hebrew. Modern Hebrew. Ashkenazi pronunciation. Sephardic pronunciation. Yiddish. Israeli Hebrew. Wait, are these all the same language?! 😅

One of the most fascinating things about Hebrew is that its story stretches across thousands of years, continents, exiles, revivals, and generations of Jewish history.

In this video I dive into the evolution of the Hebrew language, how it changed, how it survived, and why the Hebrew spoken in Israel today is both ancient and completely alive.

If you’ve ever been confused by the different pronunciations, traditions, or forms of Hebrew, this lesson is for you ❤️

https://youtu.be/i5YEScJFXWY?si=wuJIIsuGBQqhiQ5S

#ModernHebrew #BiblicalHebrew #Ashkenazi #Sephardic #LanguageLearning

"Western #Jews have lately been sensing the end of what has been dubbed our “Golden Age” or “A #Jewish Century.” Looking back longingly at the past hundred years, we question whether the next century will be as kind to us and our children as the last one was.

It’s a reasonable question, but as I’ve noticed, it tends to be asked more often by #American #Ashkenazi Jews than by those whose families came from #Muslim lands across the #MiddleEast and #NorthAfrica, widely referred to as #Sephardic Jews.

There is a profound difference between how Western #AshkenaziJews from the lands of the cross and Western #SephardicJews from the lands of the crescent are experiencing this moment, and in that difference lie competing visions of the Western dream, rooted in each community’s pre-modern-day-West history."

https://www.futureofjewish.com/p/the-future-of-jews-in-the-west

"Western #Jews have lately been sensing the end of what has been dubbed our “Golden Age” or “A #Jewish Century.” Looking back longingly at the past hundred years, we question whether the next century will be as kind to us and our children as the last one was.

It’s a reasonable question, but as I’ve noticed, it tends to be asked more often by #American #Ashkenazi Jews than by those whose families came from #Muslim lands across the #MiddleEast and #NorthAfrica, widely referred to as #Sephardic Jews.

There is a profound difference between how Western #AshkenaziJews from the lands of the cross and Western #SephardicJews from the lands of the crescent are experiencing this moment, and in that difference lie competing visions of the Western dream, rooted in each community’s pre-modern-day-West history."

https://www.futureofjewish.com/p/the-future-of-jews-in-the-west

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📻 Vortex Night 🌌 (Trip hop pulse)
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🎵 Yasmin Levy - Nací en Álamo

▶️ Écouter / Listen : VorteX [Radio]
https://lesonduvortex.net

💬 Join us on Discord:
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#VortexWave #YasminLevy #Sephardic #WorldMusic #2000s

https://shj.org/new-siddur-for-humanistic-judaism/

Very excited that I recently got my copy of this siddur. My friend Martin Di Maggio has done an incredible job with it.

I hope to share more reflections on it in the coming days as I have the chance to dive deep into it, but I will say for now three things:

1. The book itself is not only easy to read, but it is beautiful. I really like how the pages are laid out.
2. Many of the non-theistic liturgical selections are crafted in such a way that they work with the traditional melodies we know.
3. There is a good bit of #Sephardic influence in this siddur, which is a welcome change.

#HumanisticJudaism #Tefilah #Mazeldon #Liturgy

https://shj.org/new-siddur-for-humanistic-judaism/

Very excited that I recently got my copy of this siddur. My friend Martin Di Maggio has done an incredible job with it.

I hope to share more reflections on it in the coming days as I have the chance to dive deep into it, but I will say for now three things:

1. The book itself is not only easy to read, but it is beautiful. I really like how the pages are laid out.
2. Many of the non-theistic liturgical selections are crafted in such a way that they work with the traditional melodies we know.
3. There is a good bit of #Sephardic influence in this siddur, which is a welcome change.

#HumanisticJudaism #Tefilah #Mazeldon #Liturgy

https://shj.org/new-siddur-for-humanistic-judaism/

Very excited that I recently got my copy of this siddur. My friend Martin Di Maggio has done an incredible job with it.

I hope to share more reflections on it in the coming days as I have the chance to dive deep into it, but I will say for now three things:

1. The book itself is not only easy to read, but it is beautiful. I really like how the pages are laid out.
2. Many of the non-theistic liturgical selections are crafted in such a way that they work with the traditional melodies we know.
3. There is a good bit of #Sephardic influence in this siddur, which is a welcome change.

#HumanisticJudaism #Tefilah #Mazeldon #Liturgy

just one Turkish track by Isaac ben Solomon Algazi (1882–1964), a Sephardic chazzan born in Izmir who later lived in France and Uruguay. recorded in Istanbul in 1909.
https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/1000004356

#78rpm #TurkishMusic #Sephardic

just one Turkish track by Isaac ben Solomon Algazi (1882–1964), a Sephardic chazzan born in Izmir who later lived in France and Uruguay. recorded in Istanbul in 1909.
https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/1000004356

#78rpm #TurkishMusic #Sephardic

Time for #Baklava #Bimuelos #Sephardic #matzo #donuts served during #Passover

https://littleferrarokitchen.com/baklava-bimuelos-passover-donuts-with-pistachios-and-rose-water-syrup/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQmo8hjbGNrBCajw2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHjfZmFJAz5wUQmc0AzbaP2JZva9jr5yGU4sLESonBqwMFPWau6ZY-ZtvU8lQ_aem_Pb2U_cj-6i-kiLzzjrh0ew

Time for #Baklava #Bimuelos #Sephardic #matzo #donuts served during #Passover

https://littleferrarokitchen.com/baklava-bimuelos-passover-donuts-with-pistachios-and-rose-water-syrup/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQmo8hjbGNrBCajw2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHjfZmFJAz5wUQmc0AzbaP2JZva9jr5yGU4sLESonBqwMFPWau6ZY-ZtvU8lQ_aem_Pb2U_cj-6i-kiLzzjrh0ew

Heute in #Madrid - Ausstellungseröffnung !

#Ausstellung #History #Geschichte #Spanien #Sefardi #sephardic

Heute in #Madrid - Ausstellungseröffnung !

#Ausstellung #History #Geschichte #Spanien #Sefardi #sephardic

I'm a ✡️ :anarchismhebrew: British Askenazi (with a a bit of #Sephardic 🇪🇸 to brag about) who refuses to call himself 'white'.

So I'd like to ask #POCs in the States (esp. #POCs from middle class backgrounds) if they see what I've seen:

#Racists of all stripes, esp #farright racists, have a SERIOUS racist phang up abt POCs coming from middle class or wealthy backgrounds.

Do others see this?

#POCmiddleclass. #FascistUSA

I'm a ✡️ :anarchismhebrew: British Askenazi (with a a bit of #Sephardic 🇪🇸 to brag about) who refuses to call himself 'white'.

So I'd like to ask #POCs in the States (esp. #POCs from middle class backgrounds) if they see what I've seen:

#Racists of all stripes, esp #farright racists, have a SERIOUS racist phang up abt POCs coming from middle class or wealthy backgrounds.

Do others see this?

#POCmiddleclass. #FascistUSA

Azam Ali - El Rey de Francia - Portals of Grace 2002

#music
#Sephardic
#13thCentury

Azam Ali - El Rey de Francia - Portals of Grace 2002

#music
#Sephardic
#13thCentury

Often overlooked about the Holocaust is Spain's role, under fascist Franco at the time. What did he do? He ordered inactive complicity. The linked article is a good one.

Even if Spanish Jews came to Spanish embassies and consulates in Germany or occupied Europe, officials were instructed to do nothing even though they were all well aware of what was occuring in the extermination camps.

December 31, 1939 in his end of year address Franco said:

“Ahora comprenderéis los motivos que han llevado a distintas naciones a combatir y a alejar de sus actividades a aquellas razas en que la codicia y el interés son el estigma que les caracteriza… Por la gracia de Dios y la clara visión de los Reyes Católicos, hace siglos nos liberamos de tan pesada carga”

"Now they understand the motivations that some nations take on to fight and remove those races that are characterized by greed and interest…. By the grace of God and the clear vision of the Catholic Monarchs, centuries ago we freed ourselves from such a heavy burden.”

Jewish people had lived in Spain for centuries during the Moorish rule of the Iberian peninsula.

#España #Spain #Holocaust #Germany #Fascism #Catholicism #Jewish #Sephardic #antisemitism

https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/holocausto-franquista-judios-dictador-no-quiso-salvar_1_11990086.html

Often overlooked about the Holocaust is Spain's role, under fascist Franco at the time. What did he do? He ordered inactive complicity. The linked article is a good one.

Even if Spanish Jews came to Spanish embassies and consulates in Germany or occupied Europe, officials were instructed to do nothing even though they were all well aware of what was occuring in the extermination camps.

December 31, 1939 in his end of year address Franco said:

“Ahora comprenderéis los motivos que han llevado a distintas naciones a combatir y a alejar de sus actividades a aquellas razas en que la codicia y el interés son el estigma que les caracteriza… Por la gracia de Dios y la clara visión de los Reyes Católicos, hace siglos nos liberamos de tan pesada carga”

"Now they understand the motivations that some nations take on to fight and remove those races that are characterized by greed and interest…. By the grace of God and the clear vision of the Catholic Monarchs, centuries ago we freed ourselves from such a heavy burden.”

Jewish people had lived in Spain for centuries during the Moorish rule of the Iberian peninsula.

#España #Spain #Holocaust #Germany #Fascism #Catholicism #Jewish #Sephardic #antisemitism

https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/holocausto-franquista-judios-dictador-no-quiso-salvar_1_11990086.html

Sephardic Ladino Song of the Day: "Mamdouchia Al Andalus" performed by LALA Tamar #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB65FkgRjBs

Sephardic Ladino Song of the Day: "Mamdouchia Al Andalus" performed by LALA Tamar #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB65FkgRjBs

SAVE THE DATE!

From Harif:
The Iraqi kibbutzniks were unusual in adopting a socialist Zionist path. They played an important role liaising with the local Bedouin. The last Iraqi Jew to have lived on the kibbutz is 97 year -old Rachel Cohen Shazar. She was evacuated to Eilat but hopes to return to Be’eri with her son Arnon.

As Israel marks the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks, Professor Yitschak Kerem of the Hebrew University will present the secret Iraqi history of Kibbutz Be’eri. He has conducted interviews with the Iraqi kibbutzniks and has been able to build up a picture of this unique group, their contribution to Be’eri and to the state of Israel.

#Mazeldon #Jewniverse #Mizrachi #Sephardic #MENA #Jewish #Judaism #KIbbutz #Israel

Today I visited the historic Main Synagogue of Toledo, Spain, which during the Inquisition became the Church of Saint Mary the White.

Around the year 1200, the Jewish community of Toledo hired local Muslim architects to design the synagogue.

It's now a tourist attraction officially known by the ridiculous name Synagogue of Saint Mary the White.

#Mazeldon #synagogue #Jews #Jewish #JewishHistory #Sephardic

Today I visited the historic Main Synagogue of Toledo, Spain, which during the Inquisition became the Church of Saint Mary the White.

Around the year 1200, the Jewish community of Toledo hired local Muslim architects to design the synagogue.

It's now a tourist attraction officially known by the ridiculous name Synagogue of Saint Mary the White.

#Mazeldon #synagogue #Jews #Jewish #JewishHistory #Sephardic

Ladino Song of the Day: "En Casa De Mi Padre" performed by LaLa Tamar #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KVheFP3LJQ

Ladino Song of the Day: "El Dio Alto" performed by Flor De Serena #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_euegNXwP4

Ladino Song of the Day: "Bellida" performed by LALA Tamar #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrRBccAR1nU

Ladino Song of the Day: "Tres Hermanicas" performed by Judy Frankel. #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6LVQLshzSM

"Survival often requires boldness, and no one proved that more than Chelly Wilson, a #Sephardic #Jewish #Greek grandmother who became the empress of Times Square #pornography during the 1970s. Queen of the Deuce is an affectionate portrait of Chelly as a one-of-a-kind trailblazer who lived life to the fullest, and always on her own iconoclastic terms, all while also providing a vivid snapshot of #NewYorkCity during its daring and dangerous pre-sanitized era."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/chelly-wilson-the-chain-smoking-jewish-grandma-who-ruled-70s-porn

The Greek Jewish Festival in NYC is today, which means making my annual guess at how many delicious borekas I can eat there without my wheat intolerance kicking the daylights out of me. Woohoo! 😀 Check out the festival if you're in the area!

#Sephardic #Romaniote #GreekJewishFestival #Mazeldon #Jews #Jewish

The Greek Jewish Festival in NYC is today, which means making my annual guess at how many delicious borekas I can eat there without my wheat intolerance kicking the daylights out of me. Woohoo! 😀 Check out the festival if you're in the area!

#Sephardic #Romaniote #GreekJewishFestival #Mazeldon #Jews #Jewish

Ladino Song of the Day: "Konja Mia" performed by Yamma Ensemble #Ladino #Mazeldon #Sephardic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq5cAJuUjAE

Ladino Song of the Day: "Porke Yorach" #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnKHjMgVhaA

This year's Greek Jewish Festival in New York City will be on May 19. It's a fun (and, increasingly, crowded) celebration of #Romaniote and #Sephardic cultures, including food, music, and dancing. It's held annually by the Greek synagogue on the Lower East Side, Kehila Kedosha Janina.

https://www.kkjfestival.com/

#Jews #Jewish #Mazeldon

This year's Greek Jewish Festival in New York City will be on May 19. It's a fun (and, increasingly, crowded) celebration of #Romaniote and #Sephardic cultures, including food, music, and dancing. It's held annually by the Greek synagogue on the Lower East Side, Kehila Kedosha Janina.

https://www.kkjfestival.com/

#Jews #Jewish #Mazeldon

Ladino Song of the Day: "No Kero Madre" performed by Nani Vazana #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTEarv2fGlQ

Ladino Song of the Day: "Chad Gadya" performed by Inbar Goldmann #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEhY7GBp1sA

Ladino Song of the Day: "Chad Gadya" performed by Inbar Goldmann #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEhY7GBp1sA

Ladino Song of the Day: "Passover" performed by Ariel Lazarus and Israel Ladino Orchestra #Ladino #Sephardic #Mazeldon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o4LNdC2Hpk

Ladino Song of the Day: "Pesach A La Mano" performed by Rosa Zaragoza #Ladino #Mazeldon #Sephardic #Pesach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLpE0xz6VRg

Right now, Hirundo Maris performs old #Sephardic songs in #Krakow https://buff.ly/3PEwkZ8 #wch

In 15 minutes, Hirundo Maris performs old #Sephardic songs in #Krakow https://buff.ly/3PEwkZ8 #wch

Today, Hirundo Maris performs old #Sephardic songs in #Krakow https://buff.ly/3PEwkZ8 #wch

A video about the ways that many Sephardim celebrate Purim. Sara Malka's videos are always interesting. 🙂​ (And yes, I know, there are some minor factual errors in this, but it doesn't detract from the beauty of the video.)

https://youtu.be/u0BCTuOETKA?si=FMbR6Nqg-0H7yA-y

#Purim #Jewish #Jews #Sephardi #Sephardic #JewishHolidays

Being a largely Sephardic Jew, I wish that demographic questions asking if you're of Hispanic or Spanish heritage would include an option for "It's complicated."

#Mazeldon #Sephardic #Sephardi #Jews #Jewish

"Jewish women beyond the balcony: A forerunner to the modern Bat Mitzvah"

Includes description of a #Shavuot service in 1900 Italy with a group confirmation ceremony for girls coming of age.

¨The choir began singing the Baruch Habah and the 16 white-clad girls entered the Holy Temple and walked to the Ehal [Ark]... All together, the young girls chanted some Bible verses and approached the Rabbi, who gave them his solemn blessing..."

http://betweenwanderings.com/2016/09/jewish-women-beyond-the-balcony-pt-2-a-forerunner-to-the-modern-bat-mitzvah/

#Mazeldon #Sephardic #Jewish #Jews

More pics from today's Greek Jewish Festival in NYC.

The picture where we're handling what looks like orange Play-Doh? It actually is orange Play-Doh. Someone was using it to demonstrate how to properly close a boureka crust so the filling won't leak out.

#Mazeldon #Romaniote #Sephardic #Jews #Jewish #LowerEastSide

A few photos from today's Greek Jewish Festival in NYC.

#Mazeldon #Romaniote #Sephardic #Jews #Jewish #LowerEastSide