Sephardic Jews
The Latest
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Opinion I Am A Jew Of Color. I Think.
I am a Jew of color. I think. I’ve always been confused by this idea, of being “of color.” I’m Sephardic, but I grew up in a white town, and my parents grew up in an Ashkenazi area of Israel, so, culturally speaking, I always felt identified with some degree of whiteness. It was a…
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Fast Forward Spain And Portugal Naturalize Nearly 5,000 Sephardic Jews
(JTA) — Nearly 5,000 people have become citizens of Spain or Portugal following the passing of laws in both countries on the naturalization of descendants of Sephardic Jews. In Portugal, where a procedure for naturalization under the law went into effect last year, 292 applicants for naturalization have been approved, Catarina Madeira, a spokeswoman for…
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Fast Forward Why Amsterdam’s Spectacular Sephardic Jewel Goes Candle-Lit For Yom Kippur
(JTA) — As one of Europe’s oldest and most impressive Jewish buildings, this city’s Portuguese Synagogue is known far and wide for its majestic beauty. Its architect is said to have drawn inspiration from Solomon’s Temple. While the Portuguese Synagogue was later eclipsed by even larger and more magnificent shuls — like the one on…
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Community Your Ultimate Guide To The Laws Of Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur Eve And Teshuva (Repentance) • The guiding rule in observing Yom Kippur is maintaining a balance between respecting the sanctity of the day and one’s physical health. • According to Shulhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law), the practice of doing Kapparot with chickens should be eliminated. • We must ask for forgiveness and reconcile with…
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Community 713 Sephardic Jews Obtain Portuguese Citizenship
About 8,800 persons have applied for Portuguese citizenship since the start of a program that enables Sephardim from other countries who can prove their Jewish-Portuguese heritage to obtain nationality, and 713 have been successful in their effort. Only 1 candidate has so far been turned down. The program began in December of 2014, and applications…
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News When Sephardic Salonica Burned A Century Ago — Only To Be Destroyed Again
(JTA) — A century ago, on Aug. 18, 1917, a massive fire roared through the Mediterranean port city of Salonica, Greece, then home to the largest and most dynamic Ladino-speaking Sephardi Jewish community in the world. According to local legend, the fire erupted one Sabbath afternoon amid World War I when the coals of a…
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Food The Secret Jewish History Of Rum
Today is National Rum Day. Little-known fact: Rum has some very Jewish origins. Sure, it’s not the syrupy, cloyingly sweet atrocity known as Manischewitz. But rum, which is derived from the molasses of sugarcane, was perfected by Jews escaping another atrocity: the Inquisition. In the year 1500, Brazil was claimed by the Portuguese and many…
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News This 400-Year-Old Jewish Library Survived The Inquisition — And Hitler
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Livraria Ets Haim is the world’s oldest functioning Jewish library. As such, it is no stranger to the prospect of imminent destruction. Founded in 1616 by Jews who fled Catholic persecution in Spain and Portugal, the three-room library is adjacent to Amsterdam’s majestic Portuguese Synagogue in the Dutch capital’s center. The 30,000-volume collection…
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