Martin Van Den Bergh

Last Monday and Thursday Shachrit the Baal Koreh sang the word קטנתי (32.10) with a רביע. I have always known to sing it with a גריש. On Shabbat our Rabbi pointed this out that the Tikun Sofrim has the latter, and that it is the Koren Chumash uses the רביע. The new Amsterdam Chumash produced also by Koren also follows this. The question is - which taam does edition published by Moshe Pisa (Amsterd...

Found an interesting MA Thesis by Joseph Dana - The Rabbinate in 17th of the Portuguese Jewish Community in Amsterdam. It mentions a 9th great uncle Rabbi Moshe Raphael D'Aguilar.

Queen Juliana of Holland being greeted by my grandfather the Haham and accompanied by his brother as she visited the Snoga on Amsterdam

This is an inscription written by Haham Aaron Rodrigues Pereira in the set of Shulchan Aruch given to their son Benjamin on his going to England in 5670, 1910

Anybody from Greece who knows of Greek Minhagim for Pesach, and wants to help a grand-daughter of a friend in London for a school assignment?

From what I see from a number of comments - there are variations with the Spanish and Portuguese Minhag between the key S&P kehillot - Amsterdam, London and New York. It may be a good and inexpensive exercise to document the differences in key areas. Because nobody can really can claim one authentic S&P Minhag. Also, as to suggestions raised in this group need money to facilitate them. Eg. To ha...

I managed to buy the Koren Amsterdam Humash and Shabbat Siddur through amazon. It looks good.

I had the privilege of spending Yom Kippur with Shaare Ratson, the Spanish & Portuguese community in Israel at the Istanbuli Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem. Those who are serious about the preservation of the Spanish & Portuguese Minhag should also consider preserving this spiritual jewel in the most spiritually charged place in the Jewish world - in Jerusalem. Tizku LeShanim Rabot.

While reading a book by Paul Goodman (1925) on Sir Moses Montefiore I found a newspaper report on the commemoration of the 54th Anniversary of the death of Sir Moses which took place in 1939 and lead by my great-uncle Rev. Benjamin Rodrigues Pereira, the then minister of the Ramsgate Synagogue and Rabbi Shem Tov Gaguine, the then Principal of Montefiore College.

I have been reading an autobiography of Haham Moses Gaster. He was the Haham of the S&P London 1887 - 1919. He says he liked S&P tradition, but was not impressed with the S&P communities and its leaders. Haham Gaster was a formidible Academic and came from Romania. A few weeks ago I spoke at the funeral of a great nephew of his in Tel Aviv.

Just come across an article by Malcolm Stern - Portuguese Sephardim in the Americashttp://americanjewisharchives.org/publications/journal/PDF/1992_44_01_00_stern.pdf#search=%20chaplain%20

Last Sunday I went to my old Synagogue as it was my mother's Yatzheit, but I was not invited to lead the service. Perhaps the Rabbi did not know. However today I was compensated when I was invited to read Pesukei DeZimra. My late Dad always loved PD so it was very appropriate.

Attended a very nice S&P Shabbat Service in Bet Shemesh today with Hazan Ira Rohde

I am just completing a project writing about the Ancient Synagogues of Safed. It is very interest that almost all of these Synagogues were established in the 16th Century being Jews who had left the Iberian Peninsular. A pity that none of these Synagogues continue the S&P Minhag.

My late grandfather - the Haham and my late great uncle welcoming Queen Juliana to the Esnoga I think in the 1950s

On the question of whether or not saying Selihot in the evening, which was raised a short time ago. The Late Haham Gaon writes in Minhat Shelomo: 'There is no reference to this custom in any rulings by known Rabbinic authorities. Rabbi Shemtov Gaguine suggests it may have been introduced because the inclement weather common in England and Holland during Elul could prevent people from attending dur...

Anybody know of a lawyer based in Curacao, or who can work there, in the area of trust law?

Those who would like to have a Rambam Shiur in Jerusalem, please contact me. I am in Israel at the moment.

Very nice meeting with William today.

Rabbi Angel wrote an article in Hakshiva (A Rabbinic journal I edited and which was published through the Office of the Chief Rabbi in the UK) in which he expounded these different approaches to Halacha between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. Some of my colleagues were not very happy with me publishing this article.

I have started a regular Shiur based on Minhat Shelomo, the commentary on the Prayer Book by the late Haham Salomon Gaon. This could be the basis of an on line Shiur for the Foundation, also using Keter Shem Tov by Shem Tov Gaguine.

As Interim Rabbi of Bevis Marks Synagogue I am very interested in this group. I would like to see a) work done on establishing the Halachic basis of S & P Minhag, b) supporting young people from S & P communities who are studying at Yeshivot in Israel c) strengthening the ties between Israel and S & P communities. I will be happy to be involved especially with the last two as I now commute between...