Posts by Raif Melhado
265 posts
In case we think we have a monopoly on toppers, here’s this. Does anyone know for what reason we held onto this symbol as opposed to any of the other then-contemporary hats that we have worn at various times?
This may have been covered before, but is there a good list of1) synagogues that *currently practice our minhag?2) used to practice it but were taken over by something else3) used to but are now closed
Am I remembering correctly that Menasseh ben Israel says to light the Hanukka like this? Jonathan Cohen? Aron Sterk?[https://www.c-span.org/video/?401829-1/white-house-hanukkah-reception](https://www.c-span.org/video/?401829-1%2Fwhite-house-hanukkah-reception)
Does our Eda do this? The Ish Masliah (a Tunisian) says that on Beresheet 35:22 you should read the pasuk once with one set of te’amim ending with sof pasuk at “vayishma yisrael,” and then go back and read it again with a second set of te’amim with atnah at that point and continuing on through the true sof pasuk at “shenem asar.”
Over Shabbat I read Kaplan’s “Social Functions of the Herem” article on the use of this instrument in Amsterdam before 1683. An eye-popper was that Menasseh ben Israel is on the list of Herem-ees. He was put in herem for one day for advancing the argument that the Mahamad should not have the power to put people in herem!
Regarding the “Grana” (S&P in Tunisia): were they like westerners in their dress and religious articles, or was there some degree of acculturation with the Tuansa? There isn’t much on this community in English or Hebrew, so if anyone would care to point me in a good direction I’d appreciate it.
This new book looks great but alelai li for the price! I guess it will have to rot on the want list for 10-15 years until a cheap used copy comes up...
With all this talk of ribbons I gave it a shot this year. My daughters especially loved it.
Reflections on Caribbean Jewish reading: while my kids and job have limited my time for pleasure reading, I was able to slowly complete Judah M. Cohen's "Through the Sands of Time" on the Jews of St. Thomas over the past couple of months. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know about our people in this part of the world. It is thoughtful, well-researched, and has excellent footnotes. I...
Anyone know where this is?Edit: found it based on the blurry title atop the huge tik: it’s “Sinagoga Beth Moshe” in Polanco, Mexico City. Here’s a link for a set of wedding photos there: https://www.antoniosaucedo.net/2016/09/boda-en-sinagoga-beth-moshe-parque-toreo/
Adventures in alef and ngayin: in Ki Tese, Shadal claims that the word "tit'amer" contains a (possibly ungrammatical) transposition of these two letters. How common is this philological type of perush? Does it have traction among our Hahamim?תתעמר - נ"ל בחילוף אל"ף בעי"ן מל' (תהלים צ"ד ד') יתאמרו כל פועלי און, את ה' האמרת היום
R. David de Sola Pool’s 1938 biography of H. Pereira Mendes has this lovely photo of Shearith Israel including a then-contemporary automobile. The legend is also interesting for giving the founding date as 1655, which is in keeping with the 250th anniversary of American Judaism being celebrated in 1905 rather than 1904.
Many books about our S&P people focus on the “good old days” of the 17th and 18th centuries. I’d love to pick the hivemind of this group for books or articles on our history in the 19th and 20th centuries. While I personally read only English or Hebrew, anything in any language will be appreciated.
Just learned a greeting for Tisha Be’ab among the Persians which is a bit less stark than our “morir habemos.” The greeter says “titnaselu misarotekhem” and the greetee responds “misarotekhem titnaselu.”
Should the group rules of this group allow participants who are Messianics?A few months ago, this issue was raised to the admins. Because we did not agree, no action was taken. However, the question was raised publicly in a thread earlier today, so it seemed appropriate to host/moderate the conversation in constructive boundaries:The basic ground rules for this poll are:1) Be polite2) Stick to t...
Any special melodies for the selihot today?
Is there anything good in English or Hebrew on the history of the Rabbinical seminary at Padua? Looking for books or articles.
Anyone know anything about the history or melody of this song for Shavuot? I found it in a Livorno printing of “Keri’e Moed” 1864. It goes on for 5 pages - right side in the original Aramaic and left side in Hebrew translation.
In a post in another group, I wrote that "I am willing to stand corrected, but I believe that [R. Marc Angel's] 'La America' was the first book-length synthetic treatment of the Judeo-Spanish experience in the United States." The response was so rude that I no longer wish to engage there. However, if I am unaware of an older book on this subject, I would like both to know of it and read it. So,...
Does anyone know the history of how the Italian Ekhal became the symbol of so many Adot Mizrah prayer books?
Does anyone know of the tradition of starting Vayikra at the top of a column in a Sefer Torah? I have access to two Iraqi sefarim that do this. If you have access to an S&P sefer, let me know what it does - the two that I consulted start in the middle.
Where am I? (Hint: best Esnoga replica attempt I’ve seen so far.)
Anyone have good information on Moshe Cattaoui Bey?
Two related questions:1) Prior to the formation of a distinctive "S&P minhag," what liturgical rites were used on the Iberian Peninsula? 2) Is it accurate to say that the amalgamated Adot Hamizrah rite was based on adding Lurianic and local elements to one of the answers to #1? (Meaning, in the context of the replacement of local rites in favor of the amalgamated "Sephardic" rite.)
Sefer Pirsume Nisa, Calcutta 1887. Blessings of Hanukkah in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic, with 138 customs and laws of Hanukkah in Judeo-Arabic. 32 pages, scan in the highest def our website allows: