Posts by Raif Melhado
265 posts
Any of our Dutch readers care to take on the translation of the introduction of this book? It’s plausibly short and may interest our group.
Does anyone know anything about a Rabbi Yaakov ben Malka whose responsa were published posthumously in 1935 under the title ”Ner Hama’aravi”? (Possibly also to be read as “Hamaghrebi.”). Looking for basic details like his dates and major career points.This link says he was a judge at Tetuan and that the Hida mentioned him favorably in “Vaad Lehahamim” http://web.webix.co.il/Sites/orchma/PAGE246.a...
Great event about Kurdish and Persian Jewry in LA this Sunday at 2:30!!Hear from Alan Niku, a Persian Jew with Kurdish ancestry as he talks about his trip to Iraqi Kurdistan. Enjoy amazing photography from a seldom-visited part of the world with deep connections to Kahal Joseph.
In the Koren Amsterdam humash and Shabbat prayers, pp. 48-50, there is a different numbering of the verses in Genesis Chapters 31 and 32. Is this an Amsterdam tradition or a printing mistake?The Ish Matsliah tikkun and Koren's "Jerusalem Bible" end Chapter 31 after verse 54, and the verse beginning "Vayashkem Laban" is 32:1. But in the Koren Amsterdam siddur that verse is Chapter 31 verse 55, an...
Has the choral music for the Ottoman congregation in Vienna been preserved anywhere?
Been reading Katherine Fleming’s “Greece: A Jewish History.” While its primary focus, the extraterritorial development of “Greek Jewish” identity, is outside our group’s topic, it briefly discusses Salonika’s early role in adjudicating halakhic issues raised by the Gerush and Anusim. Others in our group have commented that early Salonikan hahamim and institutions were important parts of the West...
I recently read Lehmann’s “Emissaries from the Holy Land” on Ton Tielen‘s recommendation. (Or more accurately I read it like 10 pages at a time over 30 Shabbat afternoons since I have small kids.) Required reading for anyone interested in the topic of Jews and modernity, especially since Lehmann underscores the role of Sephardim in that process. I’d give it a 9/10. Buyer beware: Lehmann takes s...
Aaron Levy posted an image from Haham Faur claiming that the historical usage of “Sephardi” was primarily cultural and not regional, narrowing in the 19th century due to nationalism. By contrast, the Hebrew Wikipedia cites an article by Ariel Picard claiming that it was regional historically and widened to its current usage only in the 19th century. Who is more correct? Sources appreciated.
Opinion poll about the desired group culture: "Western Sephardic" typically means reverted, practicing Jews and their descendants. At the same time, there is a history of Western Sephardim identifying as part of the same "nation" as contemporary Anousim and their descendants. Two centuries after the end of the Inquisition, how relevant is the topic of modern Bene Anousim to this group davka?[Ed...
What should I look for to identify the difference between the "export" siddurim from Leghorn and the true S&P?
There is something nice about the camaraderie of sitting in the sukka with a dozen or so other people and reading the Keri’e Monged. The Portuguese in me may not fire on the Kabbalisms, but Devarim, Tehillim, and round-robin Selihot can be a really warm, meaningful experience.
Besides “sukka welulab” what are some good specifically sukkot songs among the Sephardim of various stripes? Links with melodies are doubly appreciated.
What is the name of the scrunchie that goes around the lulab? (Sorry for the horrible layman’s terminology)
Can the mevinim here elucidate to what extent there were Portuguese Jews in the narrow “Western Sephardi” sense in Ottoman lands? Details and citations appreciated.
After speaking to the moderators about Catriel Ceballos's recent post, I have determined what happened:One person in the thread blocked an admin. That admin has been following a policy for several years to remove people who block admins. I understand that other groups have similar policies, the general thinking being that a moderator must be in some kind of normal contact with the people whose d...
Did a Hanukkat Habayit yesterday and returned from Shaharit this morning to find that the De Sola Pool siddur is reaching ever-younger audiences.
Mystery of the day: who is Stanley Jackson, author of "The Sassoons," which attempts to augment and update Cecil Roth's presentation of the same family? LOC says that the name is a pseudonym, and the whole question is complicated by the existence of any number of other Stanley Jacksons.
This set of thoughts and questions is meant respectfully. I am aware that it touches upon sensitivities, and I apologize in advance for any feelings I may hurt. My intention in posting it is to invite sincere conversation about a subject of deep importance to many in this group. I don't have the answers to several of these questions and would be interested to hear the views of those who disagree...
I seem to recall a YouTube video of this being sung. Anyone have the link?
The Plymouth Synagogue looks like it was originally Sephardi. While the Exeter Synagogue entry on Wikipedia says that it was built by Sephardim and became Ashkenazi, the Plymouth Syngogue entry says it was built by Ashkenazim. Anyone know more about this?
A few years ago I read a book called "The Carriere of Carpentras" that detailed the history of Comptadine Jews. The uniform impression that one gets from this work is that the Comptadine minhag is unique, and not really connected to the Portuguese minhag. The index contains no entry for "Portuguese" and only one each for "Amsterdam" and "London." Yet I have heard people in this group include Ca...
My stevia always makes a cool pattern after I drink my coffee. I'll bet this becomes the next big thing in Sephardic prognostication. But seriously, who can share memories of people who read tea leaves, coffee grounds, etc? Specifics are great, like who you remember doing it, how the reading would go, what kind of hold it had on the recipients, and anything else relevant.
In my Iraqi Kahal we light the Hanukkah at tset, according to BIH. Who has a documentary text of S&P positions on this?
Cool Mi Sheberakh from the last time Bevis Marks installed a Haham, in 1949. I was hoping this booklet would have Rabbi Gaguine's derasha, but there's still some neat stuff in there.
From "Portuguese Formulary: Comprising the Forms of Announcements Made from the Tebah in the Synagogue of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews' Congregation of London," 1959.