## *SEPHARDIC WORLD MEETING, SUNDAY 9 JANUARY 2022*## *WITH YITZHAK MELAMED*## *WHY WASN'T SPINOZA EXCOMMUNICATED?*The Herem against Spinoza is famous, but what is a Herem? Is it an ex-communication?In his talk ***Yitzhak Melamed ***will distinguish between fact and fiction in this milestone of Sephardic history. He will discuss the text of the Herem. Why did the leaders of a community that had itself faced persecution resort to this measure? Can we know their motivations?***Yitzhak Melamed*** is professor in the Department of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. He holds an MA in philosophy and the history of science and logic from Tel Aviv University, and a PhD in philosophy from Yale University. Amongst other accolades, he has been awarded Fulbright, Mellon, and American Academy for Jewish Research Fellowships. He is currently researching a book and documentary on Spinoza.The meeting is on Sunday 9 January 2022, at 11am in LA, 2pm NYC, 7pm London, 8pm Paris/Amsterdam, and 9pm Jerusalem. Patrons can join us on Zoom. The link is shared at our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/sephardiEveryone is invited to join us for free at: https://www.youtube.com/SephardicGenealogyAndHistory/ Please subscribe to the YouTube channel. It helps us a lot and reminds you when we are going live!Over the last year and a half Sephardic World has become the leading forum for learning about Sephardic history and genealogy. We have no commercial sponsorship or public funding. There is no charge to attend our meetings or to view our content. If you are not a patron and can afford it, please consider supporting our work: https://www.patreon.com/sephardi*Best wishes,**Ton and David**Sephardic World**The image in the background: the Herem against Baruch de Spinoza**https://archief.amsterdam/inventarissen/scans/334/5.1.1.1.1/start/240/limit/10/highlight/8*