## *"The Books of my Estudyo": *## *A Jewish Library in Early Modern North Africa*## *Noam Sienna *## *Sephardic World, Sunday 4 January 2026*** ****We wish you a Happy New Year!**As books moved from their places of production into Maghrebi Jewish libraries, they became symbols of intellectual authority and entry points into a global conversation. They were markers of learning and a way for Maghrebi Jews to take part in a wider Jewish and intellectual world.At our first meeting of 2026, ***Noam Sienna*** will speak about Jewish libraries in North Africa in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He will focus on one library that can be reconstructed in some detail: that of the Eighteenth Century rabbi Yaʿaqov Ibn Tsur (Abensur).The talk draws on his recent book, Jewish Books in North Africa: Between the Early Modern and Modern Worlds. Sienna shows how books sat at the meeting point of private study and communal life. By looking at who bought, sold, borrowed, copied, and read these books, he reveals a world of Maghrebi Jewish learning that was outward-looking, well connected, and culturally distinctive.[[https://iupress.org/9780253073082/jewish-books-in-north-africa/](https://iupress.org/9780253073082/jewish-books-in-north-africa/)](https://iupress.org/9780253073082/jewish-books-in-north-africa/)**Noam Sienna** is a scholar of Jewish culture in the Islamic world, specialising in book history and material culture. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Toronto, where he studies Jewish books in the medieval and early modern Mediterranean as part of the interdisciplinary project Hidden Stories: New Approaches to the Local and Global History of the Book. [[https://hiddenstories.library.utoronto.ca/](https://hiddenstories.library.utoronto.ca/)](https://hiddenstories.library.utoronto.ca/)Join us live this Sunday, 4 January 2026. The meeting begins promptly at 11:00 a.m. Los Angeles, 2:00 p.m. New York, 7:00 p.m. London, 8:00 p.m. Paris/Amsterdam, 9:00 p.m. Jerusalem, and 6:00 a.m. (Monday) Sydney. Patrons already have access to the Zoom link. If you are not yet a patron, this is the perfect time to join our community and support our work for as little as US$5 per month. [[https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi](https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi)](https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi)Alternatively, non-patrons may attend this session by sending US$20 via PayPal to [paypal.me/sephardicgenealogy](paypal.me/sephardicgenealogy) at least 30 minutes before the meeting begins, after which the link will be emailed. Becoming a patron is by far the most cost-effective way to enjoy all our live events and help sustain our ongoing research. [[https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/sephardicgenealogy](https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/sephardicgenealogy)](https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/sephardicgenealogy) ***Reader Advisory: A Public Forum Discussion on Commissioned Genealogical Research in the former Ottoman Empire ***We previously discussed this service. A recent post on the r/Genealogy subreddit has set out, in detail, the author’s account of concerns regarding genealogy research services linked online to an individual referred to under various spellings, including Alexander Makasaby / Alexander Mazabeki. The post is written by a single author but draws together what they describe as multiple similar experiences reported by other users across genealogy forums and social media. According to the author, their concerns centre on the alleged inability of clients to obtain copies of original archival documents, precise and verifiable citations, or clear explanations of methodology for research said to derive from Ottoman- and Russian-era records. The poster further states that, when challenged, explanations offered to clients were, in their view, inconsistent or unverifiable. The author characterises the resulting family trees and reports as lacking independent corroboration.The Reddit post is explicitly framed as the author’s interpretation of user reports and online material. It does not cite court decisions, regulatory findings, or official archival statements, and the claims it contains remain unproven. We have not attempted to verify the accuracy of the author’s conclusions and make no judgment as to their validity. We draw readers’ attention to this post because it illustrates issues that arise periodically in genealogy, particularly where research is claimed to rely on archives that are difficult to access or poorly catalogued. As ever, readers are advised to distinguish clearly between documented evidence and reconstruction or hypothesis, and to seek primary-source references that can, in principle, be checked by others.We report here only that such concerns have been raised publicly and in detail by a third party, not that they have been established as fact. We will review the matter again if authoritative or verifiable information becomes available.[[https://tinyurl.com/2hdd56x8](https://tinyurl.com/2hdd56x8)](https://tinyurl.com/2hdd56x8) ***News from Syria***In December 2025, Syrian authorities licensed the Jewish Heritage in Syria Foundation, a US-based organisation whose stated remit includes documenting Jewish-owned properties confiscated under previous regimes and overseeing the protection and restoration of Jewish religious sites. The foundation describes its work as focused on heritage preservation and site documentation, rather than archival access. Further information about its aims and activities is published on its website: [[https://jhs.sy](https://jhs.sy)](https://jhs.sy)Jewish delegations associated with the initiative have reportedly been permitted to enter synagogues in Damascus and Aleppo that had been closed for decades. No discoveries of archival collections have been announced, and there has been no indication that state, communal, or rabbinical archives are currently accessible. At present, the project is limited to identifying sites and assets and recording their condition.The development is nonetheless notable given Syria’s historical importance to Jewish textual and communal history, exemplified by the Aleppo Codex. For now, the initiative represents an official commitment to heritage documentation rather than the reopening of archives, and its relevance for historians and genealogists remains prospective rather than established. ***Share your Family Story!***Every Sephardic family has a unique story to tell. Do you want to share yours? If you would like to speak but haven’t given a presentation before, we are happy to provide support and to practice with you. If you don’t want to talk for a full 45 minutes, we can have a series of shorter presentations. If you are very nervous about public speaking, we can pre-record. Our only requirement is that you have archival evidence to support what you say. Send us an email at [society@sephardicgenealogy.com](mailto:society@sephardicgenealogy.com) ***Support the Sephardic Genealogical Society***The Sephardic Genealogical Society is now the largest publisherr of educational material in the Sephardic world — and we rely on your support to keep going.If you value our free lectures and wider work, please consider becoming a patron for as little as $5/month via our Patreon page. Your support directly funds new content, events, and research.We are also seeking major donors to help us expand key projects. If you are in a position to help, we would be pleased to hear from you.[[https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi](https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi)](https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi) ***From the Sephardic Archives***Menasseh ben Israel vs. The Rabbis. Are conflicts within Jewish communities really new? The re-admission of Jews to England may have owed something to internal tensions in Amsterdam. After the merger of the city’s three original Sephardic congregations, four strong-willed rabbis were left competing over authority and remuneration. Menasseh ben Israel’s journey to London, and his role in establishing a Jewish presence there, may partly reflect disputes with Saul Levi Morteira, Isaac Aboab, and David Pardo.The speaker, Steven Nadler, is Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies at University of Wisconsin–Madison. A leading scholar of seventeenth-century thought, he has published widely on Spinoza and early modern Jewish philosophy, including biographies of Menasseh ben Israel.[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCFSgGjA3wI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCFSgGjA3wI)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCFSgGjA3wI)*Best wishes**Ton and David **Sephardic World*