Tisha B’Ab 2017 – 200 Years Since Disraeli’s Apostasy
This year’s Tisha B’Ab marks 200 years since Benjamin Disraeli converted to Christianity. On 31 July 1817, Isaac Disraeli brought his son Benjamin to the baptismal font. Following a feud […]
Tag Archives: Holiday
Tisha B’ab – The Expulsion and the Holocaust Today
The Expulsion from Spain is said to have occurred on the 9th of Ab. While it may have actually transpired a couple of days beforehand, the association is still apt. […]
Montefiore and the Splitting of the Sea
In 1827 Sir Moses Montefiore wrote, I “threw into the sea a piece of my Passover cake, at the same time praying to G-d to preserve us, as He had […]
Passover, Shakespeare and Cervantes
The first day of this year’s Pesah, the 22nd and 23 of April, marked 400 years since the passing of two great literary giants. Englishman William Shakespeare and Spaniard Miguel […]
The Sephardi Origins of the Dreidel
Whilst visiting Portugal this past summer, I was given a gift. It appeared to be a dreidel, though I was told that it was actually a Rapa, a Portuguese top […]
Rosh Hashanah – Britain, Bevis and the Blitz
This Rosh Hashanah British Jews will simultaneously celebrate a new year while they recall the horrors and heroics of the Blitz. September 15, 2015 is both the 75th anniversary of […]
Selihot – Collective Caring
The month long recitation of Selihot provides Sephardim with ample opportunity to consider the sometimes theologically challenging language of penitence. Rabbi Gaguine (1884-1953), in his monumental work ‘Keter Shem Tob’ […]
Israel and the Early Sephardim
When most people think of Israel’s early settlers, they tend to think of Ashkenazim. They are, however, mistaken. Similar to the origins of Jewish life in America, Israel’s old guard (the […]
Hanukkah – Public or Private Judaism
The signature observance of Hanukkah is the lighting of the Hanukkiah. It’s most dramatic component is its placement in a visible location, whether in a doorway or in a window […]
