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In Memory of Louis & Molly Wolff (Lupu), A”H
— on behalf of Nisan David & Judy Wolff 8 June 2015
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— on behalf of Nisan David & Judy Wolff
Last month Sephardi Ideas Monthly turned its attention to piyyut, Sephardi liturgical poetry and (soul) music. Our feature article, Basmat Hazan Arnoff
’s, “The Piyyut is Jewish Soul Music,” offered an introduction into Israel’s popular piyyut revival. Thanks to piyyut’s entry into the Israeli mainstream during the first decade of the 21st century, Israeli Jews from various communities─Mizrahim and Ashkenazim, Religious, Traditional and Secular─have been exploring a spiritually nourishing and aesthetically pleasing way to connect to the Jewish tradition, and to each other.This month
’s essay, “Jazz, Piyyut, and Jewish Identity,” takes us a little deeper into that same story. The essay is actually the transcription of a 2012 discussion with musical interludes (check out the podcasts) between Omer Avital, an Israeli-born, New-York based, world-class jazz musician and master of classical Arabic music, and Aryeh Tepper, ASF’s Director of Publications and Online Educational Programming.
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Omer Avital
Avital, half-Moroccan and half-Yemenite, is a major player in Israel’s piyyut revival. He often performs in Israel, and he has created a distinctive sound by using the American blues and jazz traditions to extend and elaborate traditional Andalusian and Yemenite piyyutim. In “Jazz, Piyyut and Jewish Identity,” Avital and Tepper explore the social and cultural context for the popular return to piyyut as well as the characteristics of different piyyut traditions. In addition, Avital entertains the crowd with his oud while telling a little bit of his own story. |
Avital, half-Moroccan and half-Yemenite, is a major player in Israel’s piyyut revival. He often performs in Israel, and he has created a distinctive sound by using the American blues and jazz traditions to extend and elaborate traditional Andalusian and Yemenite piyyutim. In “Jazz, Piyyut and Jewish Identity,” Avital and Tepper explore the social and cultural context for the popular return to piyyut as well as the characteristics of different piyyut traditions. In addition, Avital entertains the crowd with his oud while telling a little bit of his own story.
| Like many Israelis, Avital didn’t grow up with a love of piyyut. To the contrary, growing up in Israel during the 1980’s, Avital reports that, “The Mizrahim were ashamed of their culture or wanted to be mainstream. We didn’t listen to that music; it was off the table.” Instead, and again like many Israelis, Avital found his way back to piyyut as an adult: “When I come to America, I see that when it’s Jews, it’s gefilte fish. I have nothing against gefilte fish, but it’s not my tradition. I have a history of thousands of years that’s heavily linked to the Arabic tradition. I feel myself a part of the Middle East. I started to realize these things only in my mid-30s.” |
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Avital might have started late but he has been making up for lost time at a staggering pace, mastering both classical Arabic music and various piyyut traditions, and we invite you to learn more about piyyut in general, and Avital’s musical journey in particular, in this month’s featured article, “Jazz, Piyyut, and Jewish Identity.” Sephardi Ideas Monthly would like to thank the editors of Jewish Ideas Daily, now the editors of Mosaic, for permission to use the article.
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June 9th at 6:30
at the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY
Persian Jews have a 2,700 year history in the land that is contemporary Iran. Since the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime, however, the Jewish community has collapsed from a pre-Revolution population of over 100,000 to less than 9,000 today. Join the Center for Jewish History and American Sephardi Federation for a New York City première of a new motion picture, Price for Freedom, dedicated to telling the harrowing history of terror, torture, and triumph of author Dr. Marc Benhuri, who is now a successful entrepreneur and member of New York’s vibrant expatriate community.
Discussion and reception to follow with Dr. Benhuri, members of the film cast, and others (to be announced).
Please click
here to buy tickets
June 10th, 14th, 22nd, and 24th
at the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY
The American Sephardi Federation invites you to the world première of David Serero’s Merchant of Venice. The French-Moroccan baritone opera singer directs and stars (as Shylock) in his own Sephardi adaptation of Shakespeare’s play about love, commerce, and bigotry. Featuring a diverse cast and Sephardi music, there will be a preview matinee on June 10th, ahead of opening night on June 14th.
Please click
here to buy tickets
On view through June 2015 in The David Berg Rare Book Room
Sephardic Journeys
A new exhibition at the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY
The Sephardic Diaspora extends from Shiraz and São Paulo to Salonika, Seattle, and Sheepshead Bay. What unites the beautiful, complex, and diverse mosaic culture of Sephardim is a history of journeys—sometimes by choice, too frequently by force—that have driven Sephardi travelers and traders, publishers and philosophers, scientists and singers to transcend borders and barriers as they pioneered today’s globalized world.
The rare books and artifacts in this exhibit, Sephardic Journeys, reflect a rich tradition of scholarship and culture shaped by migrations, and they invite, in turn, reflection upon the physical, emotional and spiritual journeys of Jewish history.
Contact us by email or phone (212-294-8350) to learn about opportunities to underwrite our newly designated office spaces and publications in honor or memory of loved ones.
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Copyright © 2015 American Sephardi Federation, All rights reserved. Thank you for opting (on our websites, at an event, or by email) to receive American Sephardi Federation Programming Updates and Publications. We apologize if this message was sent in error. The American Sephardi Federation is a proud partner of the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, NY., 10011). American Sephardi Federation | http://www.Sephardi.House | info@Sephardi.House | (212) 548-4486
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Copyright © 2015 American Sephardi Federation, All rights reserved.
Thank you for opting (on our websites, at an event, or by email) to receive American Sephardi Federation Programming Updates and Publications. We apologize if this message was sent in error.
The American Sephardi Federation is a proud partner of the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, NY., 10011).
American Sephardi Federation | http://www.Sephardi.House | info@Sephardi.House | (212) 548-4486
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