In Memory of Rabbi Myron E. Rakowitz, A”H, Leader of the Sephardic Jewish Center of Canarsie for nearly 50 years
Sephardi Ideas Monthly is a continuing series of essays from the rich, multi-dimensional world of Sephardi thought that is delivered to your inbox on the second Monday of every month.
For the month of May, Sephardi Ideas Monthly continues its exploration of Sephardi history in the Americas by interviewing Ronnie Perelis, Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Abraham and Jelena (Rachel) Alcalay Associate Professor of Sephardic Studies at Yeshiva University. Perelis is author of the recently published, Narratives from the Sephardic Atlantic: Blood and Faith (Indiana University Press, 2016), a sensitive, sympathetic, and sophisticated look into the lives of three New World Crypto-Jews whose ancestors has been forced to convert to Christianity: Luis de Carvajal the Younger (1567-96), Antonio de Montezinos (1604-47), and Manuel Cardoso de Macedo (1585-1652).
The stories of these remarkable figures travel across the Atlantic from Spain to Mexico to Amsterdam, and feature spiritual journeys that range from Catholicism to Calvinism and back to Judaism, not to mention meetings with the Inquisition and “the lost tribe of Reuben” in the Northern Andes.
Professor Ronnie Perelis
Perelis explores their fascinating lives by reading, slightly against the grain, “official forms of self-narratives that were composed for judicial or religious purposes.” What emerges through his analysis is a body of autobiographical writing that, at first glance, “is quite far from the modern notion of a work all about the ‘I’.” For the contemporary reader, Perelis’ readings thus serve as a reminder that you don’t need to rebel against conventions, literary, social, and otherwise, in order to tell your story, “Far from holding back the individual’s narrative of self, the encounter with parents, siblings, teachers, friends, foes, and lovers inspires and provides textual scaffolding for the autobiographical text to unfold.”
In other words, it’s what you do with the conventions that counts. In this sense, Perelis’ recovery of early-modern “autobiographies” parallels Peter Cole’s inspired translations of Medieval Andalusian Hebrew poetry, for Cole found the authorial presence of these pre-modern poets precisely in the place where moderns are most likely not to look, in the conventions, “More important than novelty was the activating touch of the poet in his ability to wed the available conventions with grace and memorable… effect.”
While Perelis’ crypto-Jews weren’t writers by profession, they remain captivating figures whose lives, in Perelis’ hands, manage to speak to us across the span of centuries and the contours of very different cultural contexts. Sephardi Ideas Monthly sat down with Perelis (via modern technology) to discuss his new book, as well as some of the book’s general implications
Feature Photo:
(Photo courtesy of the Government of Mexico/The The Times of Israel)
Upcoming Events:
Book Talk: Vulture in a Cage: Poems by Solomon Ibn Gabirol Thursday, May 18th at 7PM The Oded Halahmy Gallery at ASF Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th Street, New York City Join ASF and Professor Raymond P. Scheindlin, renowned expert on Hebrew literature in its Golden Age and a master translator of biblical and medieval Hebrew poetry, for a discussion of his latest translation. Named after Solomon Ibn Gabirol’s own sharp self-description, Vulture in a Cage is the most extensive collection of the 11th-century Sephardi poet’s works ever to be published in English. Weighty poems of praise, lament, and complaint sit alongside devotional poetry, love poetry, descriptive meditations on nature, and epigrams. Obsessed with the impediments of the body and the material world, Ibn Gabirol ambitiously dreamed of breaking through corporeal constraints and launching his soul into the realm of the intellect. Ibn Gabirol created a style that was in conflict with the aesthetics of his age but that feels quite at home in our own. Dr. Scheindlin, Professor of Medieval Hebrew Literature at The Jewish Theological Seminary and director of JTS’s Shalom Spiegel Institute of Medieval Hebrew Poetry, has been a Guggenheim Fellow (1988) and a fellow of the Cullman Center of the New York Public Library (2005-2006). He is also a member of the editorial boards of the journals Jewish Quarterly Review and Near Eastern Literatures. He received the Cultural Achievement Award of the National Society for Jewish Culture in 2004 Space is limited; RSVP required Please click here to make a reservation Complimentary |
Greek Jewish Festival Sunday, May 21st from 12-6 PM Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum 280 Broome Street (between Allen & Eldridge Streets), New York CityJoin ASF at the third annual Greek Jewish Festival as we celebrate the unique Romaniote and Sephardic Heritage of the Lower East Side. Experience authentic kosher Greek foods and homemade Greek pastries, traditional Greek dancing and live Greek and Sephardic music. There will be an outdoor marketplace, kids activities, and so much more! |
Mexico and Moral Courage: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Jerusalem’s Reunification & Honoring Ambassador Andrés Roemer’s Stand for Jerusalem at UNESCO Sunday, May 21st at 7 PM Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th Street, New York CityIn honor of this year’s Yom Yerushalayim, the 50th Anniversary of the liberation and reunification of the Jewish People’s eternal capital, The American Sephardi Federation is awarding the International Sephardic Leadership Award to former Mexican Ambassador Andrés Roemer. When confronted by the recent UNESCO resolution that sought to erase Jerusalem, Israel’s Jewish and Christian history, Ambassador Roemer knowingly risked his position to voice and vote his conscience, leaving the voting hall instead of following the instructions he had received. While the resolution still passed, Ambassador Roemer did not forget Jerusalem and his moral courage convinced several countries, including his own, to seek to reverse the resolution’s ill–considered position against historical truth and the possibility of peace. Featuring remarks by Professor Ephraim Isaac. And a special performance by David Serero! Kosher hors d’oeuvres by Mexikosher NYC and refreshments to be served Co-Presented with The Philos Project RSVP RequiredPlease click here to make a reservation Complimentary |
| Special Announcement Sephardic Birthright Trip Summer 2017 Sephardic Communities in New York, Miami, and Seattle, are joining together to create a Sephardic Birthright Israel Trip this Summer from August 7th to August 17th! If you’ve never been on Birthright before and want to go to Israel for free, this is your chance! For 10 days, you’ll be able to travel around the country with amazing people with Sephardic, Greek, and Turkish backgrounds, all while exploring everything Israel has to offer. You’ll be able to ride camels in the desert, raft down the Jordan River, explore the Old City in Jerusalem, and a whole lot more. The trip is totally free and anyone between the ages of 18 and 26 who hasn’t been on a Birthright Israel trip before is eligible. What’s more, we are working on creating an extended portion of the Trip to Greece! Even if you’ve been to Israel before on a non-birthright trip you may still be eligible. Register HERE today and be sure to select the “Sephardic Experience” Trip. Registration takes less than 10 minutes and no final commitment is necessary. If you have any question, be sure to email us at info@sephardicbrotherhood.com and be sure to check out some of the amazing pictures from last year’s trip and our promo video made by one of our very own trip participants! Note: While not an ASF program, ASF is proud of the members of our Young Leadership Board who are involved in organizing this trip |
 When Baghdadi Jews Baruch and Ellen Bekhor (née Cohen) succumbed to the camera’s gaze for their denaturalization pictures in 1951, they became stateless. Ellen was in her eighth month of pregnancy. Permitted to bring no more than a few kilos of belongings out of Iraq, Ellen carried their wedding picture and ketubah in her pocketbook. Laissez-Passer, Royaume D’Irak by Leslie Starobin (2016) The Last Address Now Through April 2017 in ASF’s Myron Habib Memorial Display Center for Jewish History 15 W 16th Street New York, NY 10011 The American Sephardi Federation proudly presents excerpts from The Last Address, a multi-year, photo-montage series and oral history and book project by award-winning artist Leslie Starobin that explores the enduring texture of memory and culture in the lives of Greater Sephardic families from dispersed Jewish communities in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Iran, and Lebanon. Leslie Starobin is a Boston-area photographer and montage artist. Her work is in the permanent collections of many academic (Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University) and public (Jewish Museum, MoMA) museums. Starobin is the recipient of numerous grants, including from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England Foundation of the Arts/Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. Most recently, she received two Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Research Grants for this series, The Last Address. Her exhibition in ASF’s Myron Habib Memorial Display is sponsored in part by CELTSS: The Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service at Framingham State University in Massachusetts, where Starobin is a Professor of Communication Arts. Please click here for additional information and viewing hours |
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