“Bendigamos al Altísimo,

Al Señor que nos crió,

Démosle agradecimiento

Por los bienes que nos dió”

(“Let us bless the Most High/ The Lord who created us,/ Let us give Him thanks/ For the good things He has given us.”) 

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at

The American Sephardi Federation

In honor of Thanksgiving, the ASF’s Sephardi World Weekly is pleased to offer the following “Letter from the Land of Israel”:

Professor Daniel J. Elazar (1934-1999) served as the first President of the American Sephardi Federation from 1973-75 and enjoyed a highly successful career as a political theorist, specializing in the Jewish political tradition and Federalism. A proponent of Classic Sephardic Judaism, Prof. Elazar also studied various issues connected to Israel and world Jewry before making Aliyah to Israel, where he founded and served as President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Prof. Elazar thought deeply about the American experience and its connection to the Bible. A fascinating example of the connection between the two emerges in his thoughts on Thanksgiving.

One of the central ideas of Prof. Elazar’s thought was the concept of “covenant.” He even devoted a monumental four-volume series, The Covenant Tradition in Politics, to investigating the meaning and historical impact of the concept. While the idea of covenant was born in ancient Israel, Prof. Elazar argued that it still exerted a deep influence down through modern times, especially in the Founding of the United States: “The idea of separation of powers, especially among equals… is a product of covenantal political culture.”

In the third volume of his series, Covenant and the American Founding, Prof. Elazar treated the holiday of Thanksgiving. Together with Independence Day, he called the November holiday, one of “two major covenantal celebrations that persist into the postmodern epoch.” 

What makes Thanksgiving so special? According to Prof. Elazar, Thanksgiving “is the premier national holiday because of what it combines and what it excludes. It combines both religious and patriotic sentiments in proper proportion.” This blending of religious and national dimensions characterized Biblical Israel, and it likewise characterized the original American point of departure when the Puritans arrived in their New Israel.

What’s more, Prof. Elazar points out how the religious dimension of Thanksgiving possesses its own uniquely American character: Thanksgiving “celebrates not only the American civil religion but the religious character of the American people, yet it is not identified with any specific religion or religious denomination.” The religious content of Thanksgiving is universal, not particular, i.e., Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. Anyone and everyone desiring to give thanks to the mysterious source of the American bounty is invited to participate in the holiday as an American. One does not even need to be religious to participate in the holiday, simply thankful: “Thanksgiving is not strictly religious just as it is certainly not strictly civil.” Ultimately, writes Prof. Elazar, “Each generation can develop its own combination of the two.” 

Prof. Elazar’s thoughts on Thanksgiving stimulate the reader to a deeper appreciation of the unique character of Thanksgiving and, in a sense, the unique character of the American project. This Thanksgiving Holiday, we invite you to join us in giving thanks to the mysterious Providential power responsible for the improbable flourishing of American Sepharadim and, indeed, all Jewish communities in the United States from 1654 to the present.

As Jews are being threatened and attacked in our streets and on our college campuses, some may be dismissive about giving thanks. This would be a grave mistake. We must, as Dr. Mijal Bitton said at the March for Israel, “thank God that America and Israel changed the world and became our safe havens.” We must also always ensure that the United States of America, the “extraordinary country that has blessed us,” remains the world’s indispensable beacon and guarantor of liberty.

The American Sephardi Federation is always grateful for the opportunity to serve you and we ask for your support to accelerate the saving and sharing of Sephardi history, ideas, and culture. They are all essential for the Jewish future. Especially at this challenging time, we also ask you to contribute to our courageous and inspiring Sephardi House Fellows, who are on the frontlines resisting antisemitism. Together, let us give thanks and pray for a bountiful and peaceful year ahead.

“!תקבל ברחמים וברצון תפלתנו”

“May our prayer be accepted with loving favor!”*

The American Sephardi Federation

*Rev. David De Sola Pool, “Service for Thanksgiving Day” (The Union of Sephardi Congregations, New York, 1945), 15.

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Bendigamos (“Let us bless”)

Sephardic Songs of Praise by Rev. Abraham Lopes Cardozo
(Cover photo courtesy of JewishMusic)

Believed to have come to the United States from France via Curaçao and Jamaica, Bendigamos (translation) is a traditional Sephardic song of thanksgiving after a meal. In this recording, Rev. Abraham Lopes Cardozo, A”H, Hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel: The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue at New York from 1946-1986, sings the hymn according to the Western Sephardic tradition.

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Image credit: The historical and contemporary cornucopia or “horns of plenty” as represented by a Maccabean coin of Yoḥanan Hurqanos, a vintage Thanksgiving greeting card, and a modern Israeli shekel coin.

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Upcoming Events or Opportunities

Save the Date! 7th Annual New York Ladino Day on 21 January 2024!

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The American Sephardi Federation presents:

Maimonides in Times of Crisis

The ASF is proud to host two renowned Sephardic spiritual leaders and scholars—Rabbi Dr. Marc Angel and Rabbi Yamin Levy—for a timely conversation about the Rambam’s intellectual legacy in contemporary times.

They will discuss insights from their books “The Mysticism of Andalusia: Exploring HaRambam’s Mystical Tradition” and “Maimonides, Spinoza and Us: Toward an Intellectually Vibrant Judaism.”

Join us for this fascinating discussion, moderated by the founder of ASF’s Sephardi House, Joshua Benaim

Monday, 27 November at 6:30PM EST

@The Center for Jewish History (Kovno Room)

Sign-up Now!

The talk will be followed by refreshments, book signing (books will be available for purchase), and a tour of Yeshiva University Museum’s exhibition on Maimonides. 

Rabbi Yamin Levy is a practiced educator, rabbi, author, and academic administrator. Rabbi Levy has devoted his career to teaching and preserving Sephardic culture, law and philosophical worldview. He is the senior Rabbi of Beth Hadassah Synagogue, the Iranian Jewish Center in Kings Point NY and the founder and director of the Maimonides Heritage Center based in Tiveria, Israel and New York. He authored four books the most recent of which is titled “The Mysticism of Andalusia: Exploring HaRambam’s Mystical Tradition.” He edited two books and published numerous articles in Jewish Law, Biblical Exegesis and Sephardic Philosophy and Jewish Mysticism.

Rabbi Dr. Marc Angel is Founder and Director of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, fostering an intellectually vibrant, compassionate and inclusive Orthodox Judaism. Rabbi Angel is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel, the historic Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of New York City. Author and editor of nearly 40 books and hundreds of articles, he has won acclaim for his studies in Jewish history and thought. Among his recent books are “Foundations of Sephardic Spirituality: The Inner Life of Jews of the Ottoman Empire” (2006) and “Maimonides, Spinoza and Us: Toward an Intellectually Vibrant Judaism”, (2009)—both of which won Finalist Awards from the National Jewish Book Council. He has served as officer and board member of numerous communal organizations, including the American Sephardi Federation, Jewish National Fund, HealthCare Chaplaincy, and UJA-Federation of New York; and is past president of the Rabbinical Council of America. He is the co-founder of the International Rabbinic Fellowship. He earned his B.A., M.S. Ph.D. and Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva University. He also has an M.A. degree in English literature from City College of New York.

Joshua Benaim is a leading real estate investor and entrepreneur and the visionary founder of the ASF’s Sephardi House Fellowship. He is the founder and CEO of Aria, an award-winning real estate company on a mission to humanize the experience of living in our great cities. An operatic baritone who has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera and throughout the United States, Benaim lives in New York City with his wife and three children.

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The World Jewish Congress – North American Section and American Sephardi Federation present:

Remembering The Forgotten Jewish Refugees

A commemoration of the mass exodus and expulsion of Jews from the Middle East & North Africa in the 20th century and its impact on present-day antisemitism. The event will feature:

• testimonies from Middle Eastern & North African Jewish refugees
• discussion with Greater Sephardi/Mizrahi young leaders on campus
• exhibition on history of Jews in Arab & Islamic lands
• musical tribute to the nearly 1 million Jews uprooted from Asia & Africa

Tuesday, 28 November at 6:00PM EST

@The Moise Safra Center (130 E 82nd St)

Sign-up Now!

Sephardic Hors d’oeuvres & Dessert will be served