Jewish learning A Season of Sephardic Culture on Campus
Hebrew College invites you to spend the Fall of 2024 steeped in Sephardic culture with a season of exhibits, courses, and events exploring the legacy of Spain’s Medieval Jewish community. As our Me’ah travelers learned last spring on a trip to Spain, the historical tension between Spanish Jewry’s vibrant culture and abruptly forceful conclusion continues to shape Jewish life today. This is evident in the array of cultural experiences on offer, each offering its own way to connect with the legacy of Sepharad (medieval Spain).
The bold and multifaceted richness of Sephardic life is reflected in Hebrew College’s fall art exhibit, “Silvina Mizrahi: A Sephardic Spirit”, curated by Hebrew College Trustee Deb Feinstein, who spearheads the Hebrew College Arts Initiative, running September 15-December 20. Mizrahi’s artwork is bold in its unshakeable joy and Sephardic spirit, building bridges, celebrating life, and echoing her ancestral past. Her visual art explodes across surfaces, springs forth from pedestals. Strong acrylic colors, bold brushstrokes, multi-media collage play together on vivid canvases. Bronze, steel, and wood share creative space with found objects and blown glass. Puzzle pieces, sequins, and gemstones intermix with dancing figures, bright silhouettes of the human form, and the brilliance of the blazing sun. Pieces with titles such as “Exile”, “Let My People Go”, and “Keys of Spain” underscore the influence of Mizrahi’s Sephardic heritage on her creative vision. An opening event from 5-7 p.m. on the 15th will feature a tango performance, remarks from the artist, and Sephardic food. (RSVP to the opening here.)
The exhibit will be complemented by a series of adult learning opportunities with Tamid of Hebrew College: Your Home for Adult Learning. Beginning in October, two courses will explore different aspects of Sephardic culture and its legacy. “The Legacy of Sepharad and Modern Judaism”, taught by Rabbi Leonard Gordon, who led last spring’s Spain trip, delves into the philosophical and mystical traditions that emerged from Sepharad, focusing on the works of Maimonides and the Zohar. The course will explore how these traditions have shaped contemporary Jewish thought and practice, offering participants an insightful journey through the intellectual heritage of Sephardic Jewry.
For those who wish to explore Sephardic culture through its culinary traditions, “Eating the Proverbs of Sephardic Jewry” offers an interactive and flavorful experience. This course examines Ladino (the language of Sephardic culture) proverbs—known as “refranes”—and their connection to food. Participants will cook dishes related to a refran, learning about the communities and the cultural significance behind each meal. This course will meet monthly, beginning in the fall, offering a hands-on way to connect with Sephardic culture and history and engage the senses.
In addition to these courses, a special Soul Sounds concert on Sunday, September 8, will feature renowned musician Roni Ish-Ran (right). A master of Sephardi-Yerushalmi, Syrian, and Turkish piyyutim (liturgical poems), Ish-Ran will be joined by other accomplished artists to offer an evening of music that resonates with the spiritual depth of Mizrahi and Sephardic culture. This concert, designed to lead listeners into the High Holy Days, promises to be a deeply moving and spiritually enriching experience. Ish-Ran, who will be in residency at Hebrew College in early September, will also offer workshops on September 4 & 11 about the music and text of the Sephardi-Yerushalmi Selihot service (register here) as well as leading 7 a.m. Selichot services for the first week of Elul.
Hebrew College aspires to be a hub for Jewish life that engages with the breadth and depth of Jewish history and culture, and we are thrilled to center Sephardic legacy across our offerings this fall. Whether it is a classroom, kitchen, beit midrash, concert hall, or exhibit wall, we hope you will join is in tasting, feeling, singing, or bearing witness to the ongoing heritage of this transformative period of Jewish history.