Archive for Latino sephardic heritage

Jewish Food & Drinks: importance of keeping kosher

November 8, 2011 · Filed under cocina hebreo-hispana, cocina y recetas sefardi, Hebreo para hispanoparlantes, Internet Resources for Latinos and the caribbean, Jewish Food, Jewish Sephardic Publications, Latino sephardic heritage, Marrano-Anusim studies, Sephardic-Latino Communities, Sephardim and Sephardica, Sephardim Communities, Spanish-hebrew bible resources · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws (kashrut) and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions. Jewish Cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have existed and varies widely throughout the world. In turn, Jewish cuisine has also influenced the cuisines of many countries.

Broadly speaking, the distinctive styles or cuisines in their own right that may be discerned in Jewish cuisine are: Ashkenazi (Central and Eastern European), Sephardic (descendants of the Iberian Jews, including Italian, Greek, Turkish and Balkan), Mizrahi (North African, including Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian and Libyan), Judeo-Arab (Lebanese, Syrian and Iraqi), Persian Jewish, Yemenite Jewish, Indian Jewish, and  Latin-American-Jewish . There are also distinctive dishes from Jewish communities ranging from Ethiopia to Central Asia.

 Ancient Israeli cuisine

The daily diet of the ordinary ancient Israelite was mainly one of bread, cooked grains and legumes. Bread was eaten with every meal. Vegetables played a smaller, but significant role in the diet. The Israelites drank goat and sheep’s milk when it was available in the spring and summer, and ate butter and cheese. Figs and grapes were the fruits most commonly eaten, while dates, pomegranates and other fruits and nuts were eaten more occasionally. Wine was the most popular beverage and sometimes other fermented beverages were produced. Olives were used primarily for their oil. Meat, usually goat and mutton, was eaten rarely and was reserved for special occasions such as celebrations, festival meals or sacrificial feasts. Game, birds, eggs and fish were also eaten, depending on availability.[3][4]

Most food was eaten fresh and in season and the diet was essentially vegetarian. Fruits and vegetables had to be eaten as they ripened and before they spoiled.

 Modern Cooking:  Cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews and Cuisine of the Sephardic Jews
 
The exact distinction between traditional Sephardic and Mizrahi cuisines can be difficult to make, due to the intermingling of the Sephardi diaspora and the Mizrahi Jews who they came in contact with. As a general rule, however, both types reflect the food of the local non-Jewish population that each group lived amongst. The need to preserve kashrut does lead to a few significant changes (most notably, the use of pareve olive oil instead of fleishig animal fat is often considered to be a legacy of Jewish residency in an area). Despite this, Sephardic and Ashkenazic concepts of kosher differ; perhaps the most notable difference being that rice, a major staple of the Sephardic diet, is considered kosher for Passover but is forbidden kitniyot for most Ashkenazim.

Sephardic cuisine in particular is known for its considerable use of vegetables unavailable to the Ashkenazim of Europe, including spinach, artichokes, pine nuts, and (in more modern times) squash. The cooking style is largely Middle Eastern, with significant admixtures of Spanish, Italian, and North African flavors.

Until recent times  Sephardic food has had little influence in the largely Ashkenazic populations of eastern and northern Europe and North America, though the Anglo-Jewish plava is thought to come from the Sephardic pan d’Espanya. Influence is growing because of the inter-marriage between both groups and the location of the State of Israel. Sephardic food has also become more popular because of the fashion for the “Mediterranean diet”as it relies heavely in it, being considered healthier than the “heavier” Ashkenazic style.

 Why is important to keep kosher ?

The reason  Jews  were command to eat kosher (or keep any of the Torah’s commandments, for that matter) is because, in His infinite and unknowable wisdom, the Creator of the World decreed it. The Torah tells us that eating non-kosher foods is an “abomination”,2 and we are forbidden to “defile” ourselves 3 by eating such foods. Would G-d use such abstract wordage for something as down-to-earth as health hazards?

All in all, a person should not be misled to think that keeping kosher is only  for health reasons. Neither does the fact that a food item is kosher mean that it is necessarily healthier. We should be encouraged to develop the most appropriate, G-dly, diet possible – both for body and soul.

but check here what happens when people don’t respet kosher dietary laws ( Sharks are not kosher)

 

Note

1. There are certainly many aspects of Kosher which are very logical and contribute to very good health. Some examples: the prohibition against eating diseased and sickly animals, checking the inner organs to ascertain that the animal is not diseased, not eating meat from animals found dead, as well as checking all sorts of food in order not to ingest bugs and insects. Not mixing meat and milk and waiting between eating them also makes good sense from a health point of view, as each entails different types and rates of digestion. But all these are “fringe benefits.”  Thanks to all the wonderful Jewish women making a mark and legacy  in  Bible,  the World , their kitchen and our stomachs !


2. Deuteronomy 14:3
3. Leviticus 11:43

properly respected……

Yeshua and Women

Mujeres y liderazgo en el Judaismo

Aprendiendo Hebreo
 

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Seder Sefardi

April 18, 2011 · Filed under Jewish Holidays Guide, Judaic Rituals & Customs, Latino sephardic heritage, Sephardic and Crypto-Jewish identity, Sephardic cooking, Sephardic Jewish articles, Sephardic Jewish Heritage Tours, Sephardic Jews of Caribbean and Central America, Sephardim and Sephardica, Sephardim Communities · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Una Pesaj (Pascua) Sefardí

De la palabra usada en hebreo para  “Orden”, se llama ‘Seder” . El seder es la  comida biblica y  festiva que se come en las dos primeras noches de Pesaj o Pascua  Judia (sólo la primera noche de Judios de Israel) en  memoria del éxodo de Egipto. La comida en sí misma no se inicia hasta que la historia del éxodo ha sido contada a través de la lectura de la Hagadá y ceremonial de comer ciertos alimentos. Estos incluyen matzoh, el pan sin levadura, de escapar corriendo de los hebreos de Egipto; maror, las hierbas amargas (rábano picante rallado), en conmemoración de la amargura de la esclavitud; baitzah, un huevo cocido, un recordatorio del ciclo de vida de nacimiento y la muerte y la la destrucción del Templo; zaroah, un hueso de cordero asado que representa el cordero pascual; jaroset, manzana picada, las nueces y el vino, símbolo de la argamasa y los esclavos ladrillos hebreo se vieron obligados a hacer, y Karpas, el perejil o la lechuga, como un presagio de la primavera renovación y esperanza.
Hay haggadahs para cada interés especial: haggadahs niños, incluso café Maxwell House pone una multa Hagadá. Pero desde mi experiencia, la cena de la Pascua es más o menos lo mismo de un lugar a otro y de año a año.
Los Sefardíes conforman la otra rama de Judios en la diaspora o en el mundo. “Sefarad” en hebreo significa España, originalmente  los sefardíes eran los Judios, cuyas familias habían llegado y se habian establecido en  la Península Ibérica . El término se ha ampliado para abarcar Judios del Mediterráneo, Oriente Medio, Latin America y Asia. Debido a la configuración de muy diferentes y climas, la comida sefardí y sabores varían de un país y de región a otra. En términos generales, mientras que la dieta asquenazí se limitaba a los productos disponibles de Europa del Este o en Rusia (papa, repollo, cebolla, pollo, pescado de agua dulce),  los sefardíes se integraron  más en el mundo islámico, mediterraneos, de Latino Americao Asia (India),  los cuales  estaban llenos de una gran variedad de especias picosas, berenjenas, alcachofas, pimientos, arroz y pescados de agua salada. En Grecia,  los sefardíes ponen el sabor a los alimentos con el ajo, el orégano de limón, el ajo Turquía está casado con eneldo, perejil y menta, en el norte de África, el cilantro y pimienta tienen prioridad.

Por esta razón, los alimentos sefardí  Pesaj y los rituales varían mucho de región a región, la Pesaj y costumbres son diferentes.  Por ejemplo usted puede ser testigo de la ceremonia plato del Seder sí mismo. Al inicio de la ceremonia, los sefardies  las Karpas, o  dulces verdes, se sumergen en vinagre kosher d-la Pesaj antes de que se comen. Así como lo hacen en agua salada  los  askenazíes, el vinagre simboliza las lágrimas derramadas por los hebreos. La amargura de la esclavitud está simbolizado por los sefardíes por un verde amargo (como la lechuga romana), en lugar de rábano picante. Una pasta de fruta dulce y la tuerca se sigue diciendo que mirar como el color del mortero utilizado por los esclavos hebreos, pero para este sefardíes jaroset a menudo incluye dátiles, higos y otras frutas.

Los Sefardíes tienen un número único de costumbres de Seder de Pesaj. Una bendición llamada Santak Khadra se puede decir por el anfitrión de la noche. La celebración de una gavilla de trigo nuevo en su mano, los grifos de la familia e invitados en la cabeza mientras se recita una bendición para un año productivo. De hecho, según el rabino Robert Sternberg en La cocina sefardí, ” los judios sefarditas han desarrollado una costumbre de recitar las bendiciones extra por la comida los sábados y fiestas basadas en la creencia cabalística que recitar más bendiciones en el día de reposo te acerca al Eterno.” También , para los  asquenazí esta tradiciones de Pascua como el ocultamiento de la afikomen (el matzoh postre) puede recibir un trato diferente para los sefardíes (los niños usan el afikomen a las prestaciones cuando actúa fuera THT Éxodo).

Sin embargo, es los alimentos de la comida del Seder que será el más sorprendente de personas familiarizadas con las prácticas sólo asquenazí. Por tanto, el plato simbolico contiene el seder zaroah, o hueso de cordero asado en representación del Templo de sacrificio, sin embargo, los askenazíes no comen cordero en seder en la memoria de este, y sefardíes si lo hacen.  los Judios observantes tradicionalmente  no comen trigo, cebada, centeno, avena, y escanda durante la Pesaj, se trata de jametz (en sentido estricto se define como cualquier alimento o bebida a base de algo que, al entrar en contacto con un líquido de más de dieciocho minutos, o sube o fermentos). Ambos grupos coinciden en que estas están prohibidas.  Los Askenazíes, además, prohiben el uso de arroz, maíz, frijoles secos, arvejas y lentejas (una clase de alimentos llamados kitniyos) debido a su capacidad para fermentar. Estos, sin embargo, entre los judios sefardíes se  permiten comer.

Estas normas han aflojado mucho que ver con los alimentos comunes del Mediterráneo, Africa y tambien Latino America o Asia,  donde el arroz y las legumbres son pilares. En la tabla del Mediterráneo Pesaj puede incluir platos de arroz y frijoles fava, que están llegando en la temporada (también se dice que las habas frescas son apropiados porque fueron devorados por los esclavos hebreos en Egipto, un reclamo que tiene problemas para imaginar). Alcachofas, el eneldo, las habas, y el cordero de primavera a menudo se hacen su debut en la mesa de la Pesaj sefardí, más un homenaje a la temporada que están maduros de simbolismo religioso.

De hecho, la influencia de la cocina árabe y del Mediterraneo ha dado alimentos tradicionales sefardíes que exóticamente condimentadas; los gustos brillante de los productos mediterráneos intensidad han añadido de sabor. Aparte de estas marcas en general, la comida sefardí desafía definiciones fáciles.
Existen cuatro estilos generales de la cocina sefardí. cocina judeo-español (incluyendo Turquía, los Balcanes y Latino America) es la cocina judía de la Península Ibérica, magrebí o de la cocina del norte de África abarca Marruecos, Túnez, Argelia y Libia; cocina judeo-árabe se centra en Siria y el Líbano y, por último,  la cocción de los Judios iraquíes, iraníes y Yemenies. Los  platos de la Pesaj de cada uno de estos grupos varían ampliamente, mientras que las leyes de jametz y la historia del Éxodo de Egipto proporcionar los alimentos básicos de la comida tradicional. La comida de Seder de Pesaj a menudo refleja los alimentos del plato del seder.

El primer curso es el pescado, símbolo de abundancia y prosperidad. En Turquía y Grecia, un filete de pescado cocido o de harina de matzá cubierta y frito es siesta con una salsa de nueces que se asemeja a la jaroset de la placa de Seder. En el norte de África, la salsa es a menudo de almendras, en otros puede ser de piñones. (El pescado rara vez se frie y  mas se convierte en pescado relleno y hervido, como lo han hecho askenazíes.)

La Sopa, esta suele seguir sin mucho pompo entre los -sefardíes, quienes no tienen absolutamente la historia de amor con la sopa de pollo como los ashkenazim que son famosos por ello, pero un rico caldo de pollo se arremolinaban con huevo y limón, salpicado de piezas matzoh o moteada con arroz, es común. Maror (hierbas amargas) por lo general aparecen de nuevo en la forma de una simple ensalada, tal vez romana, achicoria, endibia y vestido con kosher para el aceite de la Pesaj-y limón. Esto es menos común para askenazíes que provenía originalmente de climas más fríos donde la primavera no se había dado aún verdes jóvenes por la Pesaj.

Los alimentos lácteos durante la Pesaj puede presentan modelos de cocina por ejemplo de turquia y el pastel de espinacas patatas, un pastel de puerros o algo así como una lasaña cubierta con verduras y matzoh, llamado Scacchi en Italia y de la mina en Turquía. Pero para ir con un plato de cordero asado o pollo (en Marruecos en la Pesaj, es tradicional a los alimentos barbacoa , porque cuando los hebreos salieron de Egipto de que la parrilla y se comió a la carrera), estofado de alcachofas o habas a menudo hacen una demostración.

En la Pesaj Sefardí los  postres casi siempre cuentan con mazapán, o pasta de almendras. Añade textura y delicado sabor a las tortas, dulces y galletas, ya veces con sabor a naranja o mandarina en Marruecos, la canela en Irak y salpicado de cáscara de cítricos confitadas en Italia. La comida termina con el último sorbo de vino kosher, una taza de café, y el último bocado de un macarrón de almendra. Un consejo: al hacer macarrones, no la mantequilla y la harina para hornear hojas de papel de uso pergamino.

El  Jaroset estilo  SEFARDÍ

Jaroset puede ser aromatizada con canela y clavo de olor en Marruecos, los piñones y las peras en Italia, nueces picadas y el jarabe de la fecha en Irak. Este es un todo-propósito, étnicamente versión barro.

8 manzanas peladas y sin corazón
2 1 / 2 tazas de agua
1 1 / 2 libras de dátiles deshuesados
1 libra higos secos
1 / 4 taza de azúcar
1 / 4 cucharadita de canela, o al gusto
2 tazas de nueces picadas
3 / 4 taza de vino dulce de Pascua
1 / 2 taza de vinagre de vino

Cortar las manzanas en trozos y colocar en una cacerola grande con agua, dátiles, higos y azúcar. Llevar a ebullición y cocine a fuego lento unos 30 minutos o hasta que las manzanas estén tiernas. Escurrir bien y dejar enfriar a temperatura ambiente. Puré de la fruta en una picadora de carne o procesador de alimentos (este último dará lugar a una consistencia más suave). Mezclar con el resto de los ingredientes y refrigerar antes de servir. Hace 3 tazas.

POLLO con TAGINE

El valor de este plato marroquí en el Seder de Pesaj es que puede adaptarse a una larga lectura Hagadá. Mantiene caliente en un segundo plano, es paciente.

Un pollo de 4 libras, cortado en trozos
Sal y pimienta al gusto
1 / 2 taza de harina de matzá
6 cucharadas de aceite vegetal
2 tazas de cebolla picada
1 taza de caldo de pollo
1 raja de canela
Dos piezas de una pulgada de raíz de jengibre, pelado
1 1 / 2 tazas de ciruelas pasas deshuesadas, reducido a la mitad
2 cucharadas de jugo de limón
1 cucharada de ralladura de limón
1 cucharada de ralladura de naranja
1 / 4 cucharadita de hebras de azafrán, opcional
1 / 2 taza de almendras tostadas y fileteadas

Lave y seque el pollo. Sal y pimienta piezas, inmersión en la harina de matzá para cubrir a la ligera. Sacuda el exceso. Caliente el aceite en una sartén grande con tapa hermética. Saltear los trozos de pollo, en lotes, en todos los lados hasta que estén doradas.

Retire las piezas a un plato y reserve.

Saltear la cebolla en la grasa en la sartén durante unos 15 minutos, hasta que estén empezando a caramelizar, raspar con una cuchara de madera para desprender los pedacitos dorados en el fondo de la cacerola. Combina la acción con la canela y el jengibre. Cocine a fuego lento 10 minutos. Añadir la mezcla de valores a la sartén junto con los trozos de pollo se dore.

Tape y cocine a fuego lento durante 20 minutos. Añadir las ciruelas pasas, jugo de limón, la ralladura, y el azafrán opcional y cocine a fuego lento durante otros 20 minutos, o hasta que el pollo esté tierno. Añadir agua o más acciones si es necesario durante la cocción. Coloque el pollo en una bandeja. Cubra con la salsa y almendras tostadas. Rinde 4 porciones.

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Sephardic Music: Stories and Histories In the Diaspora Hispanic Jews

March 9, 2011 · Filed under Ancient Sephardic prayers and folk rhymes, Hineni Hebraic Research Institute, Latino sephardic heritage, Sephardim and Sephardica, Sephardim Communities · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sepharad: The Judaic musical culture
 

The Sepharad sphere of influence was initially only embodied in the word of the Bible. Its geographical location was as yet undefined when Genesis pointed the way and the Israelites left the land of their fathers. Over the centuries, the term “Sepharad” gained in cultural, religious and historical significance. Since then, in addition to a place of exile, “Sepharad” has held a promise of a religious conviction and of cultural self-determination. Over two thousand years ago the Jews fled from Nebuchadnezzar and the ruins of the Jewish empire and gradually crossed the Mediterranean. Since Roman times there has been evidence of Sephardic Jews in the Iberian peninsula. In the year 589 Christianity was declared the official state religion by the ruling Western Goths. Exercising repression in the form of forced baptism and death threats, these new Christians forced thousands of Jews to leave the Iberian peninsula. As a result, those Jews who remained behind viewed the Islamic conquest of Spain in the year 711 more as a liberation than a threat. In the Muslim state order Jews had the opportunity to rise to high positions in the government and administration. The Jewish communities in medieval Spain were therefore strongly linked with the Muslim emirates and especially with the caliphate of Cordoba. The Hispano-Arabic Middle Ages represent an important chapter of Judaic history. Having participated in the golden age of classical Arab culture in the Near East, Jews played an important role in Spain as mediators between Arab and Christian culture, and Jewish poetry and music consequently reached a new pinnacle. In the 13th and 14th century Jews were also musicians at the Castilian court. Together with Arab musicians they played an important role in the performance of the “Cantigas de Santa Maria” (eleven of which tell of Jewish live and culture in Spain), compiled by King Alfonso el Sabio (1252-84). At the court of Sancho IV, along with thirteen Christian and fifteen Arab musicians, the Jew Ismaėl played the rota and accompanied his wife when she danced. The 14th century, when the Catholic reconquest of Spain made considerable progress, brought the harmonious co-habitation of Spanish Christians, Jews and Muslims to an end.

The pogroms and persecutions of 1391 led to mass conversions of Jews and Muslims. The mid-15th century saw the establishment of the Inquisition, which accused many conversos (those who had converted from other religions) of practicing their original beliefs in secret. The exodus of Hispanic Jews began on August 2, 1492: in the course of just a few months it is believed that over 160.000 Jews were forced by the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella to leave Spain and all Spanish sovereign territories in the most undignified manner. Many Sephardic Jews fled to French Provence. Hispanic Jews who had converted to Christianity also settled as late as the 17th century in Bordeaux, Marseilles and Bayonne, after they too had been forced to leave Spain and Portugal. Many Sephardim sought to start a new life on the North African coast. The majority however, 60.000 or more in number, found a haven in the sovereign territories of the Ottoman Empire: in Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Smyrna, Adrianople (Edirne), Gallipoli, Ankara, in Egypt, Syria, Palestine and the Balkan states. As Sultan Bayezit remarked on the exodus of the Sephardim: “It is said that King Ferdinand, King of Castille and Aragón, is a clever man, but by driving the Jews from his own country, he is impoverishing his empire and enriching mine.” Sephardic communities were also established in Italy (Ferrara, Livorno), after the end of Spanish rule in the Netherlands (Amsterdam), in Germany, Austria and in the New World.

Sephardic Music: Stories and Histories In the Diaspora Hispanic Jews handed down their medieval Spanish past: customs, music and language. The traditional songs characteristic of the Sephardic Jews were and still are to this day the romanzas in the Jewish-Spanish tongue – judezmo – which is today sometimes misinterpreted as ladino (a term which actually refers to translations from Hebrew into Spanish: ladinar) and corresponds to djudiyo in the Levante and haketiya in the Maghreb. The lyrics of these songs recount the lives of Spanish Jewry and tell of Spanish history. Only a few written examples of this music have survived from the Spanish Middle Ages. However, in addition to the descriptions of Sephardic musical practice taken from medieval sources, the Sephardim’s oral heritage provides a guide to this immensely rich musical culture.

 

The development of Sephardic music is inexorably linked to the history of Spanish Jews following their expulsion. After leaving Spain and Portugal the Sephardim settled in numerous communities in the Mediterranean region. There they sang their songs brought from Spain and sought to maintain their Spanish culture. In the new environment, usually far from Spanish influence, they lived in crowded communities, defiantly continuing to speak their Spanish mother tongue and glorifying their Spanish past. Since the repertoire of songs was and to some extent still is a significant element of Sephardic community live, it was possible to preserve their songs over five centuries.

 

This living tradition, in which the exiles handed down old Spanish epic stories in late medieval Castilian, was greatly influenced by the various languages and musical cultures of the countries in which the Sephardim lived. The Sephardic way of life eventually blended with local traditions in their host countries. As early as the Middle Ages Spanish Jews had worked closely with musicians from other cultures, and this tradition was continued without interruption after the exodus. Not only were melodies integrated into the performance of sacred and secular poetry, but many musical elements too, such as the modal system, rhythmic and metric characteristics, melodic embellishments and cadential formulas, all flowed into the traditional repertoire. In addition, numerous new songs developed which make up the main body of the repertoire still sung today. By the beginning of the 18th century at the latest the Sephardic colonies of the western and eastern Mediterranean (Ottoman Empire) formed two clearly distinguishable and independent cultures. Due to its geographical proximity, the western or North African was able to maintain its ties to the Iberian peninsula, while the eastern camp was exposed to new influences to a great extent. It is therefore possible to define two main traditions within the Sephardic song culture, with regard to repertoire, melodic structures and performance practice: that of the eastern Mediterranean, mostly under Turkish and Balkan (generally Ottoman) influence and that of the western Mediterranean, significantly influenced by Moroccan and Spanish elements. With Europe’s increasing political and economic impaact on the Middle East due to colonization, western musical influences increased, especially in Northern Africa. Any formal comparison of songs from the western and eastern repertoires, that is, from two independent music traditions which enjoyed only a minimum of mutual contact, reveals the fact that, quite independently of one another, both traditions have handed down some of the repertoire and characteristics of the medieval Sephardic romance heritage of Spain. Some Sephardic Jews continued their emigration from Thessaloniki and Constantinople, the two central colonies in the Ottoman Empire, to Jerusalem, where an important Sephardic community developed which even today is still an amalgam of Palestinian, Turkish and Balkan elements. This accounts for the many corresponding features in the lyrics and tunes of the Palestinian and Balkan songs. The female voice is dominant in traditional Sephardic musical performance. Many of the topics featured in the songs are represented from a woman’s point of view, since it was the women who, in the Diaspora, passed on the Sephardic traditions to their daughters. Today the singers further develop the living tradition, accompanying themselves on the frame drum (pandeiro).

 

The Spanish monk Andres Bernįldez was an observer of the Jews’ expulsion from Spain and left the following lines, documenting the important role of women in the Sephardic song tradition: “They left the country in which they were born. Great and small, young and old, on foot, donkeys or in carts, each followed the path to his or her chosen destination. Some stopped at the wayside, some collapsed from exhaustion, others were ill, yet others dying. No fellow creature could have failed to have pity on these unhappy people. All along the way there were constant appeals for them to accept baptism, but their rabbis instructed them to refuse and implored the women to sing, beat their drums and to uplift their souls.” Later, in the Diaspora, the Sephardic romances were adapted by professional male musicians and performed in coffee houses and taverns. In the same way, sacred texts were – and still are – set to romance tunes. The Romance As early as the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the romance or ballad was a very popular song-form in Spain. It originally survived as folk song and was not introduced to the Spanish court until near the end of the 15th century. Like most Sephardic romances, especially those handed down through the eastern tradition, the 15th century romance, as notated in various sources including the “Cancionero musical de Palacio” and in the tablatures of 16th century vihuelists (there it is described as a romance viejo), has a poetic structure of sixteen syllables with assonant rhymes and a musical form with four phrases of equal length. The first musical phrase often has an arched, rising and then descending melodic contour; sometimes we encounter a purely ascending melodic line. The second melodic phrase is usually higher and touches the melodic high point. These two melodic lines are seldom identical. The third melodic section then descends stepwise to the lower cadence note. The fourth phrase often ends the melody in a cadential downward movement. Many of the melodies are based on a descending chromatic tetrachord which is also characteristic of the musiqą andalusiyya. In the eastern Mediterranean region melodies can often be attributed to the modes (makamāt) of Islamic musical culture; the Hüsseynī, Ushāk, Bayāti, Hicāz, Hicāzkār, Pūselik, Nihāvent and Ferahfeza modes are frequently encountered. In the western Mediterranean, especially in Morocco, the diatonic principle was often applied to the melodies, probably under later European influence, and they were made to conform with major / minor key tonality. In the rhythmic-metric performance of the romances, metric and non-metric sections are often interwoven. The eastern tradition reveals a strong tendency towards a performance devoid of metric constraints, while in the western / Moroccan repertoire the abrupt shift from the binary to the ternary meter is popular.

The Judaic musical culture attained great significance through its preservation and dynamic modification of medieval Spanish romances on the one hand, and of the Arabic-Andalusian muwaēēaŖat- and ∆arjas on the other. This is demonstrated in the second section of our journey through time and cultures by means of the different compositional genres. It is our aim to create a living aural picture of the former symbiosis of medieval story-telling of north Spanish, Andalusian or Hispanic-Jewish origin with oriental melodies from Asia Minor or the Balkans: the sphere of influence of “Sepharad”.

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Visa de Entrada

August 30, 2010 · Filed under Hebraic and Jewish Roots, Jews by Choice, Jews by heritage, Latino sephardic heritage · Tagged , , , , ,

“Oye bien lo que voy a decir” dijo un respetable padre rabino a su hijo mirándolo directamente a los ojos: “el apellido no lo hace a usted, usted hace al apellido”. “Y cuídese” añadió, “que también en base al apellido, puede no ser más que un bandido”.

El hijo, mi querido compadre R.F.B., aprendió bien la sabia lección que le dio su padre ese día: lo que importa no es cómo usted se llame, sino qué comportamiento asume en su vida, llámese como se llame. Judio no es aquel que lleva un apellido sino aquel que es Tora observante. 

Llevar el apellido de “Judio” es parecido, pero hay una diferencia muy grande, y es que para hacer honor a un apellido humano importa sobre todo el comportamiento externo, lo que se ve.

Sin embargo, Judio no es sólo parecerlo, porque no es cuestión de parecerlo, sino de serlo. Serlo es ser observante de la Tora.

Nosotros los latinos muchas veces hacemos lo que sea para tener una visa de entrada en un país donde pensamos que viviríamos mejor, y esto está muy bien. Ojalá tuviéramos también conciencia de la existencia de otros países donde se vive mucho mejor que en EEUU, España, Francia, o cualquier otro, por ejemplo Canada o paises nordicos; Australia, Nueva Zelanda.

En  las buenas nuevas (Lucas 13,22-30) aparece uno preguntándole a Yeshua de  si son muchos los que pueden “conseguir visa” de entrada para ese otro país, y el rabi no le responde. Más bien le explica quiénes son los que entran y “se sientan en el banquete de Dios”. Y dice que la puerta para entrar allí es estrecha, por lo que “muchos intentarán entrar y no podrán”.

Dígame una cosa: ¿Por qué no puede entrar alguien por una puerta estrecha? Piénselo. Tiene que ser porque está muy gordo o muy grande, ¿Verdad? “¿Qué significa esto de estar “gordo” o “grande”?, me preguntará usted.

Esto significa, sencillamente, creer que uno tiene derecho a entrar allí. Que uno se ha ganado el derecho de exigirle al Señor que le abra.

Es como uno que está muy gordo lleno de méritos por sus actos, orgullo, arrogancia o muy grande lleno de honores y de aplausos, y cree que esto le da derecho a gritarle al Señor que le abra.

La pregunta de hoy:
Entonces, por fin ¿Cómo consigue uno entrar? ¡No se consigue! ¡Sé recibe como un regalo!  A este respecto. La moreleja es esta: Nunca se debe asumir que somos salvos y separados al realizar la bar or bat  mitzvah, ir a una  mikveh para ser inmersos, asistir a la sinagoga, y “practicar fielmente” la letra o espiritu de la ley”.

“El evangelio nos da una pista de por qué el Reino no llega a muchos de estos: porque se creen con derecho”.

(Seguir las ensenanas de Yeshua en la vida ordinaria). Y en este mismo blog, se afirma: “¿No te has enterado de que el seguimiento de las ensenanzas de Yeshua no es para los que creen poder seguirle, sino para los pequeños que no pueden, y ponen su mirada en Él, y confían, y se entregan, y cuando fallan siguen confiados y pidiendo?”.

Espero que a usted y a mí el Eterno nos llene de su misericordia para que nos saque la gordura y la grandeza de adentro, y así podamos entrar por esa puerta.

No es fácil. Nosotros solos no podemos., pero es posible para Dios, sólo si sabiéndonos incapaces seguimos confiando y pidiendo.

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JUDIOS: TRADICION DE APELLIDOS SEFARDIES

July 7, 2010 · Filed under Hebraic Roots, Jewish Sephardic Genealogical Reseach, Latino sephardic heritage, Sephardic and askenazi surnames, Sephardic conversos, Sephardic Jews of Caribbean and Central America, Sephardim and Sephardica · Tagged

Hace 2000 años que los judíos, presos, esclavos de los Romanos, llegaron a Sefarad (España). Posiblemente, entraron por el cabo gallego de Finisterre, que en latín significa Fin de la tierra. En Galicia, se asentaron raíces de judíos sefarditas y de otros que se instalaron en otros países.  De los judíos llevados a Babilonia or Irak, Iran or Persia, algunos pudieron y otros  fueron traidos a España, donde establecieron comuniades  y le dieron el nombre de SEFARAD, del que se dice que significa Lejísimos.

Ahi ya y tiempos despues tiempo despues muchos de ellos se  reorganizaron bajo el mandato romano importantes haciendo trabajos y principales proyectos. Cuando vinieron los visigodos, ya empezaron muchos judíos a renegar de su fe judía y convertirse al catolicismo por interés de posición social o de otro tipo y luego por la imposicion de la Santa Inquision. Se dice que los sefarditas son de la tribu de Judah y Levíticos, ya que otros judíos como askenazis, centroeuropeos, se asentaron en Alemania, Polonia, Rumanía y otras partes de Europa, es solo un decir no una confirmacion. Hubo un momento que la mitad de la población judía en Europa era sefardí.

Un dato muy curioso es que la palabra Iberia,  viene de Ivri, y al parecer también viene de ahí el nombre del rio Ebro. Ivri significa Hebreo como nombre, apellido de familia. España tiene huellas judías por Extremadura, Cáceres, Coria, Trujillo, el bonito barrio judío del pueblo de Hervas, Toledo y partes de Cataluña. El esplendor judío alcanzo su cima en el siglo XII, y empiezo su decadencia en el XIV. Ya en 1391 las grandes conversiones eran por amenazas de los Gobiernos y de la Iglesia Católica pues eran terroríficas,  hay datos de matanzas en Sevilla de judíos. En el año 1481, dice la historia, El Vaticano estableció oficialmente  la Santa Inquisición en España y por los proximos 11 años muchos miles de judíos Españoles fueron forzados al convertirse a la religion Catolica.

Otros fueron torturados y quemados vivos al momento por Los Quemadores una orden o grupo formado después de la misa del Domingo en iglesias alrededor de Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, y Toledo. Por fin en el 1492, los Reyes Católicos Fernando e Isabel ordenaron la expulsión total y final de todos los judíos Españoles. Poco despues, en el 1497, el Rey Manuel de Portugal, ordenó su expulsion de su reino. De esta manera, los Judíos Sefarditas fueron forzados al exilio por los Imperios de España y Portugal. Una porción de el exilio se fueron y establecieron en los Balkanes, Gran Bretaña, el mediano oriente,  Africa del Norte y para ese entonces el nuevo continente Latino Americano. El miedo de judíos no conflictivos conversos (ANUSIM, en hebreo) era tal que los padres decían a los hijos que cerrasen la boca sobre su sangre y religión para liberarse de morir en la hoguera o bajo otros tormentos.

Muchos de esos judíos sefarditas  dejaron una gran lista de apellidos, quizá mas de 10.000, normales. Muchos que fueron a Rep. Dominicana,  México, Colombia, Peru, Brazil donde se establecieron las primeras, prosperas  y florecientes primeras  colonias sin embargo  fueron allí también perseguidos y  asesinados por la Inquisición y así en otros países. El pueblo judío, siempre errante, encontró moradas de la persecusion de la Inquisición en algunos países Europeos del centro-norte.

TRADICION DE APELLIDOS SEFARDIES

  ¿Por qué se llamó por ejemplo ‘Esther’ ?
Porque llevo el nombre de su bisabuela, que murió antes de nacer . 
Distinto a los sefardim, los judíos ashkenazim ponen a sus hijos los nombres de los ascendientes  fallecidos. 
Eso tiene que ver con la creencia en la reencarnaciones de las almas y con  el honor u honra y recuerdo del muerto.
Si pudiera seguir mi árbol genealógico de algun judio asi , encontraría tatarabuelas llamadas  Esther cada tres generaciones. 

Los judíos sefaradim ponen a sus hijos el nombre de los abuelos, que  generalmente están vivos, Así en un árbol genealógico sefardí van a  encontrar el mismo nombre una generación por medio.  Si leen la historia de España uno no sabe a veces quien se murió y quien  sigue vivo. 

 ¿Será el abuelo o el nieto? Otras veces encuentran al hijo con el mismo  nombre que el padre, pero es una costumbre “cristiana catolica” que se encuentra  aun entre  los judíos sefaradim después que dejaron España, a partir de la  inquisición. 

SIGNIFICADO DE LOS APELLIDOS ( askenazi y sefardi)
 
Hay decenas de miles de apellidos judíos utilizando la combinación de  colores, elementos de la naturaleza, oficios, ciudades y características  físicas. Un pequeño ejercicio es preguntarnos:  ¿Cuántos apellidos judíos podemos reconocer con la raíz de las siguientes  palabras?

COLORES - Yiddish ( idioma  influenciado por el Aleman)
 
Roit, Roth (rojo); 
Grun, Grien (verde); 
Wais, Weis (blanco); 
Schwartz, Swarty (negro); 
Gelb, Gel ( amarillo ). 

PANORAMAS / PAISAJES
 
Berg (montaña); 
Tal, Thal (valle); 
Wasser (agua); 
Feld (campo); 
Stein (piedra); 
Stern (estrella). 
 
METALES PIEDRAS PRECIOSAS 
 
Gold (oro) 
Silver (plata) 
Kupfer (cobre) 
Eisen , (hierro) 
Diamant ,(diamante) 
Rubin, (rubi) 
Perl, (perla) 
Glass, (vidrio) 
Wein (vino) 
 
VEGETACION 
 
Baum Boim (Arbol); 
Blat (hoja); 
Blum (flor); 
Rose (rosa); 
Holz (Madera) 
 
CARACTERISTICAS FISICAS 
 
Shein, Shen (lindo); 
Lang (alto); 
Gross, Grois (grande) , 
Klein (pequeño). 
 
 
OFICIOS

  Beker (panadero)
 Schneider (sastre); 
Schreiber (escribiente) ; 

Singer (cantor). 
 
Las palabras se utilizaron en forma simple, combinadas y con el agregado 
de silabas como : 

son: hijo 
man: hombre 
er: que designa lugar, y se agrega preferentemente después, al final  del nombre de la ciudad. 
En muchos países hicieron terminar los apellidos el uso del idioma del  país como el sufijo “ski” o “sky”, “ska” para el caso de mujer, “as”,  “iak”, “shvili”, “wicz” o “vich”.  
Entonces, con la misma raíz, tenemos por ejemplo: Gold, que deriva en 
Goldman, Goldanski, Goldanska, Goldas, Goldiak, Goldwicz.  La terminación indica que idioma se hablaba en el país según el apellido. 

 Además en Polonia la mujer tenía un apellido diferente al varón, terminaba  en “ska” en lugar de “ski” pues indicaba el genero. 
 
AP EL LIDOS ESPAÑOLES 
 
Entre los apellidos de judíos españoles es fácil reconocer oficios,  designados en árabe o en hebreo, como: 
 
Amzalag, joyero; 
Saban, jabonero; 
Nagar, carpintero; 
Haddad, herrero; 
Hakim, medico; 
 
PROFESIONES RELACIONADAS CON LA SINAGOGA COMO: 
 
Hazan, cantor; 
Melamed, maestro; 
Dayan, juez; 
 
TITULOS HONORABLES como: 
 
Navon, sabio; 
Moreno , maestro nuestro y 
Gabay, oficial. 
 
Es popular el apellido Péres, muchas veces escrito Pérez, con la  terminación idiomática española.  Pero no es apellido de origen español sino la palabra hebrea que designan  los capítulos en que la Torah (los cinco libros de Moisés), se divide para   su lectura semanal, a efectos de completar en todo el a ño la lectura de la  Torah. 
 
Muchos apellidos españoles adquirieron pronunciación ashkenazí en Polonia,  como ejemplo: Castelanksi, Luski (que viene de Huesca, en España).  O tomaron como apellido Spanier (español), Fremder (extraño),o Auslander  (extranjero) . En Italia la inquisición se instauró después que en España, de ahí que hubo  también judíos italianos que emigraron a Polonia.  Aparece el apellido Italiener y Welsch o Bloch, porque Italia es llamada  Wloche en alemán. 
 
APELLIDOS DERIVADOS DE LA BIBLIA 
 Una buena cantidad de apellidos judíos deriva de nombres bíblicos o de  ciudades europeas del Asia Menor. Esto muchas veces les hace llevar consigo  las huellas del lugar en que se origino. Tomemos como ejemplo de “raíz de 
apellido” el nombre de Abraham.  Hijo de Abr aha m se dice distinto en cada idioma.  Abramson, Abraams, Abramchik o Abramescu en alemán u holandés. Abramov o  Abramoff en ruso. Abramovici, Abramescu en rumano. Abramski, Abramovski en  lenguas eslavas. Abramino en español, Abramelo en italiano. Abramian en  armenio. Abrami, Ben Abram en hebreo. Bar Abram en arameo. Abramzadek o Abrampur  en persa. Abramshvili en georgiano. Barhum, Barhuni en árabe. 
 
Los judíos de países árabes también usaron el prefijo Ibn.  Los cristianos o conversos al catolicismo  también han tomado sus apellidos con agregados que  significan “?hijo de”. Los españoles usan el sufijo “ez”, los suecos el sufijo “sen” y los  escoceses ponen “Mac” al principio del apellido. 

 Los apellidos judíos no tomaron la terminación sueca ni el prefijo  escocés.  Se puede constatar esas variaciones mirando en la guía tel efónica, cuantos apellidos hay derivados de Abraham, Isaac y Jacob.  Hay tambien apellidos judíos que siguen el nombre de mujeres, pero es  menos común. A veces esto sucedía porque las mujeres eran viudas o, por alguna  razón, eran figuras dominantes en la familia. Goldin viene de Golda. Hanin de  Hana. Perl o Perles de Rivka.

Otro dato curioso lo presenta el apellido Ginich. La hija del Gaón de Vilna se  llamaba Gine y se caso con rabino venido de España. Sus hijos y nietos eran  conocidos como los descendientes de Gine y tomaron el apellido Ginich.  También hay apellidos derivados de iniciales hebreas, como Katz o Kac,  que en polaco se pronuncia Katz. Son dos letras en hebreo, K y Z iniciales  de las palabras Kohen Zedek, que significa “sacerdote justo”. 

APELLIDOS ADQUIRIDOS AL VIAJAR 
 
En a pellidos que derivan de ciudades; el origen es claro: Romano, Toledano,  Misnki, Kracoviac. Otras veces el apellido muestra el camino que los judíos tomaron en la  diáspora. Por ejemplo encontramos en Polonia apellidos como Pedro que es un nombre  español. ¿Qué indica? Fueron judíos que escaparon de la inquisición española en el 
siglo XV. En su origen, posiblemente eran sefaradim, pero se mezclaron y adaptaron al  medio ashkenazí. 

Muchas abuelas polacas se llaman Sprintze. ¿De dónde viene ese nombre?  ¿Qué significa? Piensen que en hebreo no se escriben las vocales; así que es un nombre que  se escribe en letras hebreas Sprinz, que en polaco se lee Sprintze, pero 
¿como lo leeríamos si le pusiéramos vocales en español?- Sería Esperanza,  que escrito en hebreo y leído en polaco resulta Sprintze. 
 
CAMBIOS DE APELLIDOS 
 
Durante las conversiones forzosas por la inquisición católica en España y Portugal, para muchos   judíos la muestra era adoptando nuevos apellidos, que las parroquias elegían para  “cristianos nuevos”, como Salvador o Santa Cruz . Otros tomaron el apellido de sus padrinos  cristianos catolicos.  Mas tarde, al huir a Holanda, América o al Imperio Turco, volvieron a la  religión judía, sin perder su nuevo apellido. Así aparecieron apellidos como  Díaz, Errera, Rocas, Fernandez, Silva, Mendes, López o Pereira . 
 
Otro cambio de apellidos lo causaron las guerras. La gente perdió o quiso  perder sus documentos y se “consiguió” un pasaporte con apellido que no  denunciara su origen, para cruzar a salvo una frontera o a escapar del  servicio militar. 
A fines del siglo pasado el Zar de Rusia, reclamaba 25 año s de servicio  militar obligatorio. ¡ Cuantos inmigrantes huyeron de Rusia y Ucrania con pasaportes cambiados  para evitar una vida dedicada al ejercicio del Zar !. 
 
Otra cuestión es que nos guste o no  en Latino America especialmente somos hijos de inmigrantes y muchos apellidos se  desfiguraron al cambiar de país y de idioma. A veces los empleados de  Aduana, otras el mismo inmigrante que no sabia español lo escribían mal.  Por eso muchos integrantes de la misma familia tienen apellidos similares en  sonidos, pero escritos con diferente gráfica. 

Hay tantas historias en los cambios de apellidos… !

Existe un libro muy bueno, “Judíos Conversos: Los antepasados judíos de las familias tradicionales argentinas” de Javier Saban .Alli el autor explica el origen 100% Judio-Marrano de familias tradicionales y “Patricias” como los Alsogaray. Believe it…or not…

 Yo agregaria (en base a material investigado) que más que a despojarse de sus nombres de origen Hebreo y “tomar apellido” neutral, a los Judios Europeos del siglo XVIII se los obligó a COMPRAR apellido. No todo el mundo podia llamarse “Rubinstein” (o piedra de Rubi) y de esta forma aparecieron miles de “Grosskoff”, “Grosskopft”, “Groisser”, etc. de obvio significado y no tan elegantes…pero muy baratos

Curso Hebreo para hispano parlantes

Apellido y Linaje Hebreo

http://findmyheritage.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/apellido-y-linaje-judio-si-tanto-ayuda-la-tradicion/

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Sephardi Jewish communities in Latin America.

June 27, 2010 · Filed under Hebraic heritage, Hebraic Roots, Internet Resources for Latinos and the caribbean, Jewish Sephardic Genealogical Reseach, Jews by heritage, Latino sephardic heritage, Marrano-Anusim studies, Sephardic and Crypto-Jewish identity, Sephardic conversos, Sephardic Jews of Caribbean and Central America · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The term “Sephardic” itself often tends to obscure this diversity. At its root, the word refers to Jews who can trace their origins back to the Iberian Peninsula, but it is often used as a catchall label for any Jew who is simply not Ashkenazic. Although even many non-Ashkenazic Jews themselves may employ the label, it glosses over a diversity of communities stretching from Iberian Peninsula all the way to Latin America, the Balkans, to North Africa, to the Arab world, to the Caucasus and beyond. The genetic picture is not far behind.

For years assimilation has been threatening the future of Sephardi Jewish communities in Latin America.”  Of Latin America’s 450,000 Jews, about 180,000 are Sephardi, with ancestors from Spain and Portugal who later settled in Latin America, Syria, North Africa and the Balkans.  About 20 percent of the world’s Jews are Sephardi; the rest are Ashkenazi with ancestors from Germany and Eastern Europe.  The two groups have different liturgy, religious customs and Hebrew pronunciations.

Of interest to all, is the fact that three hundred and fifty years ago, 23 Sefardic Jews landed in the harbor of New Amsterdam (New York) . Several of the men in the group were certified shohets and slaughtered their meat themselves. But a much larger community was already settled in  Mexico, the Caribbean such Dominican Republic and Curazao and South America such as Brazil, Peru and Colombia.

“The massacres and forced conversions of at least tens of thousands of Jews of Spain in 1391, starting in Seville and sweeping across Spain, did not mark the last years for Jews in Spain.  The process of Christian victimization of the Jews of Spain had started long before, and continued also for the next century.  The year 1391 was a watershed event because it split Spanish Jewry into two communities that evolved quite differently.  The many thousands who were forcibly converted to Christianity in 1391, and their descendants, were known as New Christians, or as Conversos.  Many, many of them practiced Judaism secretly, or at least continued various Judaic practices.  Very often, they were related by blood and marriage to families who survived the horrors of 1391, rejected attempts at conversion, and remained Jewish afterwards.  Also, conversionary pressures, which had persisted for centuries, intensified in the early 1400′s and many thousands of Spanish Jews joined the New Christians of 1391.

There was no Inquisition in Spain until 1480′s. As a result, it was possible for many New Christians or “Anusim” (forced ones) to outwardly appear as Christians and yet inwardly retains aspects of their Judaism, their firm belief in one G_d, and the observance of Jewish religious practices.  At the same time, while the Christian rulers of the Spanish kingdoms of Aragon and Castille, and the Church, continue to victimize the Jews and subject them to oppressive restrictions and confiscatory taxes, New Christians or Conversos were permitted to prosper.  In time, there was much jealousy among Old Christians and the Conversos became targets of violence – just as Jews had been earlier.

In January 1492, the Christian monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and his wife Isabella of Castille conquered Granada, the last Moorish outpost in Spain.  Seeing Spain unified as a Christian kingdom, Ferdinand and, Isabella, at prompting of the Church (through its holy office of the Inquisition and its grand inquisitor Torquemada), issued a declaration expelling all Jews from Spain (except for Navarre, which they did not control, and from which the Jews were expelled in 1498 at their urging). The purported purpose of the Expulsion was to extinguish the contacts between Conversos and Jews that supposedly had prevented many Conversos from becoming faithful Christians.

In the aftermath of the expulsion of the Spanish Jews in 1492, the Inquisition continued to function with exceptional savagery as it claimed to look for Jewish practices among the Conversos.  Much of this same history was later repeated in Portugal, where the Jews were forcibly converted en masse in around 1497, and then subjected to the Inquisition that was adopted about 40 years later.

As has been noted, many name changes occurred.  In time, many of the Conversos of Portugal left for other places and openly declared their Judaism.  Along with them they brought their Spanish and Portuguese surnames.  I might guess, for example, that my great-great-grandmother, Catherine Hererra (who lived in Antalya, Turkey around the early 1800s) came from one of those families of Spanish Conversos.

I hope that this provides some light as to the mystery of the Jewish roots for many who live in Spain (and Portugal too).  There is some much valuable literature on this subject. If you would like a few good references, please let us know.

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The synagogue in shabbat, both structured and unstructured

June 8, 2010 · Filed under Hebraic heritage, Latino sephardic heritage · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There are all kinds of synagogues, of different denominations, serving people from different parts of the world (the Yemenite tradition is unsurprisingly nothing like the Polish tradition or the Moroccan tradition, Latino-style Conservative,  sephardic-style Conservative,  Contemporary Judaic Fellowship and so on, and each community has its own synagogue). In Orthodox synagogues there is a separate section for women we with agree but  what is not Torah based  is  that  in most Orthodox synagogues the women are demeaningly hidden away upstairs or behind a screen where they cannot see anything.

You cannot take photos in a synagogue on Shabbat, and likewise refrain from doing the other things I mentioned above . You should know that is disrupting and direspectful. We do encourage the use of tecnology. Is not Torah based to be insensitive and careless of others tha are in hospital or chain to a wheelchair or else. Some congregants are old , sick , in a distance or disadvantage  and  TV or internet are their only way to be in touch.   Orthodox  observant don’t use it because they see them as a corrupting influence, but they certainly use cellphone technology and the like.??

S hould we reject all modern technology?  Please stop the nonsense. You are not breaking any commadment . Man-made law is different than Torah or biblical based instructions.  The same goes with the music. The L-rd deserves to be praise in a magnificient , solemn and  joyous way.  So you listen to  certain secular music the whole  week and when attending the shabbat service or  the house of the L-rd it is  going to be all silent?  What about  Jehoshaphat, or Josaphat,   King of Judah?   What about David? they both were great musicians and certain in ancient Israel and through the Bible you can see that music is a great part and heritage of Jewish people.

What kind of example are we giving?  in Shabbat you should sing ,  listen and dance  to religious and spiritual music that bless His Name.  Music was always a part of the people, but it took on new significance with the construction of the Temple at Jerusalem. From the moment that King David “danced with all his strength,” in front of the Holy Ark as it entered Jerusalem, all religious ceremonies would be accompanied by music.

Music is central to the religious experience, indeed to the human experience, and there is no book more full of music than the Torah. If nothing else, the fact that the Torah is publically chanted, not simply read in a narrative fashion, should indicate the centrality of music as a form of deeper communication. Every word in the entire Biblical set of books has a musical note, called a “trope,” attached to it.

Within the Biblical period itself, we find song to be the language of choice at the most dramatic moments. “Thus sang Moses and the Children of Israel,” after the crossing of the Reed Sea. Later, we have the Song of The Well in Numbers, the Song of Devorah in Judges and the Song of David in Kings. These songs are outpourings of joy and gratitude to God after the manifestation of His miracles and deliverance.  The function of music in Judaism is to inspire man,  sort of  imitating angels, which praise the L-ord constantly and we must use all the tools that we have, both in vocal talent and in creativity.

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What are the different between Messianic Jews and Orthodox Jews?

June 5, 2010 · Filed under Aprendiendo Hebreo, Biblical Judaism, Estudio del idioma Hebreo, Hebraic heritage, Hebreo para hispanoparlantes, Hineni Hebraic Research Institute, Internet Resources for Latinos and the caribbean, Jewish religious Movements & Divisions, Jews by Choice, Jews by heritage, Judaism, Latino sephardic heritage, Recursos teologicos judios, Sephardic and Crypto-Jewish identity, Sephardic Jewish Heritage Tours, Sephardic Jews of Caribbean and Central America, Sephardim and Sephardica, Unstructured synagogue: Synagogue without walls, Virtual Synagogue, Yeshua's Movement : Missiologists · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What are the different between Messianic Jews and Rabbinic, Orthodox or Talmudic Jews?

Rabbinic Jews are people of hebraic heritage, and part of a religious movement that goes back centuries but it didn’t exist as  such during the Roman Ocuppation of Israel. There was not ‘Judaism”.   Today’s Judaism have many ideas from hasidics….many ideas for Hasidism derived from Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah). For instance  Hasidic Jews have maintained their identity in many countries, although they have been influenced by local clothing styles. The Hasidic boys of Antwerp. Their clothes are dark/black. They are the only religious/ethnic group in Belgium/Holland whose boys stand out and are immediately recognizable by their clothes. Of course also by their ‘peyes’. If you visit Brooklyn , New York, USA  where I was grew or other ‘ Jewish orthodox’ area  in North America , including certain cities of  Canada where I  live you’ll probably see the same.

But nowhere in the Torah you see the G-d of lights commanding “his children” to dress in “black”. if you read the Torah the priest used very WHITE ROBES and the common people used lots of colors. Have you ever wonder who would inspired those ’black’ clothes style?  Certainly not G-d ! but ironically most people consider them  to be “Jewish”, and practitioners of the Torah.

Because Rabbinic Judaism  have regarded the Talmud and other traditions HIGHER  than Torah, they are living traditions,  not Torah ( teaching and instructions) . They aren’t waiting on any risen Messiah or a Messiah with divine wisdom or origin. They believe their Messiah  will be a mortal regular man who will fulfill a series of signs within a single lifetime.

To the contrary not all of the Messianic “Jews” are Christians, or follow christian pagantry  but  an authentic Jewish faith movement  was rekindle  by a Christian movement that goes back to the 1960s. Because of  a twisted notion (has not foundation on the Torah) that Jews have defined themselves using the criteria…..anyone born to a Jewish mother is Jewish; but according to Torah anyone  with Jewish parents and who converts to Judaism  is Jewish. Judaism has everything to do with what you believe and what you do.  Nowhere in the Tannak you can find foundation on matrilineal lineage as G-d is himself said ” G-d of Abraham, Jacob and Issac”, also Joseph’s children didn’t have a  biological jewish mom and they belong to the 12 tribes of Israel , futhermore Moses  never had a  biological ‘jewish’ wife, so were his kids non-jews? Zipora was not a born jew.  Ruth the moabite  is another example  as she was an ancestor of  king David.  Those or anyone who chose to worship a god other than the one True Creator  of Universe  it’s  considered an apostate, and no longer a part of the Jewish community.  

Just as Judaism and mainstream Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism and Messianic Judaism are not compatible.  Yeshua did fulfill Messianic Prophesy, but in his time the high priest were corrupted. They were puppet priest acting under and for the Romans. All what they did and decide was at their convenience to stay in power and…alive.

The Good News itself provides geneologies tracing Yeshua to David. It goes beyond the selection of an unlikely Messiah, however—this had happened several times in Jewish history, and those who have done this were and are not considered apostate. The problem has come because some pagan-theology infiltried Messianic’s beliefs through the christian movement violating several tenants of the Toran and authentic hebraic faith—such triune G-d, and others stuff and of course to accept those is to reject  Authentic Judaism.

A distortion of the notion that one can be ‘ethnically Jewish, religiously Christian’ derives from xenophobic anti-Jewish bigots in Germany during the 18-19th centuries. Most of the Jews living in Germany of those centuries  assimilated into the German society, and German society was very secular…. In that German society religion was losing its sway as a medium for anti-Jewish bigotry. Bigots being bigots, just can’t stop hating people when their excuse dries up, sought another excuse. They found one in the notion that Jews were a part of a racial group—the Semites, who were not a true race, but were part of an amoeba-like racial-cultural entity that ’sucked in’ other races, wherever they made contact with them (they were therefore a threat to the Aryan race). So, Jews never fostered the idea that one could be ‘ethnically’ Jewish…only those who have had our worst interests at heart. Hitler came by and , it was a painful terrible experience.

WHAT’ ‘S THE KEY DIFFERENT?

The  key difference between Messianic Jews, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews involves their beliefs about the Messiah.

There are many references in the Hebrew Scriptures to the coming of a Messiah who would inspire Jews in Israel to rise and throw off oppression from occupying military powers. Most Rabbinic Jews believe that the Messiah has yet to come; Messianic Jews and Biblical Judaism followers  believe that Yeshua of Nazareth was the expected Messiah.

Just as Rabbnic Jews consider themselves fully Jewish, some Messianic Jews and Biblical Judaism followers consider themselves to be fully Jewish too. They maintain a “Jewish lifestyle of faith….[they] celebrate all of the biblical holidays (i.e. Passover, Succot, etc) as well as many of the customs which are consistent with the Scriptures.” Others not , so it’s the same as in Rabbinic Judaism , some are observants or pious others are  not.  Hustler and Playboy Magazines,  are two famous porno magazines who editors and owners… are fully  ’jewish’.

Within Messianic Judaism, just as in Rabbinic Judaism, there exists a wide range of branches:

Some might have engrafted an “Evangelical Protestant” wing of Messianic Judaism. Some have also adopted the theology of Evangelical Christianity; Some add an additional criteria: the belief “that G-d wants the Jewish people to remain a distinct and obedient nation until the end of time.” Others no,they have remain in Biblical Judaism. They remain  more attached to only Biblical or Torah based commandments and  traditions, they accept Yeshua’s teachings not  the worship of him.

Note: Jews frequently use the term “G-d” and “L-rd” to refer to their deity. The regard his full name as so sacred that it must not be written or pronounced.

In general Messianic Jews retain Jewish symbolism, heritage, culture, seasonal days of celebration and many details of religious observance. They also regard themselves as an integral part of the “Body of Messiah” – what countless general conservative Christian denominations refer to as the “Body of Christ” – the followers of Jesus who have accepted and worship him as Lord and Savior, and as a member of the Christian Trinity. 

We at Hineni get along with certain brothers and sisters in the faith but  Hineni only promotes a healthy spiritual progresive and modern  Biblical Judaism.

Some forums by Orthodox Jew are post filled with lies, delusions (of the ‘enemy’ having multiple accounts), accusations and unverifiable statements. Plus they are midslinging against Messianic Jews.  It’s very difficult for them to accept the Yeshua’s movement Teachings and their follower  but  Rabbinic Judaism, Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox Jews as today recognizes  Schneerson  as the  risen Messiah to- be  !! another blow?  they deal poorly with  gay synagogues ,  which is a total misleading of the Torah and  faith. Read  Leviticus 18:22.

As of interpretation  Torah is against homosexual acts, not gay or lesbian people per se.  G-d and his Judaism love all people. I will remind you that the Torah also calls eating non-kosher food ‘to’evah’, an abomination. The word ‘to’evah’ in the Torah does not depict a social repulsion.

Furthermore, the Torah condemns any homosexual act, not homosexual love or the homosexual urge.  In the eyes of Judaism the love between two men or two women can be as natural as the love between a man and a woman. It does prohibit is homosexual intercourse.   I think that Jews with homosexual preferences should make a concerted effort to reorient their preference and to lead a life according to Jewish law (Torah).  Look for great advice and tips at  JONAH

Kosher Adultery among Ultra-Orthodox Jews

Apparently God did not make the commandment “Thou shall not commit adultery” clear enough. Hundreds of Jewish men and women who want to cheat on their spouses are flocking to a new Web site for ultra-Orthodox Jews seeking heretical hookups. Shaindy.com — named for the founder’s first mistress — was launched March 19 by a modern Orthodox man from Midwood, Brooklyn, who says he got the idea from Hasids he met in chat rooms seeking adulterous action.

Roughly 350 members have signed up, said the site’s creator, Jerry, who refused to give his last name for fear of rabbinical retribution. He said 50 members paid the introductory fee of $99 for two years, while others have created free profiles. There have been another 200 inquiries from around the world.

“Of course they are ALREADY putting pressure on this site,” Jerry said in an e-mail. “But this site is only intended for adults who can think for themselves and make their own judgments.” Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of “Kosher Adultery: Seduce and Sin with Your Spouse,” said he was saddened by the site. “Adultery is going to do nothing to your marriage except destroy it.

They always say those that claim to be the most religious are the biggest hypocrites. Anyone who lives in NYC sees these people everyday and if you go to Borough Park in Brooklyn you’ll see in the buildings they own, where they may have a bodega on the first floor, the upper apartments are brothels the men go to on Friday evenings when they tell their wives they’re at “prayer service”.
 For those that do not live or work around them some Orthodox Jewish women feel as if their spouses would never cheat and that it only happens in other cultures and religions. This has been going on for a while in their religion because the Orthodox men are also known for picking up prostitutes in Coney Island, Brooklyn. It’s not surprise, nothing new…human beings cheat, we just need to pray and help them  learn their  Torah  instead of their focus in  Talmud and rabinical  fables which obviously  does not help . Titus 3:9 ” But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless”.

Matthew 15:7-9

7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
 8″ ‘These people honor me with their lips,   but their hearts are far from me.
 9They worship me in vain;  their teachings are but rules taught by men.

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U.S. Latins Celebrate Long-Hidden Jewish Roots

April 28, 2010 · Filed under Jewish Culture: Sephardic, Askenazi & Others, Jewish Sephardic Genealogical Reseach, Latino sephardic heritage, Sephardic and Crypto-Jewish identity, Sephardic Jewish articles, Sephardic Jews of Caribbean and Central America, Sephardim and Sephardica · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

U.S. Latins Celebrate Long-Hidden Jewish Roots;   Geraldo Rivera, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Brett Rattner are among them
By Julie Sobel

They call themselves Jewbans, Mexi-Jews, Jewminicans or Kosher-Ricans. They can be found eating guacamole on matzo on Passover or drinking kosher tequila on Cinco de Mayo. Their ranks include Geraldo Rivera, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Brett Rattner.

Latin American Jews number some 500,000, but traditionally flew under the radar, in part because of discrimination and even persecution woes in an overwhelmingly Catholic region.

But U.S.-based Latin Americans with Jewish roots are more pronouncedly celebrating their heritage of late. Though they lack a superstar spokesman like black Jew Funnaye Capers (aka “Obama’s Rabbi”), they are building a cohesive social, religious, and even fashion community.

Los Angeles-based Ariana Lopez started the first clothing line aimed at Latino Jews with her label “Jewtina,” splashing that name in sparkly silver lettering across her shirts. She says the perception that all Latinos are Catholics can make Latin Jews feel ostracized. She means her T-shirts to build pride and community.

“You’d want to buy something to embrace your Jewish faith, but it was always Yiddish,” said Lopez, who of course comes from Jewish stock herself. She decided to raise awareness that strong ethnic identities can coexist.

Lopez’s 16-year-old daughter, Breanna, models the T-shirts, and is the company’s creative director. “Kids were like ‘That’s so cool, you’re Jewish and Latina,’” Lopez said.

Lopez’s company then created Jewtino for men, featuring shirts with flags from various Latin countries.

But Lopez calls Simon Guindi Cohen “the epitome of Jewtino.” He’s the 25-year-old director of Judios Latinos, a social group for young Latin Jews in New York City.

Guindi Cohen is a third-generation Mexican Jew who moved to the United States a decade ago. At a recent Israeli Independence celebration hosted by Jewish groups on the USS Intrepid, Guindi Cohen and his entourage wore green T-shirts with the phrase “Peace and Love” in Hebrew and English, featuring a yellow Star of David with a peace sign inside. Except for a few Spanish accents, his group didn’t stand out from the throngs of Gen Y Jews packed onto the boat.

Guindi Cohen revived a rather inactive Judios Latinos with a Uruguayan-Jewish friend, “so we could renew the whole Latino Jewish community,” he said. “We are basically rejuvenating it.”

Their main vehicle is Facebook (1,315 members strong), through which they organize monthly events and raise money. Their website, still under construction, states simply: “We are working on a new website. Pero como buenos Latinos, ’tamos tardes.” (But like good Latinos, we’re late.) Guindi Cohen’s day job is running “Spenglish,” his new high-end Latin American-accented clothing company.

“The cool thing is that every Latin country has a different culture,” said Guindi Cohen, who is from Syrian Jewish stock. “So my experience in Mexico on Passover and Rosh Hashanah combined traditional Syrian cuisines with some Mexican spices.” The group planned a Latin-Jewish Cinco de Mayo party.

“It spices it up,” said Guindi Cohen, who stresses the need to keep re-branding Judaism, since many Latin Jews don’t embrace their Jewish heritage. “It’s a very passive community,” at least in the United States, he added. “We’re trying to change that, and it’s working pretty good.”

Spanish Jews first migrated to Latin America during the Inquisition, when the Spanish government began persecuting its large Sephardic Jewish population. Many who weren’t killed became conversos, converting to Christianity to survive. Some of these conversos would secretly hold onto their Jewish heritage, and convert back, even generations later.

Several Spanish Jews sailed on Christopher Columbus’ maiden voyage to America. Later, Eastern European refugees fleeing pogroms, and Middle Eastern Jews leaving after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, arrived. Today the largest Latin Jewish communities are in Brazil and Argentina.

Over the centuries, some Latino Jews emigrated to the United States, bolstered by the large number of Cuban Jews who emigrated to the U.S. after Castro came to power in 1959.

In 1996, Dell Sanchez, the founder and CEO of an educational television station in San Antonio, learned a family secret. His 77-year-old father told him that a Jewish family in Mexico had given his grandfather up for adoption. This information had been passed discretely down through the generations.

His wife of 45 years, born Helen Martinez, had long ago told him that she had Jewish roots on her mother’s side.

“I joke, had it been “Martinezstein” I might have believed you,” he said. But once he found out that he, too, had Jewish roots, he began to research his family history.

Sanchez and his wife founded the Alliyah Sephardic Center, which seeks to reconnect Latino/Sephardic Jews with their history, and to encourage trips and ultimately emigration to Israel (Alliyah means returning to Israel and becoming a citizen).

Sanchez has emerged as a leader in educating Latinos on investigating and reclaiming their Jewish identities. Through DNA testing, his group has helped over 100 Latin Americans find out whether they have Jewish roots.

He tells about a Jewish family in Mexico who travels six hours to be at Sanchez’s synagogue Saturday morning, then returns to Mexico on Sunday. The swine flu outbreak hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm.

“What’s wrong, are you loco? Are you crazy?” people have asked Sanchez of Alliyah, which he and his family plan to do as well. “I guess we all are kind of loco in terms of the passion, the commitment.”

Original article by Julie Sobel
Published in NYYLIVEDWIRED.

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Jewish Sites Escorted Tour

March 9, 2010 · Filed under Internet Resources for Latinos and the caribbean, Israel Tours, Latino sephardic heritage, Sephardic conversos, Sephardic Jewish Places · Tagged , , , , ,

Save Money and Travel Easy With an Escorted Tour

Tours Jewish Heritage Places.

From North to South, you can travel East and West and enjoy Jewish  history, food, nature and night life with accesible tours at competitive prices.    Did you know that escorted tours save you up to 40% off the price of traveling the same itinerary on your own? That’s because tour operators negotiate low group rates on everything from hotels to sightseeing, and pass the savings on.

And that’s not all. Escorted tours to your favorite places are worry-free and hassle-free, as all the details are handled for you. It’s easy to budget for escorted tours, as tour operators include so much in one price. And escorted tours include the services of a tour director with years of experience to help you discover more sights than you could possibly find on your own.

Since 2008, Hineni has worked with the best tour operators in the world. You’ll find the lowest authorized prices for their tour packages on this blogsite, along with every discount, deal, and special promotion they offer.
We look forward to helping you plan the best Jewish sites escorted tour you’ve ever taken!
 
Click here to inquiere about a tour via  email

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