SephardicNews
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Sephardic Council of Overseers
Y E S H I V A U N I V E R S I T Y
Volume XXXIII
•
No. 1
I N D E D I C A T I O N T O A H E R I T A G E
Spring 2009
Sephardic Community Program
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Jacob E. Safra Institute of Sephardic StudiesInstitute of Yemenite Studies
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Dr. Joseph and Rachel Ades Sephardic Outreach Program
Daniel Tsadik
Joins YU Faculty
Daniel Tsadik,Ph.D. has joined the YUfaculty as anassistantprofessor of Sephardic andIranian studiesat the BernardRevel GraduateSchool of Jewish Studies.Tsadik, who began his appointment in thefall of 2008, teaches at both the graduateand undergraduate level. Tsadik and hiscourses have been well received among theentire student body, Sephardic andAshkenazi alike, and have created a greatsense of excitement for his area of expertise: Jews living under Islam.A Fulbright scholar, Tsadik received hisdoctorate in history in 2002 from YaleUniversity, specializing in Iranian andMiddle Eastern history, as well as in thehistory of the Jews under Islam. Hisresearch focuses on the modern history of Iran, Shi’ah Islam, and Iran’s religiousminorities.Subsequent to his studies atYale, Tsadik taught at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and elsewhere. He receivedfellowships from various institutions,including: Tel Aviv University’s MosheDayan Center for Middle Eastern andAfrican Studies; Hebrew University’sGolda Meir Fellowship Fund; the WarburgFellowship of the Institute for JudaicStudies; Berlin’s Institute for AdvancedStudy; and the University of Pennsylvania’sCenter for Advanced Judaic Studies.Tsadik has published numerousarticles in his fields of interest, including:“The Legal Status of Religious Minorities:Imami Shi’i Law and Iran’s ConstitutionalRevolution,” published in Islamic Lawand Society; “Nineteenth Century Shi‘iAnti-Christian Polemics and the JewishAramaic
Nevuat ha-Yeled [The Prophecy of the Child],”
published in Iranian Studies;and “Religious Disputations of ImamiShi‘is against Judaism in the LateEighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries,”published in Studia Iranica. He hasauthored a book entitled
“
BetweenForeigners and Shi‘is: Nineteenth-Century Iran and its Jewish Minority,
”
publishedby Stanford University Press.Earlier on, during his studies toward abachelor’s degree, Tsadik studied at theHebrew University in Jerusalem under thelate, revered, internationally-acclaimedprofessor Amnon Netzer, a”h, one of theworld’s leading scholars in the field of Iranian Jewish history.Through his teaching at YU, Tsadik iscontinuing the important work that wasbegun several years ago by his mentorNetzer, who piloted a program of Judeo-Persian studies at YU during the summerof 2005.Since his arrival, Tsadik has beenoffering lectures and study workshopsin both the Ashkenazic and Sephardiccommunities. Any synagogue or commu-nity institution wishing to arrange aspecial guest lecture by Tsadik on topicsrelated to Jews living under Islam may call the Sephardic Community Programof Yeshiva University, at 212-960-5492,to schedule such an event.
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Sephardic Student Valedictorian at YU
Dror Galamidi is the 2008 YeshivaUniversity valedictorian of the IsaacBreuer College of Hebraic Studies. Hereceived this honor due to his overallexcellence in his limudei Kodesh (Judaicand Torah studies).Galimidi completed a bachelor’sdegree in psychology and an associatedegree in Judaic studies. He was born inIsrael and moved to Brooklyn at a youngage, where he lived within a thrivingSephardic Jewish community.Dror’s parents and the rest of his family’sconstant encouragement drove him toexcel as he attended elementary and highschool institutions that were dedicatedto excellence in Jewish education.
continued on page 2
Inside This Issue…
Campus Minyan Thriving
3
YU’s First Annual
3
Middle Eastern
Kumzits
A Tribute to Leon Levy
a’’h
7
Sephardic Club Shabbaton
8
at Stern College for Women
Sephardic Student Valedictorian…
continued from page 1
He is very grateful to his family,friends and teachers at YU who helpedprovide him with the tools and talents heneeded to reach this high point.He is especially thankful for hisgrandfather Moshe Galimidi, a”h, forhis support.Dror's specific career plans are as of now undecided, but he hopes and plansto spend a great deal of effort helping toimprove life for Jews in the United Statesand around the world.
Sephardic Rabbi Offers Invocation
Among the special guests at the 77thannual commencement exercises wereRabbi Raymond Harari, who delivered theinvocation at this event, held at the WamuTheatre of Madison Square Garden inNew York City. Rabbi Harari, who was alsoattending the ceremony as a proud parentin celebration of his son David’s graduation,is himself a graduate of Yeshiva Collegeand the Bernard Revel Graduate Schoolof Jewish Studies, and was ordained atthe Rabbi Isaac Elchanan TheologicalSeminary.Rabbi Harari now serves in theSephardic community as spiritual leaderof Kol Israel Congregation and as headof school of Yeshivah of Flatbush HighSchool in Brooklyn.
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SEPHARDIC NEWS
2
SPRING EDITION
Dror Galamidi is the 2008 Yeshiva University valedic-torian of the Isaac Breuer College of Hebraic Studies.Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel congratulates Dror Galamidi.Rabbi Raymond Harari delivers the invocation. Looking on are, from left, Abraham Foxman,Richard M. Joel, Rabbi Zevulun Charlop and Moshael Straus.Rabbi Raymond Harari
SEPHARDIC NEWS
3
SPRING EDITION
Sephardic Minyan at YU Thriving
This past fall semester has ushered in a new era in student involvementand unity in the daily Sephardic minyan at Yeshiva University. RabbiAvraham Sarfaty, a distinguished Sephardic rabbi and scholar of RIETSin his own right, has been appointed to oversee the daily Shaharitminyan in the Sephardic beit midrash. Students from a variety ofSephardic communities join this minyan on a daily basis, where theyalso enjoy a daily breakfast of fresh bagels, cereals and hot coffee.Rabbi Sarfaty also serves as a faculty member of YU’s Stone BeitMidrash Program and is an assistant to Rosh Kollel Rabbi HershelSchachter of the Marcos and Adina Katz Kollel.“Thanks to Rabbi Sarfaty’s daily presence and his dedication torunning a smooth and pleasant minyan, YU’s Sephardic minyan hasdeveloped a new spiritual energy and sense of unity, resulting inincreased attendance with each passing day,” said Rabbi MosheTessone, director of Sephardic Community Programs and a memberof the Judaic studies faculty at YU. This year, for the first time, thestudents maintained the daily morning minyan even after the semesterofficially ended, and met with Rabbi Sarfaty for some Torah learningduring breakfast.A record number of students attended Selihot services during themonth of September, when Selihot were held during weeknights at1 a.m. Additional transportation was arranged by YU to bring dozensof Sephardic women from Stern College on a nightly basis to theWilf Campus so that they might join the men for inspiring SephardicSelihot services throughout the 40-day period of Selihot reading.Rabbi Sarfaty’s words sum it up best when he said:“The Sephardic students of YU have truly created a beautifulcommunity feeling in their own beit midrash, and are benefitingfrom the atmosphere of friendship and camaraderie that theyeshiva encourages.”
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Rabbi Eliyahu Ben-Haim, center, with his students in the Sephardic beitmidrash.
First Sephardic
Kumzits
at YU
BY AARON EBRANI AND YANIV MORADI
Our very own Rabbi Moshe Tessone, director of YU’sSephardic Community Program and member of the Jewish studies faculty at Yeshiva University, recently performed for the University’s student body in anevening Middle Eastern
kumzits
(concert), which wassponsored by the Student Sephardic Club in cooperationwith the Yeshiva College dean’s office and the StudentOrganization of Yeshiva (SOY). Rabbi Tessone, anaccomplished hazzan, is known for his talents in Judeo-Arabic and Judeo-Spanish liturgy and cantillation and isalso knowledgeable in the area of Sephardic community customs and traditions.The students who attended enjoyed an array of Judeo-Arabic and Judeo-Spanish melodies, some well knownand some were new to them. This event gave attendeesa rare opportunity to hear a wide variety of MiddleEastern Jewish music. The songs and
piyuteem
(liturgicalpoems) also attracted a good number ofAshkenazistudents who clearly enjoyed the program as well.Rabbi Tessone’s performance warmed the hearts of all the students, and helped to excite them about their very own rich heritage. The songs included differentmelodies and poems such as: “Yigdal Elokim Hai,”“Mak’helotAm,” and “AvramAvinu,” as well as many other religious songs.The students had ample opportunity to enjoy andsing along to the energetic rhythmic music, to dancetogether and to enjoy traditional ethnic sweets andrefreshments. The
kumzits
truly left the students withnot only a sense of identity and pride in their respectivecommunities, but more important, with a greater senseof unity. Some students said that they never had theopportunity to experience such an enriching andenlightening event, and no one wanted to leave when itwas over. Many students demanded an encore. Onething is for certain—everyone who participated had awonderful time and left with music on their lips andin their hearts.
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Rabbi Moshe Tessone with students at YU’s first Sephardic
kumzits.
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