Sephardic Jews

Eating Ashkenazi-Sephardi Style at Sukkot

Sukkot appears to be one holiday in which the Moroccan and Ashkenazic customs and rituals are fairly similar. We both ...

Maimonides’ Home and My Grandmother’s Song

Ladino first cast its magic spell on me in childhood. It always struck me as a graceful, rolling language, one ...

World Traveler Becomes World Musician

  What makes a secular Israeli connect to his Jewish identity, roots and spirituality? What makes secular Jew from Jerusalem ...

Not My Mother’s Matzah Balls: My Moroccan Kitchen

I have often joked that I am the only woman in America who doesn’t cook anything that she grew up ...

The 70 Faces of Shavuot

According to Jewish tradition, the Torah has seventy “faces,” but is still one, unified Torah. On Shavuot, we celebrate the ...

The Gift of Generations: A Mother’s Song

Mom. Mommy. Ima. Madre. Mother. No matter how many ways I say it, the concept still catches me by surprise ...

Jewish Joy At Carnival

Carnival, Mardi Gras, Carnaval.  These words convey exhuberance, dancing, masks, and overflowing joy (and often excess). From Rio to New ...

The Sultan’s Curse

Iris Aluf Medina was born and raised in Turkey and now lives in San Francisco. We met up with this ...

Beyond Latkes: Hanukkah Around the World

Rabbi discusses Jewish Hanukkah Holiday traditions from around the world

Ladino Pregnant Pop

“Ensuenyo Te Vi” Three words that normally don’t go together: Ladino, Pop, Pregnant. But in my world they make a ...

When You’re A Jet You Stay A Jet

“Ashkenazi.” “Sephardic.” As a kid, wandering around the kiddish reception at our shul collecting cellophane ruffle-topped toothpicks in a plastic ...