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12 Jun

Exploring Sephardic Chief Rabbis of America (1 of 2) - Ethan Marcus

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The Habura
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JL;DR SUMMARY Ethan Marcus explores the influential yet underrecognized contributions of Sephardic rabbis, Rabbi Dr. Nissim J. Ovadia and Rabbi Dr. Isaac Alcalay, to American Judaism. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski.

  • At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself.
  • This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude.
  • Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from.
  • But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
  • And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.
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Tags

Ladino  Jewish History  Jewish Immigration  American Judaism  Discrimination  Sephardic Judaism  Sephardic Rabbis  Community Organization  Nissim J. Ovadia  Ashkenazi Sephardic Relations 

Places mentioned

Salonika, Attica, Greece
"They would elect their own officers, presidents, rabbis, etc., for a community structure. And their bed din, their court, would be the court of state. So, for example, if you had a dispute, let's say a commercial dispute, or even a criminal dispute between you and another Jew, you would not go to the civil court because there was actually no civil court; the civil court was a Muslim court, you were an Imam. You would go to the bed din."
Izmir, Attica, Greece
"His roots trace to Viera and Izmir."
Istanbul, Turkey
"Places like Istanbul, like Salonika, like Belgrade, etc."
Seattle, Washington, United States
"A former Fulbright scholar and Princeton graduate, he has led community initiatives in Seattle and researched Romanite liturgy in Greece."
Viera, Attica, Greece
"His roots trace to Viera and Izmir."
New York, United States
"The first Jews to arrive in America came in 1654, as I mentioned Spanish and Portuguese Jews who went from Amsterdam to London, received from Brazil and eventually arrived in New York, formed Congregation Shared Israel, still today in existence, still the oldest congregation in America."
Edirne, Attica, Greece
"So Rabbi Nassim Ovadia was born in Edrinopol, which is today in Edirne, in modern Turkey, if you didn't know."
New Jersey, United States
"For example, at the turn of the century, in the 1920, 1910, around there, by the time these communities start to form, start to discuss ideas in forming an American identity, there’s something like 20 or 30 societies already, typically mutual aid societies that help these Jews establish themselves, give them night classes in English, establish immigration support, right?"
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
"He goes to these communities, and they’re not really accepted by the local Jewish population. And I'll tell you what I mean. We know the stories, of course, of discrimination of Sephardim in Israel, certainly, and other communities around the world. But I want to highlight one story, for example."
Monastir, Attica, Greece
"So, for example, at the turn of the century, in the 1920, 1910, around there, by the time these communities start to form, start to discuss ideas in forming an American identity, there’s something like 20 or 30 societies already, typically mutual aid societies that help these Jews establish themselves, give them night classes in English, establish immigration support, right? This is a time before social welfare in America really established itself."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
"They go to New York's Lower East Side, right? Classic port of call for all immigrant communities, right? So it’s a crowded place, as many of you may know. It’s a difficult place. I believe it’s like London’s West End, I believe."
Cairo, Egypt
"And then the Eastern Sephardim, some did go to North Africa, right? Spanish Morocco and Tetouan and Tangier, for example, Spokakotia. And those who went to Italy and eventually ended up in the Ottoman lands, places like Istanbul, like Salonika, like Belgrade, etc."

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This podcast episode was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 54061
Cairo Source ID 19
Retrieved 2025-06-13 05:30:43 UTC
Curated 2025-06-13 06:12:53 UTC