Discover the rich history, culture, and traditions of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, whose stories are essential to understanding the full mosaic of the Jewish People.
when I was a teen, I began to research the Jews of the Mid East. Took out records from the NY Public library of authentic field recordings. Bought the Cafe Feenjon lps....there was no Mizrahi pop yet. Started to experiment with hummus and felafel which MId East Jews , of course, ate and introduced to Jews from E. Europe. Even if the majority of Jews in Israel were Jews of my background we'd still be authentically at home. I feel I can draw from all of Jewish experience. yes it was short sided and prejudiced of Israel's founding generation to disparage their traditions. They should have been incorporating the music of the Kuwaiti brothers into the general scene as they did with European classical music. Not ghettoizing them on the Arabic channel. Pronounce your ayins. I still eat kasha, blintzes and borscht. When I"m in Israel, I don't expect to eat those foods. Israel is an amalgam of the Jewish experience. The newly revamped Museum of the Diaspora at Tel Aviv U is a good place to start.
You forgot one. Speaking from personal observation, the Mizrahi mothers are even more overbearing than their Ashkenazi contemporaries. Don't tell anyone I know that I said this.
Fascinating! My late Mother was born in Alexandria, Egypt to Turkish & Bulgarian parents, & my great grandparents included those from Chania, on the Isle of Crete. Still there is somehow some tracings of Mizrahi heritage as per DNA testing, & I created & officiate a private Sephardi/Romaniote.Mizrahi group on Facebook whom I have shared this with. I really enjoyed learning facts I did not know about Mizrahim. Thankyou so much for sharing!!!
You mention that the oldest diaspora Jews are Mizrachi. That may be correct but there are other interpretations of the Tanakh that could point to the fact that the first diaspora Jews were actually in Spain from the time of King Solomon:
"And that exiled force of Israelites [shall possess] what belongs to the Phoenicians as far as Zarephath, while the Jerusalemite exile community of Sepharad shall possess the towns of the Negeb."
Obadiah.1.20
In early Jewish interpretation, it was common to identify the place with modern-day Spain, located on the Iberian Peninsula. For example, the translation by Jonathan ben Uzziel translates the verse in Obadiah as "וְגְגְלוּת יְרוֹשלֵם דִבְפַמַיִה".
To attract trade and grow, you need large projects. King Solomon created and built the Temple. For the purpose of building the Holy Temple, he contacted the Phoenicians, and they brought what was lacking here: experts in masonry and building including building materials such as cedar (1 Kings, 5), and most importantly - exposure to international trade from Greece to Sheba (1 Kings, 5)."
It could be assumed that the first Jewish merchants landed in the Iberian Peninsula together with the Phoenicians.
I actually knew 9.5 of your 10. (I didn't know the percentage of Jews in Bagdad. But being some 40% of the population, the Farhud now seems even more traumatic. And it was already plenty traumatic!)
Actually, the women are carrying BIAs… there appears to be no luggage really being carried by anyone. (They may have packs, I couldn’t tell. The guy, middle left is carrying a mat...)
The guy on the left has got some serious cojones, though. He’s walking through the desert, barefoot!
when I was a teen, I began to research the Jews of the Mid East. Took out records from the NY Public library of authentic field recordings. Bought the Cafe Feenjon lps....there was no Mizrahi pop yet. Started to experiment with hummus and felafel which MId East Jews , of course, ate and introduced to Jews from E. Europe. Even if the majority of Jews in Israel were Jews of my background we'd still be authentically at home. I feel I can draw from all of Jewish experience. yes it was short sided and prejudiced of Israel's founding generation to disparage their traditions. They should have been incorporating the music of the Kuwaiti brothers into the general scene as they did with European classical music. Not ghettoizing them on the Arabic channel. Pronounce your ayins. I still eat kasha, blintzes and borscht. When I"m in Israel, I don't expect to eat those foods. Israel is an amalgam of the Jewish experience. The newly revamped Museum of the Diaspora at Tel Aviv U is a good place to start.
Awesome history, thanks for info
You forgot one. Speaking from personal observation, the Mizrahi mothers are even more overbearing than their Ashkenazi contemporaries. Don't tell anyone I know that I said this.
Fascinating! My late Mother was born in Alexandria, Egypt to Turkish & Bulgarian parents, & my great grandparents included those from Chania, on the Isle of Crete. Still there is somehow some tracings of Mizrahi heritage as per DNA testing, & I created & officiate a private Sephardi/Romaniote.Mizrahi group on Facebook whom I have shared this with. I really enjoyed learning facts I did not know about Mizrahim. Thankyou so much for sharing!!!
Thank you for this wonderful information.
You mention that the oldest diaspora Jews are Mizrachi. That may be correct but there are other interpretations of the Tanakh that could point to the fact that the first diaspora Jews were actually in Spain from the time of King Solomon:
"And that exiled force of Israelites [shall possess] what belongs to the Phoenicians as far as Zarephath, while the Jerusalemite exile community of Sepharad shall possess the towns of the Negeb."
Obadiah.1.20
In early Jewish interpretation, it was common to identify the place with modern-day Spain, located on the Iberian Peninsula. For example, the translation by Jonathan ben Uzziel translates the verse in Obadiah as "וְגְגְלוּת יְרוֹשלֵם דִבְפַמַיִה".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targum_Jonathan
To attract trade and grow, you need large projects. King Solomon created and built the Temple. For the purpose of building the Holy Temple, he contacted the Phoenicians, and they brought what was lacking here: experts in masonry and building including building materials such as cedar (1 Kings, 5), and most importantly - exposure to international trade from Greece to Sheba (1 Kings, 5)."
It could be assumed that the first Jewish merchants landed in the Iberian Peninsula together with the Phoenicians.
I actually knew 9.5 of your 10. (I didn't know the percentage of Jews in Bagdad. But being some 40% of the population, the Farhud now seems even more traumatic. And it was already plenty traumatic!)
The man in the picture is carrying The Torah
Interesting picture of the Mizrachi immigrants...women seem to carrying most of the heavy properties while men are just holding sons' hands....
Actually, the women are carrying BIAs… there appears to be no luggage really being carried by anyone. (They may have packs, I couldn’t tell. The guy, middle left is carrying a mat...)
The guy on the left has got some serious cojones, though. He’s walking through the desert, barefoot!
I've always thought there's a difference between Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in that Sephardic Jews trace their origins to medieval Spain and Portugal.
https://clesephardic.com/sephardic-vs-mizrachi
The current IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir is descended from a Yemeni father and a Syrian mother (from Aleppo).
Can you recommend a Mizrachi Siddur in English/Hebrew? Todah
There's the Orot Sephardic Siddur which I have and used in Sephardic synagogues.
https://www.alljudaica.com/Orot-Sephardic-Siddur-Linear-Siddur-with-English-p/15138-p.htm
Beautiful.