Colombian-born Rabbi Asher Abarbanel, our much-loved representative in Cali, Colombia, and his wife Margalit, had something special to celebrate with the community he serves: the brit milah of his first-born son. Rabbi Asher was thrilled to announce the good news, and the brit was celebrated...
Shavei Israel communities from different parts of the world shared photos with us of them at services and in mourning for the destruction of the Temples and remembering other tragedies in Jewish history that happened on Tisha B’Av, the annual fast day on the 9th...
Between the Stone and the Flower:The Duality of the Conversos covers the incredible journey of Genie Milgrom and her decades long quest for her Jewish lineage. Genie, a close friend of Shavei Israel, was born in Havana, Cuba and raised in Miami with a full...
Author Ronit Treatman, a good friend of Shavei Israel, grew up in Venezuela, only to discover, decades later, that many of the Catholic families she grew up with are actually descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish communities forced to convert during the Inquisition. Ronit, who lives...
Rav Shimon Yehoshua serves the Bnei Anousim (descendants of the forced Jewish converts of the Spanish Inquisition) communities and conversion candidates in Colombia. Rabbi Shimon was born in Argentina and received his rabbinic ordination in Jerusalem at the Beit Hamidrash Hasefaradí. He is a graduate...
Writer, researcher and dear friend of Shavei Israel, Genie Milgrom met with Pope Francis at the Vatican's private library this week. The private audience was organized by Rabbi Avi and Nehama Tawil, leaders of the European Jewish Community Center in Brussels. She was accompanied by...
It is customary to read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot. In that book, Ruth says to Naomi (1:16): “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” On Shavuot...
The Bnei Sefarad community in Cuba is an emerging Jewish community that consists of descendants of Sephardic and Portuguese 'Anousim' (those who were forcibly converted in the time of the Inquisition) and have gone through a deep process of reconnecting with the Jewish roots of...
Lag Ba’omer is a minor holiday that occurs on the 33rd day of the Omer, the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot. A break from the semi-mourning of the Omer, key aspects of Lag Ba’omer include holding Jewish weddings (it’s the one day during the...
[caption id="attachment_170630" align="alignleft" width="277"] Rav Asher with his wife Margalit[/caption] Colombian-born Rabbi Asher Abarbanel has been our much-loved representative in Cali, Colombia. Recently, Rav Asher took a trip to our Beit Moshe community in Mexico City. As the situation is difficult in Colombia, he has been...
