From Ethiopia to Israel: My Story, Our Journey

Zehava Tesfay  - The Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, lived for centuries in northern and northwestern Ethiopia isolated from other Jews. During the later part of the 20th century most of the community immigrated to Israel. In this session we will embark on a journey from Ethiopia to Israel and learn about the Jewish Ethiopian community's way of life, traditions and reality. By engaging through a personal Aliyah story, we will learn about the identity, strengths, and activism of the community and their effort to realize the dream of reaching Jerusalem. We will also talk about the reality of life in Israel for the grandparents and parents' generation and for the second generation of Israeli- Ethiopians. Read more and sign up

Salonica and Sarajevo:

Balkan Sephardi Metropolises

Dr. Joseph Benatov - As Sephardi Jews settled in the Ottoman Empire, Salonica and Sarajevo became two of the most important centers of Jewish life. Our talk will highlight some of the most important figures and events from the Jewish histories of these cities. How did the famous Sarajevo Haggadah survive both Nazi occupation and the Balcan Wars? What effect did the charismatic false messiah Sabbatai Zevi have on the Jews of 17th-century Salonica? We will also travel through these picturesque sites and visit their sumptuous synagogues, the iconic White Tower of Thessaloniki, the colorful Old Bazaar of Sarajevo, and much more. Read more and sign up

Sefarad: Music of the Jews of Spain, Portugal and their diaspora

Judith Cohen - Sefarad is both a geographical place and a concept - it's Spain and Portugal, and it's the centuries and continents of the Sephardic diaspora, to the present. We'll travel - musically - from medieval Jewish life in Spain and Portugal through the diaspora in Morocco and the eastern Mediterranean, former Ottoman lands. Old ballads with hypnotizing stories, irresistible wedding song rhythms, songs of the Jewish calendar cycle and the popular love songs and songs of daily life will be presented both live and in archival recordings, with photos and stories of the Sephardim who kept this tradition alive against all odds. Read more and sign up

The Jews of Iran: A 2600-year journey

Growing up Jewish in Uganda

Shoshana Nambi - The Abayudaya community was founded by a tribal chief who converted himself and many of his followers to Judaism in 1919. One hundred years later, there are nine synagogues in different Ugandan villages, three Jewish schools, and the community continues to grow. I will share the history of my community, as well as my own family story and journey to rabbinical school. I will also comment on my experiences living in Israel and America as a Ugandan Jew. Read more and sign up

From the Pale of Settlement to the USSR and Beyond: The History of the Jews of Belarus

Debra Brunner and Artur Livshyts - Belarus' Jewish story is rich, vital, traumatic, fascinating and barely spoken of. Come on this journey through time and explore the story of Jewish Belarus across the centuries. An integral part of the predominant Lithuanian (Litvak) culture, its members have included artists like Chagall and Rabbis like Gaon of Vilnius. Learn directly from the Jewish activists who are helping the Belarusian communities today in order make them self-sustaining again. Read more and sign up

Jewish Romania: A century of upheaval and resurgence

Remember Baghdad

Edwin Shuker - In 2015 Edwin Shuker was asked if he had any film footage of Baghdad for a documentary that was being produced about the story of Jews in Iraq. The director was incredulous when Edwin offered to fly to Baghdad with the film crew and get the footage himself! In doing so he revisited his childhood home, which he had not seen since the day his family escaped for their lives when he was young. In addition to that, he even purchased a new house in the city of Erbil! Over the course of the trip and production, Edwin vividly relived his life and the life of 2000 years of Jewish history in Iraq. In this talk he will share that life and let you live it too. Sign up to know when this talk is happening again

Finland: Home of kosher reindeer and Kabbalat Shabbat at midnight

From Yemen to Israel: Conversations with my Grandmother

Two people, one womb: The Jews of Italy

At the Crossroads of Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian-Speaking Worlds: The Story of the Bukharian Jews

Ruben Shimonov  - The experience of the native Jews of Central Asia - Bukharian Jews - is situated at a unique intersection of Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian-speaking Jewish identities.  We will explore the eclectic story of this millennia-old Jewish community, discovering the ways in which Bukharian Jews have developed their multifaceted and rich culture, while also shedding light on how their journey fits into the broader historical saga of the Jewish people.  Sign up to know when this talk is happening again

Polish Jews: Warsaw Ghetto remains and Jewish revival

Łukasz Godlewski - Before World War II, Warsaw was the second largest Jewish city in the world. After the Holocaust many survivors left Poland, but some stayed. In the last decades, young Polish people have been discovering their Jewish roots which was often hidden by their parents and grandparents. I am one of them, and I want to share my family's story with you. I will also take you on a virtual tour of the Warsaw Ghetto remains and show you how Jewish life in Warsaw has revived. Sign up to know when this talk is happening again

Golden Age, Silver Age: Jews of Spain yesterday and today

Jewish Bulgaria: A Virtual Sephardic Journey

From the boats to the Pampas: History of the Jews in Argentina

Jewish Mexico: from Inquisition to prosperity

Benito Gritzewsky - Among the earliest colonial settlers of Mexico were countless crypto-Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition. For the next 300 years they were persecuted to the point of total obscurity. Mexican independence brought freedom of worship, and conversos gradually displayed their faith again. In the 20th Century, Mexico welcomed thousands of Jews fleeing the Middle East and Europe, and the foundations of a thriving community were established. By the 1950's it had become one of the world's most prosperous, which continues to thrive to this day. Sign up to know when this talk is happening again

Rosh Hashana special: Tastes from the Danube Valley to the Jerusalem Highlands

Stories of Jewish Budapest: From affirmation to persecution and revival

Greek Jewry: At the crossroads of civilizations

Joseph Michael Vardakis - The presence of Jews in Greece dates back to antiquity; it is the oldest Jewish community in the western hemisphere, it was the epicenter of Sephardi culture in Europe and boasted the unique Greek-speaking Romaniote community as well as Jews that had taken refuge there from all across Europe. At the start of WWII, Jews in Greece numbered around 80,000, however the Holocaust decimated the Jewish population. At present, the Jewish community is working to preserve its unique heritage.  Sign up to know when this talk is happening again

Turkish Jews: Jewish legacy in Anatolia and today's Turkey