The Musical Traditions of Moroccan Jews

Dr. Vanessa Elbaz - Throughout the centuries, Moroccan Jews preserved and blended religious and secular musical traditions, improvising upon them and popularizing them. By frequently collaborating with Muslim musicians, they helped develop a musical style that was authentically Moroccan. This talk will explore the diverse musical traditions within Moroccan Jewish practice. The music of both men and women, including sacred, liturgical, and humorous traditions, forms part of a larger sonic world that has helped Moroccan Jews integrate different aspects of their identities. Read more and sign up.

Read and Travel:

A Unique Trip to Poland

Ira Wesley Kitmacher  and Daniel Gurevich - Join us to learn about the special trip based on Ira Wesley Kitmacher's book: Monsters and Miracles: Horror, Heroes, and the Holocaust (2022). In this unique talk, you will have the opportunity to meet Ira, who will share insights about his book in the form of a Qesher Book Club. In the second half of the event, you will meet Daniel Gurevich, leader of Jerulita and this one-of-a-kind trip to Poland, inspired by the novel. He will share with you the itinerary and details of this unique trip, in which participants will visit Warsaw, Otwock, Lublin, Krakow, Wieliczka, Auschwitz, Wroclaw, and Lodz in September 2025. Read more and sign up here for free.

The Jewish Journey Through Scotland

Michael Tobias - This talk explores the history of Scottish Jewry, starting with the first Jewish visitors in the late 17th century and the formation of early congregations in the 1800s. Over time, communities grew, influenced by waves of immigrants, particularly from Poland and Lithuania. At its height in the 1950s and 1960s, Scotland's Jewish population was at its peak, but in the decades since, it has gradually declined. This talk will cover the communities in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and smaller towns, highlighting notable individuals, including one well-known figure whose story ended tragically. Join us for a compelling exploration of migration and the enduring legacy of Scotland's Jewish community. Read more and sign up.

The Jews of Ukraine: A Virtual Tour of Kyiv and Odesa

Qesher Book Club: "Sacred Places Tell Tales: Jewish Life and Heritage in Modern Cairo"

Jewish Barcelona: now you see it, now you don't

Dominique Tomasov Blinder- Jewish presence in Barcelona can be traced back to the period between the mid-9th and the end of the 14th century. What are the clues to this Jewish past? Are there any artifacts from that time? Where are they kept? How do we connect with our history? What are our places of memory today? The early 20th century marks the beginning of a second chapter of Jewish life in the city. We will explore the irregular evolution of this community, the second largest in Spain, and discover how Jews contributed to some of the most characteristically "Spanish" creations.. Read more and sign up.

Jewish Amsterdam: A Small Community with a Giant History

Nachshon Rodrigues Pereira - Nachshon, one of the few remaining descendants of the original Portuguese Jews of Amsterdam, will describe what Jewish Amsterdam was like in the 17th century when the city was the center of the Jewish world: offering the best Jewish education, housing the biggest Rabbis and being home to the largest synagogue in the world. Find out how this community was shaped and how it shaped its environment; how much was lost during World War II, and what is left now. A compelling journey embellished with music, visuals, and anecdotes. Read more and sign up here.

Jewish Germany Part 1: Berlin Jewish Heritage Through the Ages

Olga Bokhonovskaya - This Jewish Berlin tour explores the fascinating history of the city's Jewish community, from its early settlers to modern times. You'll visit the oldest Jewish cemetery, admire the imposing New Synagogue, and learn about the Jewish merchants, financiers, and intellectuals who shaped Berlin's economic and cultural life. At the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the "Trains to Life – Trains to Death" monument, you'll confront the darkest chapter in the history of Berlin's Jews. Finally, the tour looks at Jewish life in the GDR and how Jewish communities were rebuilt on both sides of the Berlin Wall. Read more and sign up here.

The Ashkephardim of Venezuela: A Unique Vanishing Jewish Community

Néstor Luis Garrido - Do Jewish communities in the Diaspora end up resembling their host countries? In the racially mixed Venezuela of the 20th century, this seems to be true, as the local kehila, mainly from Romania and Morocco, followed the example set by the broader Venezuelan society. Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews intermarried and established common institutions that laid the foundations of a brotherhood that distinguishes the Venezuelan Jewish community—an identity where gefilte fish and adafina are shared at the same table. However, the current times have forced many to leave, and this community is trying to hold on to the splendor it enjoyed in past decades. Read more and sign up here

Qesher Book Club: "Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia"

Julie Brill - In Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia, the reader will discover a powerful, untold chapter of Holocaust history and a daughter's enduring quest to know the story that began a generation before her birth.

From childhood, Julie Brill struggled to understand how her father survived as a young Jewish boy in Belgrade, where Nazis murdered 90 percent of the Jewish population without gas chambers or cattle cars. Through exacting research, a bit of luck, and three emotional trips to Serbia, she pieces together her family's lost past, unearths secrets, and returns to her father a small part of what the Nazis stole: his own family history. Read more and sign up for free.

Jewish Germany Part 2: Virtual Jewish Rhineland Tour. Frankfurt, Mainz, Worms

Olga Bokhonovskaya - Explore the rich Jewish heritage of the Rhineland on this virtual tour of Frankfurt, Mainz, and Worms—three cities that helped shape Ashkenazi Jewish culture. In Frankfurt, stroll through the historic Judengasse—once home to the Rothschild family—and visit the Jewish Museum and the Old Cemetery. Mainz, a renowned center of medieval Jewish learning, features the Judensand Cemetery and the striking New Synagogue. In Worms, discover the legacy of Rashi, the 11th-century synagogue, and the historic Heiliger Sand Cemetery. Experience the resilience, scholarship, and enduring contributions of these communities, whose profound influence on Jewish history lives on to this day. Read more and sign up here.

The Jewish Heritage of São Paulo, Brazil's Most Cosmopolitan City

Felipe Lichand - São Paulo is home to the largest Jewish community in Brazil and one of the most vibrant in Latin America. The Jewish presence in the city dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when waves of immigrants from Europe and the Middle East arrived, shaping São Paulo's cultural, economic, and social landscape. In this talk, we will explore the fascinating history of the city's Jewish community, from its early days to the present. Discover São Paulo's most significant Jewish landmarks, synagogues, institutions, and neighborhoods—each of which has played a crucial role in shaping Jewish life in Brazil. Read more and sign up here.

Jewish Genealogy 101. A Beginners Guide to Tracing Your Jewish Roots

Michael Tobias - This presentation will outline some of the methods, materials, and sources available to help you trace your Jewish lineage. We will cover some of the complications that arise when researching Jewish families, including variations in given names, surnames, and town names. Contrary to popular belief, spelling is not the main obstacle in Jewish genealogy. Getting started on your journey can be difficult, and identifying your family's origins in the "old country" and uncovering their original surnames is not always easy. Some common myths will be dispelled—no, your family surname was NOT changed at Ellis Island or UK ports of arrival, and they were not "dumped" at a UK port and told it was America. If time allows, DNA testing will also be discussed. Read more and sign up here.

The Jews of Galicia (Western Ukraine): A Virtual Tour of Lviv and Brody

Evgenia Kempinski - Lviv—the city that changed hands so many times: from Poland to Austria, then back to Poland, then to the USSR, and finally to independent Ukraine. Jews settled here as early as the 13th century. At its height, the city had around 100 synagogues, and Jewish religious, commercial, and intellectual life flourished over the centuries. Brody—now a small and little-known town—was once one of the most important Jewish centers in Europe. We invite you to travel through Galicia and explore the uniqueness of its Jewish history. Read more and sign up here.

Jewish Germany Part 3: Virtual Jewish Bavaria Tour: Regensburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, and Munich

Olga Bokhonovskaya - Discover the rich Jewish history of Bavaria on this virtual tour of Regensburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, and Munich. Regensburg, home to one of Germany's oldest Jewish communities, features a medieval Jewish quarter and the New Regensburg Synagogue. In Bamberg, Jewish life thrived from the 12th century, with highlights including Judengasse and historic synagogues. Munich's Jewish heritage includes the Ohel Jakob Synagogue and sites lost during Kristallnacht. Nuremberg, once a center of Jewish scholarship, later became a hub for Nazi propaganda. The tour explores the medieval Jewish quarter, the destroyed Nuremberg Synagogue, and efforts to restore Jewish life postwar. Read more and sign up here.

Jerusalem as Modern City: A Virtual Tour of the German Colony and Baka

Eszter Koranyi - When someone thinks of Jerusalem, they usually imagine its holy sites. Yet, Jerusalem is also a living modern city, with all its challenges and beauties. We invite you on a virtual walk starting in the mid-19th century, when the first residents of the Old City left its medieval alleys to settle outside the walls, and newcomers arrived, bringing a modern way of life. This process of modernization, unfolding across different political landscapes and an ever-changing human mosaic of religions, ethnic identities, and languages, continues to this day. We will dive into two iconic neighborhoods to explore some characteristics of this process in greater depth, through stories and personal impressions. Read more and register here

Music among the Crypto-Jews of Portugal: An almost vanished world

Judith Cohen - After the expulsion of Jews from Portugal, some stayed as Crypto-Jews. The early 20th century saw the "discovery" of the Jews of Belmonte and the northeast region of Tras-os-Montes, who had lived in isolation with few cultural contacts with the outside world. I will introduce the people I interviewed and explain how songs and recited prayers work in both religious and secular contexts. Then we will move to the internet and social media age and their folklorization, always emphasizing people and where and how they live. Read more and sign up here

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

The history of the Jews in Anatolia started 2400 years ago with the arrival of Romaniot, Mizrahim, and Karaits followed later by Ashkenazim and Sephardic Jews. We will examine ancient synagogues, Jewish settlements, cemeteries belonging to different eras and traditions, and important events of WWI and WWII. Sephardic cuisine, music, Judeo-Spanish language, and ethnographic and liturgical objects from the museum collection will be explained. Finally, we will explore today's vibrant Jewish life in Turkey. Read more and sign up here