Upcoming Events

Parshat Vayechi concludes the book of Genesis with Jacob’s final days in Egypt. Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, deliberately placing the younger Ephraim before the elder, and then delivers prophetic blessings to all twelve of his sons, reflecting their characters and future destinies. After Jacob’s death and burial in the Land of Canaan, Joseph reassures his brothers that he will not seek revenge, affirming his belief that God turned their actions into good. The parsha ends with Joseph’s death in Egypt and his request that his bones be taken to the Land of Israel, closing Genesis with both an ending and a promise of future redemption.

The appearance of printing technology in the Jewish world was far more than a technical revolution—it was a spiritual and cultural upheaval that reshaped the foundations of Jewish life. For a people whose existence was bound to the word, the book, and the unbroken chain of learning, the printing press became not merely an instrument of replication but a vessel of survival. It multiplied Torah where exile had scattered it, preserved voices that might have vanished amid the turbulence of history, and gave permanence to the fragile beauty of written tradition. Monuments of Paper and Parchment is a visual and historical journey into this creative moment, centered on the brief yet extraordinary story of Hebrew printing in Portugal. Between 1487 and 1496—spanning Faro, Lisbon, and Leiria—three Hebrew printing houses flourished, producing a body of work that accounted for nearly two-thirds of all printing in Portugal during that decade. The story begins with the Pentateuch printed in Faro in 1487, the first book printed in Portugal in any language, and concludes with the Almanach Perpetuum of R. Abraham Zacuto in 1496, the first scientific book printed in the land. This volume invites the reader to rediscover a remarkable flowering of faith and intellect before the shadow of expulsion fell. It is both a tribute to the enduring brilliance of Iberian Jewry and an invitation to rediscover monuments not made of stone, but of paper and parchment. To order the book:   USA  Amazon.com – https://www.amazon.com/dp/9893515114?dplnkId=31b17c9c-f12b-43df-b73b-227baf5f2ddd&nodl=1 Portugal and the rest of the world: Amazon.es – https://www.amazon.es/-/en/dp/9893515114/ref=sr_1_1 For 25% discount and free shipping order directly through shlomo@chabadofva.org and say that you heard about the book through Jewish Unity Through Diversity. Please consider supporting our programs by donating today https://www.unitytdiversity.com/contact-donations

The Dahan Center at Bar Ilan University organized this event, with co-sponsorship from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, JewishGen, the Sephardic Heritage Project, Israel’s Ministry of Education, and the Jewish Unity Through Diversity Institute. Event Details - Students from SAR Yeshiva, Hillel Yeshiva, and Barkai Yeshiva shared family stories about leaving Arab countries after 1948, highlighting personal heritage and experiences. - Presentations explored conditions faced by Jews in Arab lands post-1948, detailing the expulsion and loss of homes after centuries of residence, told from the Jewish perspective. Program and Speakers Opening with remarks from Shimon Ohayon, Director of the Dahan Center at Bar Ilan University Greetings from Yigal Hagoel and Michal Slawny Cababia – World Zionist organization -Welcome from Jack Kiliger, president and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust Opening Lecture by Rabbi Elie Abadie, MD. Featured lectures include: - Mordechai Kedar - Ben-Dror Yemini - Rabbi Moshe Tessone - The Music of Arab Lands. - Sarina Roffe will speak on the experiences of Syrian Jews, focusing on the period from 1948 to 1992, when emigration finally became possible.  - Dr. Benjamin Berman-Gladstone This event is designed to educate the public about the experiences and struggles of Jews who were forced to leave Arab countries, emphasizing heritage preservation and historical awareness.

In this discussion, Rabbi Professor Michael Broyde shared his read of the Jewish literature — social, cultural and halakhic — about celebrating the unique American holiday of Thanksgiving. Spanning the breadth of the religious literature, he will use the Thanksgiving conversation to examine the question of how American do Jews really want to be, and how to consider national holidays of various types. About the speaker: Rabbi Broyde is a Professor of Law at Emory University and the Berman Projects Director in its Center for the Study of Law and Religion. In the past, he has been the rabbi of the Young Israel in Atlanta as well as a dayan and director of the the Beth Din of America. Please consider supporting our programs by donating today https://www.unitytdiversity.com/contact-donations - Suggested minimum donation, $11

In the scheme of Libya's Jewish history dating back centuries, the Italian influence of the modern era plays a major role in understanding Libyan Jews today. Although Italian colonial presence was in the years 1911-1943, their influence on the North African country and its Jews goes back further in time and remained for many years after. Dalya is passionate about finding ways to connect between diverse groups. She is pursuing a master's at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, focusing on the history of Libyan Jews, while also holding an M.Sc. in urban planning. In both fields she has focused on social connections. At Jewish Unity through Diversity, Dalya sees her position of managing content across multiple platforms as a means to building social bridges between audiences.

Greek Jewry has a unique history in Europe. Greek Judaism is possibly the oldest faith on the continent. Help support our programming by becoming a sponsor or donating today tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate The Hellenized Romaniotes, the Sephardim from the western Mediterranean and the Ashkenazim from central Europe created a mosaic of communities across the country, each one with its own fascinating history and tradition. Thessaloniki, the ‘ Jerusalem of the Balkans’ , Ioannina, the capital of the Romaniotes, Larissa, Volos, Patra, Crete, Corfu, Rhodes, Athens, and many others. These Jewish communities, together but also individually, are an integral part of the Greece’ s rich history. Please note that this talk began recording late, but most of the information was repeated at the end. About the speaker Anastasios Karababas is a French-Greek historian, teacher and political analyst. He pursued his higher education studies in Paris (France). Between 2009 and 2023 he taught at several public and private schools in the Paris region, notably at the international network of schools of the Alliance Israélite Universelle. He was also lecturer and researcher at the Holocaust Memorial in Paris. He is the author of La Shoah. L’obsession de l’antisémitisme depuis le XIXe siècle (Bréal, 2017, reprinted in 2020). In 2011, he began his research on the Jews of Greece. His book In the Footsteps of the Jews of Greece, based on historical archives from Europe, Israel and the United States, has been published in Greek (2022) and translated into French (2023) and English (2024). His research focuses on genocides of the 20th century, the preservation of Jewish memory and its transmission to younger generations. He now lives in Athens where he works as a political analyst and columnist. He is a regular contributor to radio and television broadcasts in France and Greece. He is also scientific advisor for the Organisation for the Modernisation of the Greek Justice system, particularly in the domain of youth violence.

Dr. Dayan Yehonatan Elazar De Mota, a senior research fellow at Emory University and Ab Bet Din for the Bet Din Zedek of the Dominican Republic, discussed his work leading the Sephardic Jewish community across the country and his new book "Ata Mulana." He explained how the book aims to preserve and transmit the Sephardic intellectual tradition by documenting oral transmission methods in a written format. Help us continue to strengthen and share Jewish heritage and essence by supporting out programs - reach out to offer you story or skills, and donate today https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/64ee6c1a-87bf-4b75-82e0-43c01b9bd79b?fbclid=IwAR0FY50oF4qzZxoYc59I3f-XIgtAJOvdJ5soaXIdCnfyeQtxO2Mp_-HhcOg Hakham Yehonatan presented on the anthropological origins of Rosh Hashanah, exploring its biblical foundations in Leviticus and how it evolved during the Babylonian exile. He explained how Jewish assimilation into Babylonian culture led to adopting the Akkadian word "Tishre" instead of the biblical "Etanim," connecting the month to themes of creation, water, and new beginnings. The presentation also covered Talmudic perspectives on Rosh Hashanah as the time of world creation and discussed the Shemitah and Yobel cycles of 7 and 50 years respectively, which influence agricultural and social practices. Hakham Yehonatan discussed the significance of Rosh HaShanah, explaining that it marks the new year for various Jewish cycles and is connected to themes of creation, newness, and divine judgment. He shared stories from the Midrash about women being remembered by God and granted children, as well as Yosef's release from prison, highlighting the theme of redemption. Yehonatan explained the origins and traditions of shofar blowing on the first day of Tishri, describing three types of sounds: Zedekiah, Shebarim, and Tequia. He detailed how different Jewish communities interpret the Shebarim sound differently, with some emulating a ram's sound alluding to the Akedah story. Yehonatan also mentioned that some communities influenced by Lurianic Kabbalah add additional sounds to complete 101 sounds, which relates to the angel Michael and the judgment period mentioned in the book of Daniel. Yehonatan discussed various dinner table customs for Rosh HaShanah across different Jewish communities. Yehonatan discussed traditional Jewish practices related to Rosh Hashanah, including greetings, Tashlikh rituals, and Salichot prayers, explaining their origins and variations across different Jewish communities. He noted that Spanish-Portuguese Jews do not practice Tashlikh due to its Kabbalistic nature, and clarified that their Rosh Hashanah meal includes apples and honey but excludes pomegranates.

This historical memoir is based on the writings of Dahlia Abraham-Klein’s grandfather—an Afghan Bukharan Jewish merchant born in 1897 in Russian-occupied Turkmenistan. His story is preserved in a rare manuscript written in Judeo-Persian using Rashi script. Help support our programs tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate About the book: Haim Abraham, born in 1897 in Turkmenistan, wrote out his memoir in a spiral-bound notebook covering a period of ninety years. After he passed away in 1999, the journals were discovered in his home, written in an ancient language: Judeo-Farsi. Years later, the journals were translated, unearthing a time capsule nearly lost. The former years of Abraham’s life had a recurrent theme of Russian Tsarist, Bolshevik, and Soviet violence, which heavily affected his family’s viability. Abraham’s family were not nationals anywhere. They were forced to move from country to country in search of religious freedom and the economic opportunities that often went hand in hand as merchant class Jews. What Abraham did have, which was central to his endurance, was a community of relatives and friends in every city he traveled. The mutual responsibility inherent within the Jewish community was essential to establishing worldwide business ties and mobility. Abraham came from an enclave called the Jewish Triangle, which stretched across large parts of Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. Due to continued persecution and spotty educational access, much of their history is not written down and barely part of the Jewish historical lexicon. Presented is an invaluable memoir into a fascinating time period. To order the book: https://a.co/d/cR2z0ps About the author: Dahlia Abraham-Klein is a writer on Central Asian Jewish history and Jewish values. Her articles have appeared on Tablet, Chabad, Jewish Journal, and The Times of Israel. She is a teacher at Partners in Torah offering a personalized learning experience on the system of life through Jewish wisdom. Help support our programs tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate