Estudios Sefaraditos en la Universidad de Guashington (2)
Erudita jurnal, Los Muestros, del mi meoyo. Tengo munchos havadizes para ti, buenos i savrozos, i ya ke tu estas en el mundo, tengo ande desbafarme i anunsiar al mundo todo lo bueno ke esta pasando aki en Sitali, en la Universidad de Guashington.(3)
Brace yourself, Los Muestros...: The Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington has recently introduced a Sephardic Studies initiative!!! It is so exciting I can barely contain myself. There are shivers of anticipation crawling up my spine and my hair is nearly standing on end. But let me calm myself down a bit so that I can tell you this wondrous news.
This year, the University of Washington hired a new Assistant Professor of History, Sarah Abrevaya Stein, ke es una joya del Dio (4). Professor Stein, who received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1999, is a specialist in Eastern European Ashkenazic and Ottoman Sephardic History and under her leadership, is jumpstarting a Sephardic Studies initiative that will include inter- disciplinary course offerings on Sephardic Jewry, a Sephardi/Mizrahi annual film festival and a conference on Ladino literature slated for next year. What's more, Sephardic Studies promises to be fully integrated into the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington, and into other disciplines as well, including Spanish and Portuguese Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, and Turkish Studies, to name but a few.
Joining Dr. Stein in this venture are Dr. Aviva Ben-Ur, the 1999-2000 Hazel D. Cole Fellow in Jewish Studies, and the new Outreach Coordinator, Sharon Perlin. Through the efforts of these three women, and under the guidance and encouragement of Dr. Naomi Sokoloff, Chair of the Jewish Studies Program, the University of Washington has introduced an initiative unique among North American institutes of higher learning. These ladies are making beautiful music together. Just listen to what they've accomplished thus far:
? A Sephardi/Mizrahi Film Series, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Jewish Studies Program and to support Sephardic Studies at the University of Washington. This year's grand finale was Dr. David Raphael's Song of the Sephardi, a film he made in 1978 featuring the Sephardic communities of Seattle and Jerusalem. The event, catered with Sephardic delicacies from the ladies auxiliary of Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation, was a huge success, as were the other three evenings of the film series. ? A matching library fund for the acquisition of Ladino and Sephardic materials, including rare books, secondary sources, audio and video tapes, and microfilms. ? A growing archive of Sephardic oral histories and archival documents, drawn from the local Sephardic community. This archive updates and expands the already existing Seattle Jewish history collection at the University of Washington libraries.
And here's what they hope to yet accomplish: ? Hire an additional professor of Sephardic Studies ? Initiate a post-doctoral fund that will allow beginning scholars of Sephardic Studies to spend a year teaching and conducting research at the University of Washington ? Host conferences and symposia on Sephardic Studies ? Inaugurate a visiting scholar series ? Offer fellowships for students interested in pursuing Sephardic Studies
Of course, this Sephardic Studies initiative is greatly enriched by the vibrant Sephardic community of Seattle, and the hope is to strengthen ties between the University and the third largest Judeo-Spanish colony in the United States. It is just too good to be true! You can't imagine, Los Muestros, how long I have been waiting for such a development. Tears of happiness and gratification are streaming down my cheeks. If only my grandparents, Bula Satula and Ham Avraham, en gan eden esten (5), were alive today to witness this. And when I think of all the many years they toiled just to prove that Sephardim are indeed Jews! This new development at the University of Washington would defy their wildest dreams.
Hopefully the Sephardic Studies initiative at the University of Washington will inspire other colleges and universities across the country to ensure that our Sephardic history, so long neglected and marginalized, will now take its rightful place alongside Ashkenazic Studies, which are never called such, but rightly should be, kon los kualos kedo tu, meditando i estudiando, Amiga Serena
N.B. For more information on Sephardic
Studies at the University of Washington,
or to make a contribution, contact
Sharon Perlin, Outreach Coordinator, at
(206) 543-0138
(1) Anxieties of a Granddaughter.
(2) Serena (Still) in Seattle; Sephardic
Studies at the University
ofWashington.
(3) Erudite magazine, Los Muestros, of
my brain, I have much gossip for
you, good and delicious, and now
that you exist in the world, I have a
place where I can unburden myself
and announce to the world all of
the good that is happening here in
Seattle, at the University of
Washington.
(4) Who is a jewel from G-d.
(5) May they be in the Garden of Eden.
(6) From the readers.
De Los Meldadores :
3 Sivan 5759/ May 18, 1999
Dear Amiga Serena; My name is Horacio Calle (Noaj Kahal). I am a Columbian anthropologist looking for my distant but very strongly felt Sephardic identity. A friend of mine sent me a copy of your SEPHARDIC HOUSE Newsletter, and I was delighted to read (meldar) your colum [sic!]. I love Ladino. I am used to it thanks to AKI YERUSHALAYIM.
My ancestors on both sides came from Sefarad in the 17 [sic] century. Where were your ancestors from? Salonica, Rhodes, Istambul [sic], Ismir [sic]......? The Sephardic Sinagogue [sic] here in Bogota carries your last name. It is called Sinagoga Maguen Ovadia. I hope to hear from you soon. Espero ke mos topemos algotra [sic] vez.
Horacio Calle Universidad Javeriana Bogota, Columbia
Amiga Serena would like to thank Horacio Calle/Noaj Kahal for his delightful letter, written in the English language, with a bit of Ladino interspersed. Since he is affiliated with a university, Horacio may be especially interested in this issue's installment of Penserios de Nieta. To answer his question on my subethnic background, I am Salonikan on my father's side and Sarajevan on my mother's side. And I must add one correction: my last name is not Ovadiah, but rather, Soulam. Ovadiah is the last name of Janice, The Executive Director of Sephardic House. While I have no blood relation to her, I love and admire her very much, and salute her for her valuable work for the Sephardic communities of the United States and abroad.
Serena (Dayinda) en Siatli
Amiga Serena always loves to hear from her readers. Please send all correspondence to: Amiga Serena c/o Los Muestros