If you are at all interested in Sephardic culture and history, but haven't ventured on to the Internet, now is the time! Even
though the Internet is still in its childhood, there are vast resources waiting for you to use and the best news is that most of it
is free.
The Internet has changed the way the world communicates taking subjects previously only available to Sephardic studies
programs out of exclusively academic circles, and brought them into the average persons' home. For example, though many
of us experienced Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) spoken at home, many of us would not travel to a university library to review a
journal to learn about the historical origins and development of the language. Instead of storing old academic papers and
transcripts of lectures in file cabinets, today professors are putting more and more of their work online to be shared with the
worldwide Sephardic community; this has sparked a Sephardic intellectual revival via the world wide web. With the
availability of the Internet, anyone can access literally hundreds of such articles and papers online, many by well respected
authors which are available in the comfort of your own living room, twenty-four hours a day. What a great opportunity to
learn more about our very own culture, heritage,and history.
There are an incredible amount of Sephardic oriented Internet sites today, each with their own flavor and character. Over the
last few years the number of websites which are hosted by Sephardic organizations has increased dramatically. Many are
operated by Sephardic organizations, some by individuals, and some by web-only organizations. The Sephardic Educational
Center in Jerusalem, The European Sephardic Institute in Brussels, both Sephardic House, and the American Sephardi
Federation in New York City, and the Rhodes Jewish Museum in Rhodes are among some of the Sephardic institutions which
are thriving on the Internet.
The number of family historians using the Internet to further their research is increasing quickly; today Sephardic families are
posting their family histories, memories, recipes, photos and memoirs online, leading many to find each other. The
Benvenistes', Cassorlas', Farhis' and Maimons' are among the growing group of Sephardic families who have developed their
own personal websites in the last few years. This is significant, as family histories written today provide some of the primary
resource material for the historians of the future. The Internet has made many people take that old box of photos out of the
closet to be shared with the world. Many of these websites have helped reconnect families with branches in different parts of
the globe, spurring many success stories.
In one particular case a researcher was taking photos of tombstones in a cemetery in New York City. Next to one of his own
family members graves was a stone with the surname "Taranto." The researcher remembered he had met a man online with
the surname Taranto via the Internet. He took a photo of this stone, and e-mailed it to the man who lived across the country.
When the man received the photo, he could not believe it, as the stone with the surname of Taranto in the Brotherhood of
Rhodes plot belonged to his uncle. This uncle had died back in 1930's and his burial location had been unknown up until that
day when the photo arrived via email. This was a missing link in one family's history, solved because in part of the
availability of the Internet.
Not only as a cultural phenomena, but as a religious one too. Of course today you can study Torah, follow the Parasha, and
search through the Talmud online, but many don't know you can also read the writings of Moses Maimonides, and the great
Ladino text by Rabbi Yaakov Culi "Me'am Loez" the most popular compilation of Sephardic Midrash ever written. Sephardic
Synagogues have been making the leap into cyberspace in increasing numbers, melding some of the world's oldest
institutions with the world's newest technology. From your own home you can visit congregation Ezra Bessaroth in Seattle,
Shearith Israel (the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue) in New York City, Kahal Shalom in Rhodes, even Samuel ha-Levi's
fourteenth century Synagogue in Toledo, Spain is online, albeit today as a museum.
As the Internet enters another year of its childhood, the list of Sephardic oriented websites is expanding. A search returned
the following results, indicating the number of websites which included the following three keywords:
Table 1. Demonstration of number of keywords found in documents on the Internet.
Sephardic-oriented audio products are available via the Internet. Lectures by the world-renowned lecturer Rabbi Lopes
Cardozo, live radio broadcasts of the weekly message of the Rishon L'tzion, Sephardic Chief Rabbi, HaRav Eliyahu Bakshi-
Doron, and Ladino music all have found a home on the net. It is this last category, music, which has the potential for the most
controversy. Sephardic culture has invaded the online world in the controversial Napster online music sharing service.
Napster is the worldwide music file-sharing program which enables users to download music from other users' computers,
free of charge. To say that Napster is popular is an understatement. In the past year, Napster's user base grew to more than 50
million! A recent check of Napster demonstrated it had over 900,000 music files available to copy. A search was conducted
on Napster for the keyword "Sephardic" and the search results brought up a list of over 500 Ladino language songs including
"Cuando El Ray Nimrod", "En La Mar", Barminan", and "Los Bibililicos", all with more then one version by at least six very
well known Sephardic entertainers. Under songs with the keyword "Jewish", there were songs in Arabic, Hebrew, Ladino and
even Judeo-Arabic online.
Online learning, virtually unheard of a decade ago, is the hottest thing in academia, appealing especially to working adults
eager for the mental stimulation but lacking time or proximity to a university. The number of colleges offering online courses
last year soared to over 1,000 and the number is growing. Students download assignments and lectures from professors,
receive books through the postal service, carry on class discussions via e-mail, visit a library electronically and post
completed papers for comment from fellow students.
There are many programs in both cultural and religious studies coving everything from the Philosophy of Yehudah Halevi,
Survey of Jewish Music (including Ladino), to introduction to the great Sephardic sage Maimonides, and his Guide for the
Perplexed. The classes are perfect for those who are working slowly towards their degree, or for those who limited
availability for travel. Participants can with the ability to communicate over great distances quickly, easily, and
conveniently. It also eliminates the barriers of distance and schedule; the ability to communicate with more than one person
at one time; and to meet people with a similar interest from all over the world. Take an accredited university class from
Boston, Tel Aviv, or Prague, and the best part is you don't have to leave the comfort of your own home.
For the Sephardic history buff one of the hottest things to surface on the Internet is the participation in Sephardic-oriented
discussion groups, also known as email lists. Messages are written and read by people with the same interests. When you
subscribe to a list, your e-mail address is put on an electronic mailing list. Anytime someone writes a message to that list,
everybody who joined that particular list will receive a copy of that message. There are over 25 email lists which would be
of interest to those researching Sephardic history and culture. Some of them are the "The Sephardic-List", "Sefarad"
Sephardic Newsletter", "The International Sephardic Discussion Group", "Saudades" for Portuguese-Jewish history", "The
Anusim List" for those researching Crypto-Jewish topics, as well as "Ladinokomunita" the worlds' first Ladino-only
discussion group. These moderated discussion groups quickly become a community where Sephardim from around the
world get to know one another, share ideas and thoughts, reflect on personal experiences, and interact together on a daily
basis. Forget the physical barriers of distance-through the use of the Internet Sefardi hermanos y hermanas speak to one
another as if they were down the street, even though one person might be in Buenos Aires, and one in Istanbul. According to
Computer Industry Almanac, there are currently 300 million Internet users, and by 2002 there will be 600 million users
online worldwide. As more and more people go online, as computer hardware prices decrease, there will be more and more
Sephardim migrating to the net.
Together sharing, learning and participating in subjects of mutual interest we are developing a significant growing Sephardic
community in cyberspace, truly a Virtual Kahal.