Thanks to Beki Bardavid who advised us.
For nearly half a millennium, the Judeo-Spanish language, Ladino, had
been a vibrant and dynamic language, unique in its roots in Jewish heritage and
Spanish culture. Ladino, which has its basis in pre-expulsion Spain, flourished
hundreds of years after the expulsion in Sephardic Diaspora – from the west,
throughout the Mediterranean, to the Balkans and to the great Jewish communities
of Turkey and Greece as well as in the Ottoman Empire in the east. More than
merely a language, Ladino culture has made a unique contribution to the Jewish
people in literature, poetry, music and folklore. Ladino is a culture of
emotional warmth and intellectual ferment, of commitment to Jewishness coupled
with a keen sensitivity and openness to the surrounding cultures in which Ladino
speaking communities found themselves.
The Faculty of Jewish
Studies at Bar-Ilan University is at the forefront of Jewish studies education
and research in Israel and throughout the world. The researches and scholars at
the Jewish Faculty are uniquely qualified to meet the task of preserving Ladino
heritage. Since 1985, Bar-Ilan has been a pioneer institution in the field of
Ladino studies. The largest concentration of advanced students and Ladino
scholars in the world today is at Bar-Ilan University. These scholars and
students are potentially a new generation of worldwide ambassadors of the glory
of Ladino culture. The establishment of the Naime & Yehoshua Salti Center
for Ladino Studies will be a major contribution toward ensuring this
precious Jewish legacy for Sephardim and all Jews today and for the Jewish
future.
The Center for Ladino
Studies will offer the students and the general public a rich variety of
interesting courses and activities related to the literature, language,
folklore, history, music and the ethnography of Sephardic Jews. Graduate
students will enjoy guest lecturers, research conferences and special seminars.
Appropriate resources will be allocated to encourage research so that young
researchers who wish to take part in the wealth offered by this particular
culture will find the Center to be a source of great encouragement, a
platform for growth and a warm place at all
times.
The Center for Ladino
Studies will publish top level scientific studies, research works in
Ladino literature, music and history, and will continue the publication of
Ladinar – a unique scientific journal on Ladino studies.
The Naime &
Yehoshua Salti Center for Ladino Studies offers a framework for academic and
public discussion, for analysis of issues found in Ladino history and also for
the study of issues related to the preservation and dissemination of the
Judeo-Spanish culture in Israel and throughout the world. Bar-Ilan University,
in cooperation with Mrs. Naime and Mr. Yehoshua Salti, respond to the
fascinating culture and investigative challenge presented by the Ladino
language. With their assistance, the best academic forces will join in building
a basis for the study of Ladino, while committed to passing on the torch of the
Sephardic heritage to coming generations.
Head of the Center: Dr.
Shmuel Refael, Head of the Department of Literature of the Jewish
People
Head of the Board: Prof. Judith
Dishon
Board: Prof. Joshua
Schwartz, Dean of the Faculty of Jewish Studies
Prof. Shifra
Baruchson
Prof. Ephraim Hazan
Prof. Ora
Schwartzwald
Representatives of the
Salti Foundation: Mr. Moni Salti and Mr. Meir Bensangi
For additional
information:
The
Naime & Yeoshua Salti Center for Ladino
Studies
Faculty
of Jewish Studies
Department of Literature of the Jewish People
Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900,
Israel
Tel:
972- 3-5344448, 972- 3-5317242
Fax:
972- 3-5351233
E-mail: Ladinocn@mail.biu.ac.il
Website: www.biu.ac.il
communication de Beki Bardavid