Community Reports - NYC Metropolitan Area

This winter has been an exciting season for the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America in the NYC Metropolitan Area! Despite the cold, our community has been as vibrant and active as ever, bringing together Sephardic Jews of all ages for meaningful gatherings, cultural celebrations, and educational initiatives.

In February, we organized a special Superbowl Young Families Party in New Jersey in partnership with Sephardic Adventure Camp, a great opportunity for members to learn more about our amazing affiliate summer camp based in Seattle, WA. Camp Director Rabbi Kenny Pollak spoke about the camp program for this summer, Ladino language instruction, and showed a brief video of all the different camp activities. We also partnered with the Habura, a new global Sephardic Beit Midrash learning program, on a digital series on Rabbi Benzion Uziel, teaching his works and perspectives on Torah.

Our Sephardic Young Professionals Network kicked off the new year with a Young Professionals Boreka cooking class, led by South African Sephardic native Laura Codron. Laura taught the sold-outgroup how to make borekitas (mini-borekas) in the classic Rhodesli style of her home community in Cape Town, along with delicious homemade baklava. Our annual Young Professionals Frutikas Tu Bishevat Seder was an amazing success, with delicious treats, wine, and great music. We shared a few words of Torah and led the mini-Seder using the Sephardic Brotherhood’s Seder Booklets in Hebrew, Ladino, and English. The Young Professionals also recently hosted a new “People of the Bean” class on the history of Sephardic Jewry and coffee, with a live Coffee tasting and cooking demonstration. 

Looking ahead, we are gearing up for a busy spring! Stay tuned for our upcoming Sephardic Young Families Purim Megillah Reading & Celebration, Sephardic Scholarship Awards ceremony, and of course the annual Greek Jewish Festival, this year on Sunday May 11 (celebrating its 10th year)! And on May 18, we’ll be marching for the third year in a row with a Sephardic Community Float at the Celebrate Israel Parade up 5th Avenue.

For the latest updates and events, visit sephardicbrotherhood.com and subscribe to La Boz Sefaradi – the Sephardic Voice.