Story and photos by Sandi Masori
LA JOLLA, California — Jfest is here again! That means there’s a bunch of different Jewish-themed musical, theatrical, and cultural events happening right now.
Tuesday night, June 10, I went to one of my favorite Jfest events, the food and culture night at Congregation Adat Yeshurun. This event highlights a different Jewish community with food and performances from that community.
This year it was all about Syria. I found it fascinating, not only to learn about the Jewish communities of Syria but also learning that some people I know from our local Jewish community are of Syrian descent- for example Morah Rachel Tawil Abraham whom I know from Hebrew Day was one of the speakers talking about her family heritage along with her husband Mickey.
The basic format for the event is to start with music and food, in this case an appetizer course of Kipe (bulgur dough filled with seasoned ground beef) and Lachmagine (Syrian flat bread) along with hummus and tjine,.
The first speaker was Haia R’nana Bchiri who took us through a lightning-fast round of 4000 years of Syrian Jewish history in 20 minutes. We learned about how mistreated the Jewish community was, their lives getting easier or harder depending on the ruler of the day. In various points in history our people were taxed, made to wear special clothes, forbidden from leaving Syria, allowed to leave but not to the British Palestinian mandate, allowed to leave but only if we left all of our possessions, and then forbidden to leave again.
Next, Jews were allowed to leave only for certain purposes and money and a family member had to be left behind. Our people were allowed to leave but only to the United States and only on a tourist visa (as recently as the 1990s!), then finally allowed to leave… the poor Syrian Jews barely knew what the rules were, so fast did they change- a history that we see echoed in other diaspora communities where the fate of our people depended on the changing whims of the various rulers.
After that the buffet was opened and we were treated to a fabulous meal of Fatoush salad, Rez de Chariye (white rice with fried noodles), Chicken and artichoke hearts in lemony sauce, and Mejshi (stuffed calabcita squash in a prune and tamarind sauce). Julie Datnow created the menu and catering was provided by Bertha and Mery Cohen. The food was flavorful. I especially liked the Mejshi which though vegetarian had a meaty umami flavor from the prunes and tamarind.
After we got settled we were treated to more Syrian Jewish music from Fouad Sawa, Andy Semaan, Tamia Dowlatabadi, and vocals from Danny Myers and Mickey Abraham. Arabic music is so pretty and has a beat that makes you want to move your hips and dance. No one got up to dance but I did notice some people waving their arms around from their chairs in time to the music. The music provided a welcome respite from the history lesson detailing the years of hardship.
After dinner, dessert was served, Mamule (date and nut- filled sugar cookies), Ataief (mini pancakes stuffed with nuts and glazed with homemade syrup), and cut fruit.
While we enjoyed dessert, Mickey and Rachel Abraham shared their family history going back and forth between Aleppo and Spain, before finally landing in New York in the early 1900s. Brooklyn is the proud home to a large Syrian Jewish community. Some interesting things that we learned about the Syrian Jews, they light an extra candle for each night of Hanukkah to reaffirm their right as free Jews to light candles and to remember their ancestors who were victims of the Spanish Inquisition. Also, there are zero converts to Syrian Jewry. It’s a very insular community and you’re either born one or not. Intermarriage is an absolute no-no, and not only was marriage to other kinds of Jews discouraged (to Ashkenzis for example), there was little intermarriage between the Jews of Aleppo and the Jews of Damascus even.
Overall. it was a fascinating (and delicious) look into a community that previously I knew nothing about. It’s only a one-time event, so it’s too late for this year, but pay attention to the Jfest website and sign up for the mailing list to be kept apprised of next year’s event. As this year’s Jfest is still ongoing, they haven’t picked the community to feature yet, but based on the last two years I would highly recommend making it a must-attend event. There are still some other events this year though, so go check out the rest of the offerings at Www.jfest.org
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Associate Editor Sandi Masori is a food and theater reviewer for San Diego Jewish World