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Sephard,
yet
With this year’s version of the bi-annual Quinzaine Sépharade festival comes a host of Sephardic Jewish offerings-tons of concerts, art shows, plays, comedy, conferences and lots more. Where to start? Maybe with Israeli pop sensation Sarit Haddad, who takes the stage of the Olympia Theatre (1004 Ste-Catherine E.) on Wednesday, June 26. Or check out one of the four plays (La Manigance, Une fille ça va..., Tajine, Couscous & Cie..., and Hanna et le Roi) playing at the Saidye Bronfman Centre (5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine). The Saidye also plays host to a bunch of art shows, comedy nights and more of the insanely huge number of events scheduled for this thing. Did we mention the film screenings, the conferences and the recitals? It never ends. To check out the calendar for yourself, visit www.leccj.com. The Quinzaine Sépharade runs through July 1. : -Mark Slutsky |
Sephardic
culture is the somewhat lesser known of Judaism’s two major streams.
Judaism is traditionally associated with Eastern European, or Ashkenazi,
inventions like Yiddish, black frock coats, bagels, bialys and the lot,
but the Sephardic world is a whole other megillah. Originating in the
somewhat hotter climes of Andalusian Spain and Morocco, Sephardis comprise
a much smaller slice of the Jewish pie population-wise, but have a rich
culture and tradition of their own (and even their own Spanish-derived,
Yiddish-like language, Ladino).