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Silver Torah finials from Sana'a, Northern Yemen, early 20th century.

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this lovely piece is a compliment to the birkat hamazon. it originated among spanish and portuguese jews, with the lore being that they sang it instead of the birkat hamazon during the inquisition to avoid being outed as still practicing judaism but wanting to still hold onto their customs, but it is popular among many different sephardi communities today. it is sung in modern spanish but i’m sure there is a ladino version out there somewhere. i love this performance, i just think the vibe is fantastic. so if you are looking for an addition to your birkat hamazon or want something to use in place of it, consider this song!

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Jewish artifacts found at an excavation site in Tayma, Saudi Arabia. Tayma was a Jewish oasis during the pre-Islamic era. It was the hometown of Jewish poet Shmuel Ben Adiya, famous for his unconditional loyalty towards Prince Imru al Qais in the 6th century.

Tayma, along with Khaybar were the two most important oasis in the Hejaz region (modern Saudi Arabia) that used to have a strong jewish presence until the fall of Khaybar in 628 (4388 - 4389 in the hebrew calendar) when the first muslims conquered the fortress and expelled most of the jewish population.

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Amazigh Jewish women in Morocco, 1930s.

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Passover cups, Bohemia, 1900s

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Woman baking Matzah, Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 2004

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חג שמח!

Matzah covers. Moldavia, 1903. Velvet with colour embroidery, beads, and gold fringe. Museum of Jewish History in Russia

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Ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) from Kutaisi, Georgia, 19th century

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✡︎ queen of shabbat moodboard ✡︎

🕯️🕯️🕯️/🕯️🕯️🕯️/🕯️🕯️🕯️

shabbat shalom to all my jews btw!

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At the grave of Gershon Bar Reuben Mizrahi (1815 - 1891), Kabbalist and spiritual leader of Mountain Jews of the whole Caucasus. Jewish cemetery of Guba, Azerbaijan, 1987.

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A Buchanan dance performed by members of the Rina Nikova ballet in the citadel in Jerusalem, 1946.

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A rabbi was asked by one of his students “Why did God create atheists?” After a long pause, the rabbi finally responded with a soft but sincere voice. “God created atheists” he said, “to teach us the most important lesson of them all – the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his actions are based on his sense of morality. Look at the kindness he bestows on others simply because he feels it to be right. When someone reaches out to you for help. You should never say ‘I’ll pray that God will help you.’ Instead, for that moment, you should become an atheist – imagine there is no God who could help, and say ‘I will help you’.”

— Martin Buber, “Tales of the Hasidim”

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Praying in front of the Ark of the Law in a synagogue in Ankara, Turkey, 1964.

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Circumcision ceremony in Debrecen, eastern Hungary, 1982

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being jewish in the rural USA is surprisingly fun when you get past all of the things that are not fun. its nice to have a quiet little jewish life in the middle of nowhere in a country too big to ever care about you but fuck it youve got your dog and your car and a lot of roads to choose so you'll be ok.

#homesick

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East Coast USA Jews gang where are you at

[id in alt]

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while im gushing abt north african & jewish art, here are some sephardic/mizrahi illustrated manuscripts that i am completely obsessed with *___* found these on pinterest and thru sum magrebi jewish archives