Sephardic Heritage Project

The window is closing - fast

Goals: Queens has 110,000 Sepharadim. The Sepharadic communities are being destroyed by ferocious cultural assimilation.

A frighteningly small percentage are really Torah observant. The younger generation almost doesn’t exist in several edot. The crying shame is that our window of opportunity to catch them before the flame goes out is closing fast - and almost nothing is being done about it.

“He who doesn’t learn from history is bound to repeat it’s mistakes.”

We lost 3.6 million Ashkenazic Jews Jews in the three large waves of immigration from 1870 - 1910. They were functionally Jewish when they came over - but there wasn’t the proper infrastructure of Torah Judaism to meet their needs. Their “good Jewish hearts” didn’t stand a chance in the golden medina and the destruction was rapid and massive. 5,700,000 of our contemporaneous American Jews are the spiritual heirs of our tragic mistake. Intermarriage, Hebrew Christians, cults and Jews who are totally devoid of any Judaism or Jewish Identity - and Jews who simply don’t know that they are Jewish altogether - are the products of the mistake of the last generation. The first generation has a Jewish “gefilte” and was reachable - many of the current generation are hopelessly lost. Cut off from Judaism forever. NOW we are losing the Sepharadim. We can either decide to do something about it - or simply repeat history’s mistake and write the Sepharadim off as a tax loss. It is for us to decide what we want to do.

A Fool is someone who throws away something that he already has. Talmud

Almost all first generation American Sepharadim have a strong Jewish Identity. Many have a burning love for their Judaism - but know almost nothing about Practical observance of Judaism. 18 “kosher” stores in Rego Park-Forest Hills - that all knowledgeable rabbonim consider definitely 100% treif. Thousands of Sephardiot who go to the mikva in a bathtub or without waiting the required number of days. Tens of thousands of Sepharadim who fill the beit knesset to capacity every Shabbat [and lull us into a false sense of security] - and then drive off to work. They are so easy to reach - if only someone would reach out to them. When exposed to the truth about Torah Judaism they thirst for their heritage. Does anybody care? It is the crime of the century that almost nothing is being done to save Sepharadic neshamot - before it is too late.

If there are no baby goats - you won’t have any adult goats

Talmud

The younger generation is rapidly devouring all the wonderful “culture” that America has to offer - and is very rapidly fading into oblivion. Young Sepharadic girls are marrying nice Italian boys - even African-Americans. 200 Bokharian Jews who’s parents were religious since Sinai despite Bolsheviks and fanatical Muslims - are now proud “Hebrew Christians” who are actively proselytizing hundreds of other young Sepharadim. With the young generation getting “Americanized” and dropping the “old-fashioned” traditions of their fathers, we simply will not have a next generation of Sepharadim.

We believe that our current Sepharadim DO care about their people and about Judaism. They care enough to invest financial resources into their future. They care enough to fund the vital programming that it will take to save Sepharadic Jewry from becoming a museum piece. The Sepharadic Heritage Project is a landmark effort of Sepharadic businessman working together with the Rabbonim and Kiruv professionals to provide quality Torah Outreach that will bring the glory of Torah and Jewish values back to the Sepharadic Communities of Queens. By initiating a major campaign to fund and build vital Kiruv infrastructure in every kehila we can successfully reach thousands of our brothers and sisters who are rapidly becoming statistics. The time is now.

Sepharadic Heritage Project - Lead, follow or get out of the way

Modus Operandi / Goals

“they care enough to invest financial resources into their future

Tragic Mistake

ØEstablish ½ day seminars in many Sephardic Kehilot to draw people in to inspire them to take follow-up classes

ØSeminars will be conducted in Kehilla’s mother tongue

ØSeminars will utilize state of the art computer generated graphics and multi-media presentations to achieve maximum impact and effectiveness

ØOur key programming that will take most of our time will be small hard hitting classes and home study groups aimed at practical observance of Yahadut. Inviting over groups of friends for cake, coffee, and hands on practical workshops on Shabbat, Kosher, Taharat HaMishpacha ,Teffillin and other components of Judaism. Also to provide home workshops for appropriate candidates to excite them to attend a full weekend seminar.

By locating targets through seminars, lectures and friends dragging in their friends we will win the battle of assimilation by having one small group focus on keeping one area of Torah at a time - until the forward momentum and inspiration leaves them fully Shomer Torah uMitzvos.

ØThe current situation of Shmirat Taharat HaMishpacha in Queens is disastrous. The divorce rate is over 40% and Shalom Bayit is a very scarce commodity among the Sepharadim . Hattanim usually learn nothing and kallot usually get a hop plop crash course in a few hours. We will soon have bez”h a unanimous agreement among all the Sepharadic Rabbonim of Queens that no one will marry off anyone unless both the hattan & kallah go through proper and extensive training in the halachot and hashkafot of Niddah, Hanhagat Chayei Ishut and Shalom Bayit. The goal will be to inspire them to keep it.

Missionary Problem

ØWe have to train a group of volunteer bnot Torah how to teach the delicate area of Taharat HaMishpacha one-on-one to all new kallot. And of course a group of bnei Torah for the hattanim for the areas that they have to know and for inyanei shalom bayit.

ØThere will be a spillover to couples already married. We need counselors to teach Taharat HaMishpacha to small groups and also one-on-one to couples already married but who we succeeded in turning on to Yahadut.

Ø200 Bokharian Jews are actively missionizing their fellow Sepharadim into becoming Hebrew Christians. The shame is that the immigrant Sepharadim didn’t know anything about Judaism and were therefore easily fooled by the talit -wearing missionaries. They were taken in by their “proofs” and are quite easy to bring out.

ØWe have to get the message out to the masses about the missionary threat.

ØWe have to educate them about what to do and where to turn if they see a Sepharadic friend involved.

ØWe need a cadre of people trained in the basic “proofs” to save the kidnapped Jewish souls from the missionaries.

“to save kidnapped Jewish souls from the missionaries”

ØThere are a lot of “floating” Sepharadim that like to hear entertaining lectures that no one is really following up on to turn inspiration into the reality of Judaism. One-on-one contact is necessary to cash in on the loose chips lying in the streets.

Cost-effectiveness