In his introduction, Zohar himself provides a clear and helpful explanation of the distinctions between Mizrahi, Sephardic, and Oriental Jews. The book is divided into three parts: Sephardic Jewry during the medieval period, the “early modern” era (from the expulsion from Spain until modernity), and the modern period. Rather than going into great detail about each of the fifteen articles, it is sufficient to mention several of the most interesting articles as ‘representative samples’ of the entire volume. Mark Cohen, in his “The Origins of Sephardic Jewry in the Medieval Arab World,” traces the origins both of Jews living in European Christendom and those living under Islam to the medieval Arab world. Cohen’s piece is particularly helpful in understanding the distinctive features of Sephardic Jewry, and while he rejects the nineteenth century German-Jewish myth of interfaith utopia during Golden Age of Spain, he makes it clear that Jewish life in the Arab world was much more favorable and secure than in Christendom. Norman Stillman, David Bunis, and Jonathan Decter contribute fascinating pieces on Jewish languages and literatures in the medieval period, but particularly noteworthy is the contribution of the great scholar of Kabbalah Moshe Idel; his article concludes the first section with a wonderfully rich and evocative examination of Jewish philosophy and Kabbalah in Spain. He reveals the close connection between developments within the Jewish world and the intellectual and cultural atmosphere in which Jews lived; Islamic thought exerted a crucial influence on Jewish philosophy while early forms of Kabbalah emerged in the Christian sphere. Idel demonstrates the importance of cultural interaction and the constant shift between continuity and change that characterized Jewish intellectual life in the medieval Sephardic world.

The articles on Sephardic legal traditions during the early modern period and the relationship between Kabbalah in sixteenth century Safed and the Sephardic Diasporas by Tsvi Zohar and Morris Faierstein, respectively, could both be used great effect in a variety of classes at HUC, but perhaps the most compelling articles in the middle section of the volume is Annette Fromm’s piece, “Hispanic Culture in Exile: Sephardic Life in the Ottoman Balkans.” Fromm’s study is a masterpiece of cultural history, offering a model of Jewish diasporic cultural negotiation. She explores the cultural milieu of Christian Spain in which Jews lived before the expulsion, how they managed to preserve and develop this culture in exile, and the ways in which the previously existing Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire reacted to the new arrivals, simultaneously preserving and transforming their own traditions in response to the Hispanic culture of the new arrivals.

Though placed in the modern section, Jonathan Schorsh’s article, “Early Modern Sephardim and Blacks: Contact and Conflict between Two Minorities,” breaks new ground in its discussion the relationship between Sephardic Jews and black Africans. Schorsch demonstrates how the former were influenced by Spanish notions of race, blackness, and blood purity in their views of blacks, and how these views helped them negotiate the difficult territory between religious outsiders (as Jews) and racial insiders (as whites). He also shows how the behavior of Sephardim toward their own slaves and toward blacks in general so precisely mimicked that of non-Jewish whites in the Atlantic world that it was difficult to separate the two, and to remember that Jews were themselves a despised minority.

Finally, the editor Zion Zohar contributes his own article, “Sephardim and Oriental Jews in Israel: Rethinking the Sociopolitical Paradigm.” His piece brilliantly explicates the challenges and dilemmas of Mizrahi Jews in the Jewish state. As Zohar explains,

Under Askhenazi leadership, to be a “good Israeli” meant subscribing to socialist ideals, living out Western values, and rejecting all but the most modern adaptations of religious identity. Naturally, this paradigm presented a serious problem for Sephardi immigrants and their children. To accept it, meant to reject their past, their traditions, and their very sense of self. Yes, to reject the Ashkenazi-defined ideal meant to reject becoming fully “Israeli.” Caught in this paradox, many Sephardic youth were not wholly able to integrate their Sephardic heritage with their sense of Israeli identity, consequently suffering a loss of pride and self-esteem.

As future leaders of the Jewish people, it is critical for students at HUC to have a nuanced and complex understanding of Israeli society, one that transcends the slogans and feel-good discourse of communal life. This type of provocative analysis provides insight into the inner workings and tensions within the Jewish state, insight that they rarely gain even during the time they spend in the country.

In sum, Zion Zohar’s volume should be brought to the attention of the faculty at HUC as an invaluable resource for integration of the Sephardic/Mizrahi experience into our curriculum. I can think of no better introduction to the rich tapestry of that experience.