With ethnomusicologist and bandleader Samuel R. Thomas, Syrian Rabbi Joseph Dweck, and Moroccan Rabbi Gad Bouskila
part of The NEXT New York Conversation

Join Leonard Lopate, ethnomusicologist and bandleader Samuel R. Thomas and voices from within the Brooklyn Sephardic community for Performing Piyyutim: Sephardic Music, Poetry, and Spirituality, an exploration of Sephardic sacred poems through live musical performance and conversation. The event is presented as part of The NEXT New York Conversation series.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
at 7:00 PM
Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Tickets: $20
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Today in Brooklyn, where disparate Jewish groups from the Middle East are engaging one another in an unprecedented way, the piyyut – the Hebrew term for a sacred poem – serves as an expression of a specific type of Jewish identity. Spanning five centuries since the expulsion from Spain in 1492, these piyyutim express unique conceptions of the relationship between humanity and the Divine and serve as the backbone of the quasi-classical musical traditions of different Sephardic immigrant groups who now call New York home.

Following an introductory discussion, Thomas, accompanied by his ensemble Asefa and other traditional musicians, will present a lively musical performance of Sephardic piyyutim. Intertwining musical performance with discussion, Syrian Rabbi Joseph Dweck and Moroccan Rabbi Gad Bouskila will illuminate how the intersection of Kabbalistic and Sufist thought in Sephardic cultural history inspired piyyutim.

Panelists:
Samuel R. Thomas
Rabbi Gad Bouskila
Rabbi Joseph Dweck

Musicians:
Victor Esses, oud
Rachid Halihal, violin
Rabbi Avraham Amar, vocals
Shemtob Levi, vocals
Rabbi Mihael Kakon, vocals