When I meet someone for the first time, they often ask me about the origin of my family name. (After all, how often do you meet someone with the last name Acoca?) When I reply that I am of Moroccan descent, the reaction is almost always the same. “Wow! Sephardim have great food and they eat rice on Pesach!” My reaction to that is that I wholeheartedly agree that we do have tasty food (I will never replace my wife’s Moroccan fish for anything!) and that I don’t eat rice on Pesach. The question that follows is, “How could you be Sephardic and not eat rice on Pesach?”
To that, I answer that Sephardic traditions are vast and there is a lot to learn.This interaction makes me wonder how much people really know about Sephardic traditions. Is there a way to relay it to people? I believe that—first and foremost—the way to do it is by educating our children.
When my children were in day schools and high schools alike, they very often used to tell their halacha teacher that in our household, we do things differently. That caused the teacher to often call me and ask about the Sephardic traditions. It got to a point that before every Yom Tov, both day schools and high schools used to call me asking for guidance regarding Sephardic traditions.
Day schools and high schools alike should be educating not only the Sephardic students on Sephardic Jewry, but the Ashkenazi students as well—simply because as a veteran educator, I truly believe in diversity. In the same way that we had 12 tribes that accepted and respected each other for their differences, we should also be open to learning from each other.
Thank God, I have been serving two distinct Sephardic congregations for the last 25 years, and I have learned so much from countless individuals and their traditions. From the Jews of Rhodes to the Jews of Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Persia and Morocco, among others. Traditions that are dated thousands of years that are beyond the food and eating rice on Pesach! Among those traditions, we have the Sephardic liturgy which is a science by itself.
In the Syrian and Moroccan traditions, we have the “bakashot,” which are liturgical poems that are chanted during the winter months from Shabbat Bereshit until Shabbat Zachor in the Moroccan tradition, and until Shabbat Hagadol in the Syrian tradition. Traditionally, the bakashot were sung before dawn on the long winter Friday nights leading into the Shacharit services. My mother, zt”l, often used to tell me that in her native city of Mogador, she lived across the street from one of the local synagogues. Every Friday night, she would wake up to listen to the beautiful voices from her bedroom.
As part of our liturgy, we have piyutim (liturgical songs) written by our Chachamim relating the holiday through a song. A few years ago, I had the honor to be a presenter to educators and heads of schools who wanted to integrate a Sephardic component into their students’ education. My presentation was entitled, “Introducing Sephardic Judaism Through Song.” During the presentation, I chose one song for each holiday. I took an excerpt of the song, played it and provided a brief biography of the author. The reactions were astounding. All the educators—without exception—were mesmerized by it and said it was such a lovely tradition. Some of them integrated into their classrooms.
One such educator wrote the following:
I wanted to teach Chanukah differently than in the past. Previously, when teaching Chanukah, I would focus on halachot and some customs but, this year, I was able to utilize Rabbi Acoca’s excellent presentation and incorporate music into the lesson. Rabbi Acoca presented Rabbi David Bauzaglo’s ‘Am Ne’emani’ song and explained a couple of the stanzas. He showed that besides the catchy tune, the beauty of the song is hidden in the lyrics. In this song, Rabbi Bauzaglo masterfully intertwined the story of Chanukah with halachot in a beautiful and catchy tune. I introduced the song to the students and emphasized the impact that music can have in our tradition. I taught them a couple of stanzas and had them look for the parallels or references to Chanukah. The students were so excited to learn a new Chanukah song other than Maoz Tzur and hoped to also learn and understand the Maoz Tzur. We practiced the song and the voices of the students can be heard in the halls.
The class then shifted from Chanukah to understanding the composer and his background. I taught a bit about Rabbi Bauzaglo’s life and Moroccan music. We listened to a few other pieces from him and tried to compare it to Syrian music. I then taught the students traditional Chanukah foods and how every community had its variation of sufganiyot and latkes.
While efforts have been made to include Sephardic traditions in the classroom, I believe there is still a long way to go. Our local schools have a great opportunity to integrate a Sephardic curriculum into their classrooms and be the beacon for other communities.
I am turning to the heads of schools and parents in the hope that they will take this message to heart and include Sephardic traditions in their programming.
Rabbi Ilan Acoca is the rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Hamidrash, Vancouver, BC, Canada. He currently serves as rabbi of Congregation Bet Yosef of Fort Lee. He is a faculty member of Yeshivat Shalshelet and Moriah School. Rabbi Acoca serves as an executive member of the Rabbinical Council of America, as well as a member of the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County, the Sephardic Metivta and the Habura. He is the author of the book, “The Sephardic Book of Why.”
