Last week Moriah celebrated their second Sephardic Culture Day of the school year. Students had the opportunity to participate in Sephardic-theme activities throughout the day specifically geared towards the theme of the Rambam. The early childhood students learned about this important figure in Jewish history as they moved their pieces around the board of a game entitled “The Traveling Rambam Game” (a Candyland style game). Through this interactive activity they learned facts about Rambam’s life and accomplishments, as well as about Sephardic culture. The lower school students had a surprise visit from Rambam himself! Rambam (Rabbi Alter) interacted with the students through dialogue as he shared his life story. Middle school students heard from Rabbi Kuessous about Rambam’s life. He spoke about how Rambam spent so much time in so many different communities that many Jews around the world associate their culture with him. Through the places he lived and the accessibility of his works he was able to weave the different Medieval Jewish communities together. To illustrate this idea, Rabbi Kuessous shared the story of when Rabbi Ovadia Yosef z”l visited the king of Spain, the king asked him “Why are all Middle Eastern and African Jews called Sephardim (Hebrew for Spain)?” Rabbi Ovadia Yosef answered that Spain is the birthplace of Rambam, and all Sephardic Jews feel a special connection with him.

All the students enjoyed a taste of Sephardic cuisine thanks to Moriah’s talented culinary staff. Moriah thanks all of the teachers, staff and parents who made this Sephardic Culture Day such a success!