Sephardic Torah from the holy land

Rabbi Daniel Bouskila’s weekly Sephardic Torah from the Holy Land column in the Jewish Journal brings readers Torah insights, Sephardic wisdom, reflections on Israel, and teachings from the great sages of the Sephardic tradition. Written from the spirit of Jerusalem and the SEC’s Classic Sephardic worldview, the column connects timeless Jewish ideas to contemporary life, community, identity, and the modern State of Israel.

Collective Lumination 8/27/26 Collective Lumination 8/27/26

Hamsa Israel Stories, Part 1

This almost didn’t happen. It had so much going against it – the ongoing war in Gaza, rockets from Yemen, and the recent missile war with Iran. The planned Maccabiah Games – cancelled. Many teen and Birthright groups – cancelled. Everyone told me to follow suit, to cancel my Sephardic Educational Center “Hamsa Israel” teen program. I decided not to pull the plug. The arrival date for our group was set for July 15, so I held out on canceling.