The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America, the only Sephardic benevolent organization of its kind in the United States, has the unique mission to support Sephardic individuals, families, and communities deriving their lineage from the Ladino speaking Jewish communities of Greece, Turkey, and the Balkans. Unlike the Yiddish speaking Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe and the Arabic speaking Jews of
the Middle East, these Sephardic Jews date their history back to Moorish Spain, where they developed the language of Ladino (Judeo-Espanyol), a mix of biblical Hebrew, old Catalian Spanish, and elements of Greek, Turkish, and Arabic. After the Spanish Inquisition of 1492, these communities carried their language, unique customs, liturgy, and cuisine with them to the Ottoman lands of the Balkans, where they eventually immigrated to the United States at the turn of the 20th Century. Today, the Brotherhood is able to boast nearly 1000 members from around the United States and continues to serve the Sephardic community in the spirit laid out by the society's founders. In addition to providing burial services for its members, the Brotherhood has expanded its programs to support the future generations of our community and reinvent what it means to be Sephardic in the 21st Century. New initiatives like a Greek and Turkish Birthright Israel Trip, a Greek Jewish Festival in Lower Manhattan, and the Greek Jewish and Sephardic Young Professionals Network have all been created to ensure we meet the needs of our newest generation of members.
