Lena Cymbrowitz was a beloved community member. After her passing, her husband, Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz wrote this: Lena knew that her passing would be particularly hard for me. We were more than husband and wife. We were best friends, partners, and soulmates. Whenever I would begin to cry she would say, “Hey, you have to be strong, you have to hold everybody together for me!” She knew that she needed to make sure I didn’t wallow in my grief, as she knew I would want to do. Lena and I discussed her wish that I run for her Assembly seat several times. She knew that she had made an impact and wanted me to continue what she started and made me promise that I wouldn’t let her down.

The Jewish world suffered a great loss with the passing of Mr. Gabriel Shehebar. Publicly, he was known as the patriarch of a successful family business in ladies wear and a philanthropist. A rabbinical college, yeshivot and many synagogues in Israel and around the world were named after him. He also supported many orphanages and old age homes.

The memory of Joseph Beyda was honored in the manner in which he lived his life, with elegance and passion. Over 800 enthusiastic community members came to honor Joseph’s memory and listen to excerpts from the book, “Joseph, How One Man Can Make A Difference,” written by Jack Doueck.

Imagine a man whose life, accomplishments and legacy were so extraordinary that he was the link to our past, preserving it forever. He was a role model and a guide for all of us to emulate in the present and his achievements will shape the future of the Jewish world for many generations to come. This man was Sam Catton. He was small in stature, but larger than life—a man of mythical proportions.

Thousands of people joined together at Ahi Ezer Congregation, on the 18th day of Tishrei, Hol Hamoed Succot, to pay respect to our beloved leader Hacham Sion Maslaton. It was a day set aside for simcha, a day where no eulogies can be heard, yet still people felt a need to attend what turned out to be one of the largest funerals our community has seen. Many were outside, listening from a loudspeaker, sitting in the Succah, or standing on the street, where the police had closed off Ocean Parkway out of deference for the crowd.

Rabbi Baruch Ben Haim was the guiding force of our community for over 50 years. He was born in 1921 in Jerusalem. He studied in Yeshivat Porat Yosef and was ordained by the great Gaon Rabbi Ezra Attieh, the Rosh Yeshiva, and by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Ben-Tzion Meir Hai Uziel. He served as a member of the Sephardic Beit Din in Jerusalem with Rabbi Yehuda Shako and Rabbi Ezra Attieh.

The Sephardic Community Federation (SCF) played a critical role in successfully reaching an agreement with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH) that would improve the health and safety of our children, and prevent the possible closure of yeshivot throughout New York City. The agreement came in the wake of newly proposed regulations by the DOH.

In a historic first for Brooklyn’s Sephardic community, a wide cross-section of key community leaders formed the Sephardic Community Federation (SCF), a non-profit organization, whose goals are to advocate for the Sephardic community and work with federal, state and city governments and agencies, suggest community campaign contributions, shape policy for community and for Jewish causes, and advocate for the community’s social service organizations.

Men from Aleppo and Damascus, Syria began to arrive in America during the early part of the 20th century. Soon they found that the opportunities America offered were vast, so instead of returning to their homeland, they brought their families here.

These men, some of them rabbis, others great men of vision, all of them determined and generous, were among the founders of our community.

Syrian Immigrants in the early 1900s

The Final Installment of a 28-Part Personal History

Our Brooklyn community is about to celebrate the centennial anniversary of its first landing on the shores of the United States, the most powerful country, the most protective, the most welcoming refuge of the oppressed. There were never better hosts than the Americans for the Jews, not even Spain in its glorious periods of the 12th and 13th centuries, prior to their eventual expulsion. Almost all Jews in America are prospering.

In this context, the Syrian Jewish community’s development has been—and is—phenomenal. It will be recorded in history as unique.

Magen David Yeshivah High School students recently participated in a program which acknowledged the 65th anniversary of the destruction of the Jewish cemetery in Salonika, Greece, which included several speeches and a slide presentation. Learning about their ancestors, their history and their heritage, the students recognized the potential power of Sephardic Jewry globally and their ability to facilitate justice.

Over 150 people ventured outside their homes on a cold, blustery winter morning. They came out in force to show their strong support for Brooklyn native David Greenfield’s candidacy for the New York City Council.

Greenfield’s inaugural fund-raising event for his City Council run was hosted by Paulette and Morris Bailey. It was extremely successful, with Greenfield raising much needed funds for his race.