Community Magazine December 2013

A.D. COHEN Inspiration and Origin Every Motza’e Shabbat , young Yehuda Azoulay faithfully visited the great sage, Hacham Ovadia Yosef zt”l , drinking from the hacham’s ever flowing wellspring of Torah and ahavat Yisrael (love for his fellow Jew). Thus began a warm connection with the hacham and his family, a bond which continued to develop over the course of the next decade. When asked to pinpoint what led to the founding of his organization – the Sephardic Legacy Series, the Institute for Preserving Sephardic Heritage – Yehuda explained that the idea was driven by “Hacham Ovadia and the lack of knowledge about our heritage and our illustrious Rabbis.” He then went on to describe his disappointment over the dearth of available material, and overall ignorance, about Sephardic tradition. “Sephardic Jewry is virtually an untapped market. Much of our heritage has not been developed and the ramification of this will result in an eventual break, a lost chain in our mesorah [tradition]. We must preserve our halachot, minhagim , and chronicles of our hachamim for the next generation.” On numerous occasions, Yehuda voiced this concern to Hacham Ovadia, who in turn showered countless blessings upon the young scholar, and urged him to work toward preserving our mesorah in every way possible. “That is my objective in life as outlined by Hacham Ovadia,” Yehuda says. “It is my ultimate calling.” Upon returning to the U.S., Yehuda learned in Beth Medrash Govoah of Lakewood, NJ. There, Divine Providence sent Yehuda the final impetus which led him to establish the Sephardic Legacy Series Institute. The Institute Founded in 2007, the Sephardic Legacy Series Institute seeks to inspire Sephardic Jews through knowledge of their heritage. Yehuda professes that “it is a very big undertaking and great responsibility to be the face of Sephardic Jewry,” as Hacham Ovadia Yosef once cautioned him. Though he realizes the enormous challenge and effort demanded, Yehuda does not shy away from this noble duty. The Sephardic Legacy Series Institute, in his words, aims to “become the future home of publications, networking, lecture series, articles, documentary films, and other programs for English speaking Sephardic communities across the world with the help of accomplished Sephardic scholars and educators.” Ultimately, these varying projects will enable and empower Sephardic Jews to preserve their heritage, tradition and culture for the future generations. To this end, the Institute works to pool a wide range of intellectual resources by building a network of accomplished Sephardic scholars and educators to produce a large body of quality literature covering a broad spectrum of topics pertinent to Sephardic Jewry. Yehuda has put together an impressive team of professionals and contributing authors to the Sephardic Legacy Series, including Dr. Sarah Taieb-Carlen, Leon Sakkal, Rabbi Shai Cabessa, Rafaella Levine and Ariel Picillo, alongside its devoted staff of expert editors, proofreaders and graphic designers. “ Baruch Hashem , the Institution is growing by leaps and bounds and receiving considerable worldwide renown,” Yehuda proudly reports. He adds that the Institute enjoys a warm and successful relationship with Israel Book Shop Publications, its exclusive publisher. The appearance of the first volume on the life of Hacham Ovadia Yosef, entitled “The Legacy of Maran Hacham Ovadia Yosef,” has had readers clamoring to bookstores across the country to snatch up this beautiful snapshot of a rare and unique Gadol Hador. The dynamic co-author of the book, Yehuda Azoulay, has an even greater accomplishment up his sleeve: the forthcoming publication of an extensive, fully researched biography of Hacham Ovadia zt”l entitled “Maran: The Life & Times of Hacham Ovadia Yosef.” The roots of these projects, and the other activities of the Sephardic Legacy Series Institute for Preserving Sephardic Heritage, stems from Yehuda’s relationship with Hacham Ovadia himself. A Legacy Unveiled 34 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE