O PINION
Sephardic Spice Girls Helped Me Connect My Jewish Roots
BY CAROLINE LEVINE
JEWISH COOKING in my
family has always been an act
of revival and reconnection.

My family, though very
dedicated to Judaism, has very
few Jewish recipes that have
been preserved throughout
the generations. Growing
up, I felt disconnected from
Jewish culture. I hadn’t heard
of many Jewish dishes, and I
certainly didn’t know how to
make them. I knew that about
a quarter of my Jewish roots
were Sephardic and the rest
Ashkenazi — and that’s about
all I knew. I didn’t know how
to celebrate the festive Jewish
holidays and, ultimately, I just
didn’t celebrate them.

But everything changed
when I discovered the
Sephardic Spice Girls.

Sharon and Rachel, aka
the Sephardic Spice Girls (@
sephardicspicegirls), are
a cooking duo who run an
Instagram account by the same
name. They post their families’
recipes from Morocco, Iraq and
Rhodes, sharing traditional
Sephardic dishes as well as
their own takes on non-Jewish
dishes such as strawberry
shortcake, curry and so on.

For me, the true highlight
of their page are the traditional
Sephardic recipes.

I discovered their account
after following numerous
accounts on Jewish culture and
history in an attempt to learn
more about my mysterious
Sephardic heritage. Instagram
then featured their account on my
recommended feed, predicting
that I would have an interest in
learning about Sephardic culture
through cooking.

Instagram was right.

Considering my love of cooking
and my desire to respect-
fully reconnect to my distant
Sephardic roots, I gladly picked
a recipe from the Sephardic
Spice Girls and took a leap.

What resulted was the best
cake I have ever eaten. I made
their Abe Abraham’s apple cake,
and it was fantastic. Though not
strictly a traditional Sephardic
dish, it introduced me to their
world. I promptly made it a
second time.

I have since looked for
any opportunity to make one
of their recipes. For Rosh
Hashanah 2020, I made their
Seville orange chicken and
suddenly, I had a newfound
passion: Jewish cooking.

Over the next year, I tried
countless dishes from their
blog. Though every dish I have
made with their recipes has been
amazing, here are my favorites:
Biscochos These are the ultimate tea
cookies, often made with the
flavors of cinnamon, orange
juice and anise extract. They
are sweet, but not too sweet,
and for those not raised with
Sephardic culture, they are the
perfect segue into experiencing
Sephardic joy.

Biscochos date back to
Spain, pre-Inquisition, and are
thus shared by every Sephardic
community. Today, they are
mainly served during Jewish
holidays or celebrations, and
they offer a rich opportunity to
subtly connect with — or even
educate others on — Sephardic
traditions. To me, biscochos have
served a very important
purpose in reconnecting to
my Sephardic heritage because
they are a universal Sephardic
dessert. It can be difficult to
connect when you do not
confidently know where your
family called home before
arriving in the United States.

Though I have a rather good
idea, I will never know what
countries they truly identified
with or if they identified with
none of them. The universality
of biscochos helps me to feel
connected to my ancestors
respectfully, without making
any false assumptions.

Boyos For those unfamiliar with
boyos, they are thinly rolled
dough with cheese and spinach
inside that originated in the
former Ottoman Empire. The
Sephardic Spice Girls recipe
for boyos is wonderful: Though
fairly simple in concept, they
are very flavorful and a fantastic
comfort food (especially if you
go heavy on the feta like I do!).

To me, the significance of
making boyos extends past the
flavor, however. In addition
to the delicious taste, I find
them empowering to cook.

With each fold of the dough,
I am connecting to my Jewish
ancestors — knowing that I
may never know the names of
many of them, I find comfort in
partaking in traditions they too
may have done. In a sense, it is
my way of telling them that they
will never be fully forgotten.

Abe Abraham’s
Apple Cake
Seriously, this cake is amazing.

You can pair it with an
autumn-inspired frosting if
you like, but the cake is so
delicious that it is not necessary.

Even though the ingredient list
is fairly simple, the recipe is
an all-time favorite of mine.

And interestingly enough, I am
not usually a huge fan of the
apple and cinnamon combina-
tion. This cake, however, has
converted me. The autumn
feeling that comes from the
apples and cinnamon is so
comforting and delicious that
I intend to make it again for
Thanksgiving. Thanks to Sharon and
Rachel’s expansive collection
www.jewishexponent.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
JEWISH EXPONENT
of recipes, I have discovered
a way to respectfully connect
to my Sephardic heritage —
which I have struggled with
doing properly, considering
how it is not something I was
raised with. Cooking, however,
has not only inspired me to
learn more about and connect
with Sephardic culture, but
it has taught me to connect
with Jewish holidays as well.

Whenever a new Jewish
holiday rolls around, I now
know exactly how to celebrate:
by opening up Instagram and
trying a new recipe by Sharon
and Rachel. More than ever
before, I have felt Jewish. And I
have the Sephardic Spice Girls
to thank. l
Caroline Levine is a junior at the
University of Florida and a 2021-
2022 Alma College Writing Fellow.

This originally appeared in Alma.

KVETCH ’N’ KVELL
Archbishop Sends Chanukah Greetings
DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS in the Jewish faith commu-
nity, together with the bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated
religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, I
extend sincere and prayerful best wishes as you celebrate the
great Festival of Lights.

As you recall the ultimate triumph of G-d over oppression in
all of its forms, may the light of the menorah fill you with joy and
hope as you strengthen the bonds of love with family and friends.

Shalom Aleichem!
Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez | Archbishop of Philadelphia
Recent Incident Shows Flaws of Cash Bail
If Bob Lankin’s Nov. 11 op-ed “Why Judaism Prohibits Cash
Bail’’ had been scheduled for a December publication date, I
highly doubt the Exponent would ever have published it.

Darrell Brooks, who is accused of running his SUV through
a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Nov. 21,
murdering six innocent people and seriously injuring dozens,
had a long criminal history and was released from prison twice
by posting bail amounts of: 1) $500 in February after being
charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and posses-
sion of a dangerous weapon as a convicted felon; and 2) $1,000
last month after being charged with resisting or obstructing an
officer, bail jumping, recklessly endangering safety, disorderly
conduct and battery.

The murderous assault in Waukesha was the direct result of
releasing a repeat violent offender prior to trial because of low
or no bail.

Lankin makes the case that many who are charged with a
crime and presumed innocent prior to trial remain incarcerated
for being poor since they do not have the funds to post bail.

Certain people charged with crimes should be given no or low
bail amounts if they are first-time offenders, if the nature of the
crime they were charged with was nonviolent or other similar
circumstances. But Lankin puts forward a misleading argument
when he conflates cash bail with the Jewish principle not to
persecute and oppress poor people.

It is inappropriate to conclude that Judaism has an absolute
ruling about cash bail. l
Joel Leon | Huntingdon Valley
DECEMBER 2, 2021
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