Card colors: a group of communitiesa language or musica big idea
Ashkenazi
ahsh-keh-NAH-zee
Jewish communities with roots in Central and Eastern Europe, in places like Germany, Poland, and Russia. Yiddish and foods like challah come from here.
Sephardi
seh-FAR-dee
Jewish communities with roots in Spain and Portugal. After Jews were forced to leave Spain in 1492, many settled around the Mediterranean and kept speaking Ladino.
Mizrahi
meez-RAH-hee
Jewish communities with roots in the Middle East and North Africa, in places like Iraq, Yemen, Iran, and Morocco. The word means “Eastern.”
Ladino
lah-DEE-no
A language built on old Spanish, with many Hebrew words mixed in, spoken by Sephardi Jews.
Klezmer
KLEZ-mer
Lively Jewish dance music from Eastern Europe, often played on the clarinet and violin.
Diaspora
dy-AS-por-ah
A people living spread out across many countries, away from one first homeland. The Jewish diaspora reaches almost everywhere in the world.
Community
A group of people who share a history or a way of life and live or gather together. Each Jewish community kept its own foods and music while sharing one history.
Tradition
A recipe, a song, a holiday, or a way of dressing that a family or community passes down from parents to children over many years.
For families: Most families carry a tradition from somewhere. Ask your child: where did our family come from, and what do we still do because of it? A food, a word, a song?
K–5 Lesson