MISHKAN TORAH TO PRESENT LECTURE ON LADINO BY PROFESSOR ADRIANA M. BRODSKY ON OCTOBER 18

The Adult Education Committee of Mishkan Torah Synagogue will present a special program on the fascinating subject of Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language of the Sephardic world, by Dr. Adriana M. Brodsky on Sunday, October 18 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. Dr. Brodsky is an Associate Professor of History at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She received her Ph.D in History from Duke University in 2004. Dr. Brodsky’s areas of expertise include Jewish History, Latin American History, and Gender Studies. She contributed to the award winning book, the New Jewish Argentina.

Ladino has been the spoken and written Hispanic language of Jews of Spanish origin. Ladino was originally just the language of a Spanish province and was not considered a Jewish language until the expulsion from Spain in 1492. After the Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal, they continued to speak Ladino in the communities and countries to which they emigrated. As a result, the Ladino grammatical structure and vocabulary closely align with 14th and 15th century Spanish. However, as Jewish immigrants became immersed in their new communities their native language began to change and evolve. While some Jews emigrated to countries such as England and Italy - in relatively close proximity to Spain - and were able to maintain their language, other Jews moved to Sephardic communities deep in the Ottoman Empire where their language began to borrow and embrace new words from Arabic, Greek, Turkish and French.

Besides the above, Dr. Brodsky’s lecture will likely cover other aspects of Ladino language and culture, including common Ladino proverbs and sayings; the three kinds of written Ladino script; and the rich Ladino musical heritage. You will want to be there for what promises to be an exciting, informative, and intellectually stimulating program. Mistaken Torah is located at 10 Ridge Road in Greenbelt.