Cuba: Jewish Heritage: (B&W) From Sepharad to Caribbean (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798325601231)

The paths that lead to the conception of a book are as diverse as the stars in the universe.
This idea arose when I immersed myself in the words of a scholar who was speaking about a term rooted in the Spanish language, especially in the variant spoken in the Jewish community in Cuba.
That word was "B'sha'ah tovah" (בשעה טובה) whose pronunciation is bech? tov?, which not only encompasses the wish for good fortune, but also encompasses the hope that something will happen at the divinely appointed time.
How many times have we uttered this Jewish expression or a similar paraphrased one, throughout our lives, ........
"in an opportune moment"?
Possibly the unfortunate events currently happening in the Middle East influenced him to begin writing this book, similar to the one he had previously published "Huella Arabe en Cuba."

I began to explore the topic and quickly came to the conclusion that multiple customs, words and surnames of Jewish origin had been adopted in Cuba.
Some of these words are still rooted in the Iberian Peninsula through the daily use of Sephardic Jews, although others have fallen into disuse over time.
Each Spanish-speaking country has adopted a set of these words, becoming common use, either by having appropriated them or by incorporating them almost without realizing it.
In a single sentence that could be uttered by any ordinary Jew, such as, for example,
"The shul was full of mishpocha, I need a bissel of water before the davening."
In this seemingly simple phrase alone, there are several words of Jewish origin.
It is relevant to note that this book is part of a series that explores the different cultural influences on the Spanish language, such as the previously published one based on the rich Arab heritage on the Island. This book is not a history treatise, since the topic is complex, even for the most erudite authors, since important contradictions usually arise not only in terms, but also in concepts.
I insist that it is a pleasant book, rather a refreshing book, a curiosity, not a treatise on origins, religions or politics, its objective is to show some details of our daily life linked in some way to the Jewish heritage, that is what it is about.
We have chosen from the enormous existing lists - some of which exceed 5,000 names - those that have caught our attention the most.
You will find words that in some way are familiar to us, remind us of something, either because we know people with that name, because we have heard it through narratives, because they are notable people for some reason or it simply comes to mind from some reading. made about it that perhaps we do not remember.
Some will be common, others a little more sophisticated since certain words are only used in relevant writings or by people with a certain erudition, but the majority, I estimate, have been used at some point in our daily conversations and are undoubtedly already part of our identity. impacting our daily lives.

One aspect that we cannot ignore is that certain words are used interchangeably between Arabs and Jews, which is not surprising, if we take into account the long ancestral history that unites these peoples. If you consider that any name, surname, etc., should have been included, let us know, so that omission will be corrected in the next edition.
I hope you like it, it is my greatest wish.

Author: Carlos Berenguer
ISBN-13: 9798325601231
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 05/15/2024
Pages: 222
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.52lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.25w x 0.47d