Publication of the book Salonique juive et ottomane. The memoirs of Sa'adi Besalel a-Levi

The memoirs of Sa'adi Besalel a-Levi (1820-1903) are the first known autobiography by a Salonican Jew. Written in Judeo-Spanish from 1881 onwards, they offer an exceptional panorama of life in Jewish and Ottoman Salonika in the 19th century. Their importance lies as much in the personality of their author - printer, editor, journalist, cantor and composer - as in their content, which combines an eminently subjective vision of the Ottoman Jewish world with ethnographic descriptions, insights into community organization, power struggles within the community and, finally, a fiery, poignant pro-Domo plea. Published as excerpts in several newspapers, this text has had a major influence on the way in which the history of Thessaloniki's Jews has been remembered and historicized. Long given up for lost, the original manuscript written in Eastern Hebrew cursive (soletreo) was fortuitously rediscovered at the National Library of Israel and reissued in 2012 by Stanford Press in a remarkable unabridged edition now accessible to the French-speaking public.

A meeting around the book will take place at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme on February 8 at 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm with Aron Rodrigue and Marie-Christine Bornes-Varol, moderated by François Azar.
Link: https://www.mahj.org/fr/programme/juifs-dans-la-salonique-ottomane-30794