Shehebar Sephardic Center
Changing the world through through education

Endorsement of the work of Ezra L’Anousim and Rabbanit Yaffah Batya daCosta

On October 24, 2019 I gave my endorsement (in person) to Rabbanit Yaffah Batya daCosta, who has been working with the Bnei Anousim “returnee” movement for over 20 years. Her work is a huge and holy mitzvah. Rabbanit daCosta herself made a full “return” to the faith and traditions of her ancestors. She presented to the Beit Din Gadol (Jerusalem) her very strong evidences (in all the 4 categories of evidence) for her secretly Jewish maternal great grandmother from the Azores Islands, Portugal

I especially endorse Rabbanit and her work because the conversions (and return – giyur l’chumra) are done in accordance with the Orthodox Halakha and criteria set out by the Israeli Rabbanut.

I hold her work in high esteem, and think it is essential for the Jewish people as a whole to help and support her and her Israeli non-profit (Ezra L’Anousim) … as a form of social justice for these descendants of the Sephardi Jewish forced converts of Spain and Portugal. I fully encourage Shehebar graduate Rabbis to help these people (in their local areas) come back openly to Sephardi Judaism of today – i.e. those who had maternal female line ancestors that had to live *secretly* as Jews for many generations, due to the Catholic Inquisitions of Spain and Portugal (and their colonies). 

May Rabbanit Yaffah Batya daCosta be encouraged (by all of us) and be blessed with the full support and assistance of Shehebar Sephardi Center. And may she herself, and all of her volunteers, be blessed Tizki L’Mitzvot.

Rabbi Shmuel Kassin
Rosh Yeshiva, Shehebar Sephardi Center
Jerusalem
B”H October 24, 2019
http://sscusa.org/