Tag Archives: Sephardic Jews

Jew of the Week: Haim Saban

Haim Saban & the Power Rangers

Haim Saban – entertaining kids since 1975

Haim Saban (b. 1944) was born in Egypt. His family fled to Israel along with much of the Egyptian-Jewish community due to the 1956 Sinai War. After serving in the Israeli army, Saban formed a band called Ha’Arayot (the Lions), which gained fame across Europe. Building on this success, he started a record company in France in 1975, which went on to become the most successful of its time, selling over 18 million records. Saban then turned his attention to the TV industry and is noted for introducing Japanese Anime to European audiences. In 1988, Haim formed Saban Entertainment, producing such classics as the original X-Men TV series, and brought Dragon Ball Z and Digimon to the Western world. Perhaps most notably, Saban created the Power Rangers. In 2001, he sold much of his media empire to Disney, which remains the largest cash transaction by an individual in Hollywood history. He is worth over $3 billion and currently runs an investment group called Saban Capital. BusinessWeek lists him as one of the 50 greatest philanthropists in the world.

Words of the Week

Don’t tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big God is.
– Bumper Sticker

From the Torah

“You shall surely open your hand…” – Deuteronomy 15:8.
It is one of the 613 commandments to give charity to the needy. Even a poor person must give charity to one needier than they.

Jew of the Week: Chaim Vital

Kabbalist and Alchemist

The Kabbalistic “Tree of Life” Representing the 10 Sefirot – Divine Energies that Permeate the Universe

Chaim ben Yosef Vital (1543-1620) was born in Calabria, Italy. The son of a famous scribe, Vital was the primary disciple of several great sages and kabbalists, including Rabbi Moshe Alshech, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, and most importantly, Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Arizal. Vital transcribed the teachings of the Arizal into some of the deepest mystical texts, including Etz Chaim (“Tree of Life”) and Sha’ar HaGilgulim (“Gate of Reincarnations”). These teachings would later be spread far and wide, completely revolutionizing Judaism. After the Arizal’s passing, Rabbi Vital spent time in Egypt, then settled in Damascus where he spent the rest of his life as the head of the city’s Italian Jewish community. Rabbi Vital was also an alchemist, a subject he studied diligently for two and a half years. According to legend, he had the power of Kfitzat haDerech – something akin to teleportation or super-speed. 

Words of the Week

Great is peace! For to make peace between husband and wife, the Torah instructs that the name of God, written in holiness, should be blotted out in water.
– Talmud (Chullin 141a)

Jews of the Week: Carasso & Metchnikoff

Isaac Carasso

Elie Metchnikoff

Isaac Carasso (1874-1939) A Spanish doctor, he noticed many of his patients suffered from digestive and intestinal problems. He imported bacterial cultures from Bulgaria and mixed them with sour cream, perfected by Nobel Prize-winning scientist and Russian Jew Elie Metchnikoff (1845-1916). Thus was born modern yogurt, which was initially sold only at pharmacies as a medicine! In 1919, Carasso founded Danone, named after his son Daniel. Today, Danone is the world’s largest provider of dairy foods and bottled water (Evian and Naya are among their brands). Meanwhile, Metchnikoff discovered the white blood cells known as phagocytes, and is considered one of the fathers of immunology.

Words of the Week

It’s better to have a Jewish State that is hated by the whole world, than an Auschwitz that’s loved by it.
– Rabbi Meir Kahane