In this edition, we want to share with our readers the behind-the-scenes of Morashá's 30-year trajectory and, in this way, show how a magazine created by volunteers turned into a highly professional publication. So much so that copies sent, free of charge, throughout Brazil and abroad are incorporated into libraries and used as research sources. The site is visited by thousands of internet users every month.
The idea of a Jewish magazine arose at the end of 1992, when some directors of the Beit Yaacov Synagogue, in an informal conversation with its president, Joseph Safra, highlighted the need for a Sephardic publication in Brazil. At the time, Vicky Safra was asked if she could take on this mission. She replied that she had no experience in the area, but would study the subject.
In January 1993, Vicky gathered, in a room at the Beit Yaacov Bela Cintra Synagogue, a group of young volunteers who, after debating the idea, decided to accept the task. Our motivation was our commitment to Judaism. We knew the importance of increasingly expanding access to information about the Laws, History and traditions of our people.
At first, the most skeptical believed that a publication produced by a group of women with no editorial experience was doomed to failure. In fact, when we got together 30 years ago, we knew little about producing a magazine, but we were determined, in addition to counting on the support and encouragement of Joseph Safra, fundamental in our journey.
The first step was choosing the name of the publication, which, for Vicky and Joseph, should reflect our objective, that is, the dissemination of Jewish heritage. One day, while we were discussing the issue, Rabbi Efraim Laniado entered the room where we were meeting and we asked him what word expressed this idea. He replied that the Hebrew word Morasha meant “spiritual inheritance”, as seen in “Torah tzivah lanu Moshé, morasha, kehillat Yaakov” (“The Torah that Moses commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob”). The choice was unanimous. Morashá was the perfect name.
The magazine, with quarterly publication and free distribution, would follow an editorial line based on the religious line adopted by the Congregation Beit Yaacov, to which we belonged and whose rabbis Y. David Weitman, Efraim Laniado and Alberto Cohen would be in charge of religious supervision.
It was decided that the Morashá would refrain from addressing political or controversial issues. Articles, only on topics related to our people and Judaism, had to be original and, except for those received from contributors, would not be signed. Since then, our goal has always been to spread Judaism in all its aspects: religious, historical and cultural. In the words of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, show, with each edition, the “greatness of being Jewish”.
After the initial definitions, we moved on to selecting the themes. At that time, any research involved poring over books to find material, as there was neither “Google” (only launched in 1998) nor Kindle books and other technologies available today. It wasn't quick nor was it easy. Vicky went looking for works about our people and Judaism which, over time, formed a vast library with hundreds of books. This collection is extremely important for our research.
We then started researching, writing, looking for the cover of the first edition and looking for images to accompany the texts. Since then, graphic production has been carried out by the company JR Graphiks, owned by Joel Rechtman, and layout by Reginaldo Coelho.
In May of that year, 1993, the first edition of Morashá left the printer with 35 pages and a circulation of 5.000 copies. As we had decided not to include advertising or promotional inserts in the magazine, the idea of having pages with the names of donors, each with a different value, came up. Most sponsors have supported us for 30 years.
We soon realized that, given the vastness of the world and Jewish culture, the space was too small to transmit some of this richness. Thus, in September 1993, we increased the number of pages to 50 and, exactly one year later, to 60.
Since the first edition, we have never stopped researching, writing, looking for images for covers and texts. All subjects are rigorously reviewed to guarantee high-level Portuguese. The person responsible for this strenuous task is Lilia Wachsmann. The definition of the sections was consolidated over time. The objective was to bring readers our “spiritual heritage”: information not only about our festivals and traditions, but also about Israel, the Diaspora and prominent Jews in their respective areas of activity. From the beginning, there was a commitment to the memory of the Shoah.
Since the first editions, we have had collaborators whose names we always publish. Authors such as Jaime Spitzcovsky, Zevi Ghivelder and Tev Djmal are constantly present on our pages. Desirée Suslick is our responsible journalist. Furthermore, we receive many articles that, before being approved for possible publication, undergo editorial coordination and religious supervision. We had the honor of publishing exclusive interviews with personalities from the Jewish world such as Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who served as Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom for 22 years; Shimon Peres, Prime Minister and President of Israel; Elie Wiesel, the voice of the Holocaust; and Leah Rabin, among others.
Choosing the cover usually takes weeks. For some editions, dozens of images are analyzed and discussed. Proofs are printed until we reach a consensus on the result. The themes are carefully thought out to ensure editorial balance. Researching each subject takes days, sometimes weeks or even months. There is great concern about the content, and each subject is studied in depth, as we are aware of our responsibility to readers, especially because the magazine is used as reference material in schools and universities. Faced with conflicting dates and information, we continue the investigations until we are convinced of the most accurate ones. The Portuguese of each text is corrected “exhaustively”. The search for images that illustrate each subject is not a simple process, as the visual part has to be aligned with the content. This entire process occurs continuously. As soon as an edition goes to the printer, we have the feeling of mission accomplished, but we soon start working on the next one. We resumed researching topics for new articles, as well as looking for images for the cover and articles. Our goal is to improve with each edition. Little by little, the magazine became more and more professional.
After a few years of using the Beit Yaacov Bela Cintra Synagogue meeting room as an “office”, we decided that it would be more productive to work from home. Thus, we can say that Morashá “inaugurated” the home office. We decided to only meet when the articles were half-ready to complement the information, look for images and re-read the texts.
In 1998, to update the magazine's look, we approached LEN Comunicação e Branding, which is, to this day, responsible for the publication's graphic design. In September of that year, we launched a new layout.
The year 2000 represented one of the milestones in Morashá’s trajectory. In April, the magazine expanded to 80 pages. In September, the website was launched morasha.com.br, which, over time, became a true library with more than 1.300 articles.
Over the years, our projects expanded, and in 2001, the Morashá Institute of Culture was officially established. We brought illustrious speakers such as Prof. Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, holder of the chair of Jewish History, Culture and Society at Columbia University, in New York; the Chief Rabbi of France, Joseph Sitruk; Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, founder of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center for Addiction Treatment; and Grand Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, among others.
In December 2002, the Morashá Institute created the Centro Morashá de Memória, a new project that would result in an exhibition and a book. Our objective was to preserve, in digital format, the reminiscences of Jews originating from the Middle East, Greece, Italy and North Africa. The project volunteers then began asking the entire Sephardic community in São Paulo for photographs, letters and documents that were collected from the homes of families who agreed to participate, being scanned, cataloged and returned quickly.
In several cases, the material temporarily entrusted to us was part of the few memories brought back from the countries from which Jews were expelled or had to flee after the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Often, captioning the photos was a difficult task. due to the scarcity of information about them. We collect precious material that is digitally preserved in our database.
In 2003, when the magazine celebrated its tenth anniversary, we had another idea: publishing a booklet with a step-by-step guide for each religious festival. The first was that of Passover. Since then, with each edition, we have improved these guides, which, included in the magazine to facilitate the preparation of celebrations of Rosh Hashana e Passover, are used by thousands of Jews.
The Morashá Memory Center required colossal and exhausting work, but extremely rewarding. In December 2004, an exhibition of materials from the institution's collection entitled “Roots of a Journey” was held. The months leading up to it were full of planning and tension. The choice of images for the panels involved not only an aesthetic concern, but also the certainty of representation of all those who provided photos and documents. The event, part of the celebrations of the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Beit Yaacov Congregation, was a success. Emotion was written on the faces of both the public and the project participants.
What to do with the vast collection of photographs and documents in our database? Once again, Joseph Safra's suggestion was fundamental. “Publish a book,” he told Vicky. However, how would we do this? We were neither writers nor historians. Once again, we faced the challenge head on and set about creating the work. It was an arduous process. If the exposition had been laborious, the book Roots of a journey it was infinitely more. In the following years, we researched and wrote the History of Sephardic Jews from the beginning.
In parallel, we prepared a new edition of Haggadah de Passover with beautiful illuminations. Rabbis Alberto and Victor Cohen worked on the project and many of the unpublished comments included were written by one of our collaborators, Tev Djmal. The launch was in April 2007.
the text of Roots of a journey was in development when we realized how difficult it would be to select images and documents from the Memory Center to be part of the work. This task alone took two years. Finally, the book was released at the Beit Yaacov Synagogue in September 2009 – after half a decade of hard work. In 456 pages, it traces the path taken, to São Paulo, by the Sephardic families that today make up the Beit Yaacov Congregation.
Over its 30 years of existence, a magazine created by volunteers grew to become a highly professional publication of 88 pages, with a distribution of 26 thousand copies. Found in national libraries, it serves as a source for research in schools and universities. Despite this growing professionalization, the basic structure of Morashá never changed, with Vicky Safra heading the project from the first day of the magazine's creation. Clairy Dayan and Fortuna Djmal are still coordinators of the publication, but they have been joined by Tamara Djmal.
As for the future of Morashá, our plans include launching a new website and expanding the number of readers not only in the printed version, but also in the digital version and the publication of more books.
Vicky Safra
Claire Dayan
Djmal Net Worth