Sephardi Sparks
One Rabbi. Hundreds of relationships. Now coming to your city.
Real mentorship and learning, with a community for Jewish students and young professionals. Rooted in Sephardic warmth. Open to every Jew.
A Mentorship Community for Young Jews
Sephardi Sparks pairs young Jews with a rabbi who genuinely knows them, through weekly learning, real friendships, and a community you belong to.
It starts with one honest conversation: no pressure, no background needed, no expectation that you already know anything.
One honest conversation
Thirty minutes with Rabbi Abergel. That’s the whole commitment.
Weekly learning, if it clicks
You set the pace and the topics.
A community that lasts
Shabbatons, five cities, a rabbi who answers.
One Rabbi. Two Initiatives.
The two run alongside each other. Aish Sephardi gives students a home to connect with their heritage while they are in Israel. Sephardi Sparks is independent of it, and carries those relationships forward all year through personal mentoring and weekly learning, wherever students end up living. The community travels with them.
Rabbi Adam Abergel is the Founder and Executive Director of Sephardi Sparks, a global Sephardic initiative helping young Jews build deeper connections to Judaism, their heritage, and meaningful mentors. Raised in a Moroccan Jewish home, Rabbi Abergel has spent years teaching and mentoring young Jews around the world and currently serves as Director of Aish Sephardi at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, where he lives with his wife and five children.
If you’re asking “is this for me?” the answer is probably yes.
Who It’s For
For the guys
One-on-one weekly learning with Rabbi Abergel, Shabbatons in your city, and a brotherhood that shows up. For college students and young professionals at any level, including zero.
For women
Sephardi Sparks is developing dedicated learning and mentorship opportunities for women alongside its existing men’s programming, with more as the network grows. Reach out and you’ll get a straight answer about what’s running in your city.
Sephardi or not, observant or just curious, in one of the five cities or beyond: there’s no test to pass and nothing you’re expected to know.
- New York/Great Neck
- Los Angeles
- Toronto
- Montreal
- Miami
What It Actually Looks Like
Weekly Learning, One-on-One
Thirty minutes with a rabbi who actually knows you. By video call, or in person when he’s in your city.
Shabbatons Where You Live
New York/Great Neck, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, Miami. You bring friends. That’s usually how people find it.
Time in Jerusalem
Aish Sephardi’s home base at Aish HaTorah, overlooking the Kotel, running year-round, and someone who keeps in touch after you fly home.
A Community That Lasts
Friendships, Shabbat together, people who show up for each other’s milestones. For a lot of people, that’s the part that lasts.
“I didn’t know anything about my own background going in. Rabbi Abergel never made me feel behind. He just kept showing up.”
Community Member · Great Neck
“Sephardic tradition carried itself for generations without anyone having to work at it. That’s changing fast. A generation or two from now, without something deliberate, there may not be much left to pass down.
But Sephardim often just need one spark. One real conversation, one meaningful experience, one person who genuinely understands them, and they grow on their own from there. This is built to be that spark. Rooted in Sephardic warmth, open to any Jew.”
The people who fund this are the reason it stays free. Right now, every dollar is tripled.
Support the LaunchQuestions People Actually Ask
Do I need any Jewish background or knowledge to get involved?
None at all. Most people start with zero background. The first conversation is just a conversation: no test, no expectations.
Is Sephardi Sparks only for men?
No. Matchmaking and personal guidance with Rebecca Abergel are available now, with dedicated women’s learning and mentorship programming being added as the network grows. Reach out either way and you’ll get a straight answer about what’s running in your city.
Is this only for Sephardic Jews?
Sephardi Sparks is rooted in Sephardic warmth and tradition, but it’s open to any Jew who wants in.
Does it cost anything?
No. The conversations are free. Weekly learning is free too, and it stays that way. There shouldn’t be a barrier to learning or growing. Or to having someone in your life. Donors fund the work, and if you’d like to become one of them, we’re grateful. Individual events and trips come with their own details.
Reach Out. Seriously.
Whether it’s for you, for a friend, or you just want to hear more about it, send a message. We aim to respond personally within two business days.