The Story of Sephardi Sparks
Five years of relationships across Aish Sephardi and the broader community, one question, and an independent organization built to answer it.
Over the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of learning with and mentoring hundreds of young Jewish men while building Aish Sephardi and the broader community: Shabbatons, Israel trips, one-on-one conversations, and, for the past three-plus years, weekly video calls through Olami Together.
Those relationships have become one of the greatest privileges of my life.
Eventually I began asking myself one question:
“What would it look like to build an organization whose entire purpose is to invest in people, not just programs?”
That question became Sephardi Sparks.
Five years of building Aish Sephardi and the broader community mean we’re scaling a network that already exists, not launching from scratch.
The Problem
We don’t have a shortage of great Jewish programs. We have a shortage of what happens after them.
Many young Jews never engage in the first place.
Walking into a synagogue or Jewish program can feel intimidating. Signing up for a class can feel like a commitment. Many people simply never take that first step.
Inspiration often isn’t enough.
Even after someone attends an amazing program, there isn’t always someone consistently walking alongside them afterward. Real growth usually comes through relationships. Not one event, not one speech. Someone who genuinely knows you.
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.
Who You Will Actually Be Talking To
Rabbi Adam Abergel
Founder & Executive Director, Sephardi Sparks
Rabbi Adam Abergel is the Founder and Executive Director of Sephardi Sparks, a global Sephardic initiative helping young Jews deepen their connection to Judaism, their heritage, and mentors who can guide them throughout life.
Raised in a traditional Moroccan Jewish home, Rabbi Abergel grew up with a strong connection to his Sephardic heritage: Shabbat dinners, holidays, family, community, and the traditions passed down through generations. He carried those traditions with him to college at Indiana University, even while living a typical college life in a fraternity.
Something began to shift during those years. A Birthright trip to Israel, followed by a summer volunteering at an Israeli foster home, gave Rabbi Abergel the chance to explore familiar traditions in a more personal way. That path eventually brought him to Jerusalem and to a life devoted to Jewish education and mentorship.
Over the years, Rabbi Abergel has worked with hundreds of young Jews from communities across North America and Israel. He serves as Director of Aish Sephardi at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, where he has helped build a unique Sephardic community for students studying in Israel. He also spent more than three years teaching and mentoring young Jews through Olami Together, developing long-term one-on-one relationships with students around the world. Those experiences helped shape the vision for Sephardi Sparks.
Rabbi Abergel saw how proud many young Sephardic Jews are of where they come from: the traditions and food, the music, family life, and the warmth of their communities. But they don’t always have the relationships or opportunities to work out what that heritage means in their own lives.
Sephardi Sparks was created to bridge that gap. Its character is Sephardic, the warmth and the traditions both, and its doors are open to any young Jew looking for real relationships and room to grow.
Through one-on-one learning and mentorship, community experiences, Shabbatons, trips, and a growing global network, Sephardi Sparks helps young Jews take the traditions they inherited and make them personally meaningful, so they can one day pass them on to the next generation.
At the heart of Rabbi Abergel’s approach is a simple belief: programs can inspire people, but relationships change people. Every young Jew deserves someone in their corner, someone who knows them, believes in them, and is there for the long haul.
When he’s not teaching, mentoring, or building Sephardi Sparks, Rabbi Abergel is usually spending time with his family or finding something competitive to do. A former college tennis player, he still loves tennis, backgammon, ping-pong, and a good competition. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife and five children.
Rebecca Abergel
Operations Director, Sephardi Sparks
Rebecca Abergel serves as Operations Director of Sephardi Sparks, overseeing the systems, logistics, and day-to-day operations that keep its growing global community connected.
A graduate of NYU’s College of Nursing, Rebecca worked as a registered nurse before bringing her organizational skills, attention to detail, and natural warmth into Jewish communal work. For the past year, she worked in operations for Olami Together, coordinating many of the systems and logistics behind its international learning and mentorship programs.
Rebecca has also played an integral role in building Aish Sephardi in Jerusalem. She organizes Shabbat meals and Shabbatons, and welcomes students into her family’s home. That feeling of family and belonging has become central to the community.
Sometimes it looks like homemade challah or Moroccan fish around the Shabbat table. Often, it’s simply Rebecca making sure a student feels at home. That’s the part people remember.
At Sephardi Sparks, Rebecca brings those two sides together, overseeing program operations and logistics while helping shape the community experience. She also plays a leading role in matchmaking, getting to know students personally and helping facilitate meaningful introductions.
Rebecca lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Rabbi Adam Abergel, and their five children: Leah, Yaakov, Esther, Yael, and Moshe.