13 JAN 2024 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso talks with guest Mindy Escobar-Leanse, the Music and Religious School Coordinator at Temple Mount Sinai about her life and experiences as a performer and practicing Jewish woman, and how the history and culture of the desert southwest border region and influence of the b'nai anusim and traditions passed down often in secret through the generations color her faith and perceptions. Mindy performs several versions of Oseh Shalom and talks about the importance of music and song in religious life, and particularly with prayers for peace in the world today. To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

5 JAN 2024 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso talks with the Kaplowitz family about what they want to see in the world for 2024, their faith and relationship to Judaism, including the influence and connections to the Anusim and history of the descendents of those persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition who are discovering their Jewish roots. To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

28 DEC 2023 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso discusses the life cycle of a person practicing the tennants of Judaism - from the signifigance of ceremonies and traditions to controversial topics and how different congregations address them. Rabbi Leon addresses how these religious considerations may have shown up in the lives of those unaware they were practicing them, as the descendents of those forced to take their faith figuratively and often literally underground while still passing them on to future generations. To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

22 DEC 2023 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso is joined by UTEP Professor of Math Education Larry Lesser to discuss musical traditions, including modern creations by Dr. Lesser himself, that display and preserve the history of the Bnai Anusim. They also delve into how challenges to faith and heritage present themselves throughout histoyr, and how traditions continue to be passed down to this day from the time of the Spanish Inquistion and beyond. To find out more about Dr. Lesser's compositions, visit https://larrylesser.com/crypto/ To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

14 DEC 2023 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso delves further into how the faithful observe and keep the Sabbath, along with the various traditions and signifigance they bring. In particular, he discusses how this has meaning both for those active in and those even unknowingly practicing the tennants of faith from family traditions passed down through the generations from the time of the Spanish Inquistion when their ancestors had to keep their beliefs secret. To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

7 DEC 2023 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso is joined by his daugher and grandchildren to talk about the story of Hanukkah, one filled with faith and overcoming oppression and adversity. While sharing traditions and singing traditional (and not-so traditional versions of) songs, Rabbi Leon also delves into the significance the celebration has both for the faithful and the descendents of those forced to hide their religious heritage due to more recent religious persecution, and the surprising ways that influence and legacy can be seen to this day. To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

22 NOV 2023 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso discusses stories of those he has encountered in his decades of researching and reaching out to the b'nai anusim, the descendents of those forced to keep their faith and family heritage secret in the wake of the Spanish Inquisition and religious opression. Rabbi Leon also speaks with David Varela, a recent discoverer of his own hidden heritage hidden in plain sight through family practices and traditions that take on a deeper significance through the undestanding of crypto-judaism. TTo learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

16 NOV 2023 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso addresses the recent violence and outbreak of war in the Middle East, and the discourse surrounding it, from the perspective of a Jewish community leader and that of the anusim/crypto-Jews. To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

26 OCT 2023 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso discusses the commandments in the Torah and Jewish pratice to both observe and keep the Sabbath holy, and how those traditions relate to the descendents of Jews who had to take their faith and observances of such commandments into secret practice to preserve their beliefs in the face of oppression and persecution. To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.

19 OCT 2023 · Rabbi Stephen Leon of the Anusim Center and Synagogue of El Paso talks about the specific observances and celebrations towards the end of Sukkot in the Jewish high holy days, and how certain practices and traditions relate to the b'nai anusim, or the descendents of those persecuted for their faith in the events surrounding the Spanish Inquisition that then kept their faith alive in secret and passed those practices down through generations and centuries. To learn more or become a member of the Anusim Center and Synagogue, please visit https://www.anusimcenterep.org/ Or send a donation in any amount to: The Anusim Center 321 Sundown Place El Paso, TX 79912 You can also donate online: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AFSUB8Y8XNAR2 Follow The Anusim Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAnusimCenterofElPaso Contact Rabbi Leon by email - rabbisal@aol.com.