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AMERICAN FRIENDS OF SHEHEBAR SEPHARDIC CENTER INC

NEW YORK, NY · EIN 112642556 · Form 990 · FY2025 · NTEE Q113 · International Affairs · Medium ($1M-$10M) · sscusa.org
revenue
$2.1M
expenses
$2.3M
net assets
$57K
employees
11
program ratio
99%
mission · from form 990

TO FILL THE CRITICAL NEED FOR PROFESSIONAL SEPHARDIC RABBIS AND TO HELP SAVE STRUGGLING SEPHARDIC COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE BY PROVIDING AN ACCREDITED RABBINICAL TRAINING PROGRAM THAT ADDRESS THE EVERYDAY ISSUES FACED BY DIASPORA COMMUNITY

profile · synthesized from sources

Religious education and leadership organization training Sephardic rabbis and spiritual leaders to serve struggling Jewish communities worldwide. Based in Jerusalem, it operates an accredited rabbinical college and placement program to combat assimilation and ensure Jewish continuity through education, tradition, and community leadership. Founded in 1980 by Rabbi Sam Kassin and Rabbi Eliyahu Shamoula.

named programs · 4 · from sources

What they call their work

Abe M. & Geri Cohen Rabbinical College
Accredited three-to-four-year rabbinical training program that prepares students to serve as Sephardic rabbis in diaspora communities, grounded in Torah, Halakha, and community leadership.
Golden Leaves
Program that integrates Torah study with business education, training young Jewish entrepreneurs to succeed in international commerce while maintaining religious values.
Mikdash Shaul Dayanut Training Program
Seven-year intensive program training ordained rabbis to become dayanim (Jewish judges) qualified to serve on a Beit Din, with approval from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
Rabbinical Placement Program
International placement initiative that assigns trained rabbis, teachers, shochets, mohels, and spiritual leaders to struggling Sephardic communities worldwide.
activities · 7 groups

What they do

  • Structured Jewish Text Study Programs 1 activity
    • Offers specialized Torah education programs
      Launched a one-year Spanish-language Torah program and teaches daily Talmud classes at the Shehebar Sephardic Center, providing ongoing religious education and after-class support to students.
  • Jewish Textual and Educational Publishing 1 activity
    • Operates a religious library and publishes scholarly texts
      Maintains a library with over 5,000 book titles and acquires new materials annually; publishes religious works under the Shehebar Sephardic Center (SSC) label that are widely sought after in the Jewish world.
  • Jewish Advanced Torah Education 1 activity
    • Operates rabbinical training and dayanut programs in Jerusalem
      Runs a kollel, an accredited rabbinical training program, and a dayanut program in the Old City of Jerusalem to train Sephardic rabbis and judges for diaspora communities. The program includes four to five years of training in Jewish law, kosher slaughtering, marriage and divorce, and circumcision, along with leadership training in public speaking, counseling, and psychology.
  • Jewish Community Poverty Relief 1 activity
    • Provides material and holiday support to low-income families
      Supports 250 low-income families annually by providing weekly food vouchers and holiday stipends through the Jerusalem Shabbat Fund.
  • Jewish Religious Education and Outreach 1 activity
    • Provides religious services and community education in Sephardic communities
      Deploys Torah scholars to deliver religious guidance, teach Jewish heritage, and instill Jewish values in Sephardic communities at risk of disappearing, serving as a spiritual and educational resource across multiple continents.
  • Jewish Worship and Study Center 1 activity
    • Supports and establishes Sephardic religious institutions globally
      Builds synagogues and schools in underserved regions, including in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Uzbekistan, and Eastern Europe, and establishes Sephardic Centers in countries such as Colombia, Croatia, and Spain to strengthen Jewish communal infrastructure.
  • Jewish Leadership Development 1 activity
    • Trains and places rabbis and religious leaders in Sephardic communities worldwide
      Trains and deploys rabbis, teachers, mohels, shochets, and dayanim to neglected or struggling Sephardic communities globally to prevent assimilation and cultural extinction. Over 150 rabbis have been placed across the United States, South America, Mexico, Europe, Russia, and the Far East, with over 183 placed globally in rabbinic roles.
financials · form 990 · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$2.10M
Contributions & grants$2.08M99%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$20K1%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$2.29M
Program expenses99%
Admin / overhead1%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$499K
Grants paid out$1.52M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$258K
Cash$138K
Investments$120K
Liabilities$201K
Net assets$57K
Liquid reserves1.4 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2025 · YoY revenue +0.7%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2025

Who runs it

board members · 3
  • I G GINDI — BOARD MEMBER
  • LEO ESSES — SECRETARY
  • RICHARD SUTTON — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 13

Who they work with

  • Chief Rabbinate of Israel Government — Granted Dayanut Ordination to graduates of the Mikdash Shaul Dayanut Training Program.
  • Maayon Hayim Veshalom Partner — Rabbi Babayov taught at this institution in Ashkelon for six years prior to joining the Shehebar Sephardic Center.
  • Rabbi Eliyahu Shamoula Partner — Co-founded the SSC yeshiva in the Old City with Rabbi Sam Kassin in 1981.
  • Rabbi Eliyahu Shamoula Partner — Co-founder of The Shehebar Sephardic Center
  • Rabbi Eliyahu Shamoula Partner — Co-founder of the Shehebar Sephardic Center
  • Rabbi Eliyahu Shamoula Partner — Joined Rabbi Sam Kassin in founding the Shehebar Sephardic Center
  • Rabbi Sam Kassin Partner — Co-founder of The Shehebar Sephardic Center
  • Rabbi Sam Kassin Partner — Co-founder of the Shehebar Sephardic Center
  • Rabbi Sam Kassin Partner — Founded the Shehebar Sephardic Center in 1980
  • SSC KOWLOON SYNAGOGUE Partner — Jewish community supported by the organization's rabbis in Kowloon.
  • Sephardic Educational Center Partner — Recruited Rabbi Sam Kassin to serve as its first director and collaborated in the founding of the SSC yeshiva.
  • Shehebar Sephardic Center Partner — Primary operational partner in training and placing Sephardic rabbis to strengthen global Sephardic communities.
  • State of Israel Government — Recognized by the State of Israel as an accredited institution providing high-quality rabbinic education.
strategies · 4

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Integration of Torah Study and Practical Livelihood
    methodology: integration_of_torah_and_livelihood
    By integrating Torah education with practical business skills—and teaching ethical principles to entrepreneurs—we promote sustainable religious scholarship and ethical economic life, because aligning spiritual values with material reality strengthens communal resilience.
  • Preservation of Sephardic Knowledge Through Multilingual Scholarship
    methodology: cultural_preservation_through_multilingual_collections
    By curating and maintaining multilingual collections of rare and scholarly texts, we preserve and disseminate Sephardic heritage, because access to authentic, linguistically diverse sources sustains cultural memory and intellectual continuity.
  • Rabbinical Training and Placement for Community Continuity
    methodology: rabbinical_training_and_placement
    By training and placing Sephardic rabbis who are deeply versed in Torah and Sephardic tradition within struggling diaspora communities, we strengthen Jewish continuity and combat assimilation, because rabbinical leadership provides religious, educational, and ritual infrastructure essential to community survival.
  • Spiritual Leadership as a Bulwark Against Assimilation
    methodology: spiritual-leadership-based community preservation
    By developing and deploying spiritual leaders grounded in Sephardic tradition, we preserve distinct communal identity and resist assimilation, because authoritative religious presence fosters collective belonging and intergenerational transmission of Jewish practice.