Dancing on the Same Page: Multilingual Calligraphy and Bridge-Building with Ruben Shimonov
Ruben Shimonov, a multilingual educator and artist, discusses his roots as a Bukharian Jew from Uzbekistan. Ruben details the etymology of his names, explaining how the Russian suffix -ov was forced upon Bukharian names. He describes his linguistic upbringing in Tashkent as primarily Russian, yet deeply infused with Bukharian loanwords like bas and osvo. Through his Hebrew-Arabic-Persian calligraphy, Ruben builds interfaith bridges and celebrates the “Persianate” Jewish world. He concludes by discussing the vulnerability of the Bukharian language and his efforts to preserve it within the diaspora.
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Ruben Shimonov is an educator, community builder, social entrepreneur, and artist who’s passionate about Jewish diversity and intercultural understanding. He is the American Sephardi Federation’s National Director of Education & Sephardi House and Founding Executive Director of the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network. As a visual artist, Ruben uses his multilingual Hebrew-Arabic-Persian calligraphy to build interfaith bridges and celebrate the diversity of the Greater Sephardi world. He has given many lectures, including several for the Jewish Language Project.
