Ariella Levian’s Blurb #2: Allahdadi Event

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I often find myself wondering about my ancestors and the history of my close-knit community. I’m a member of the Mashadi Jewish community, a group that has lived in Iran up until about two decades ago. Although I have always been curious about the story behind my community, I was never really informed about it or knew so many details. Recently, however, all of my questions were finally answered and I have a clear picture in my mind of what my family must have been like based on what they had to endure. My synagogue, the Mashadi Jewish Center of Great Neck, hosted an event called the “Allahdadi” in commemoration of our community’s past in Iran. To be honest, I only attended at first because I knew all of my friends would be there. I was not expecting to discover everything there is to know about my ancestors and the miraculous journey that they had to embark upon. In typical Mashadi tradition, the event began with an abundant meal, complete with all of my favorite Persian dishes. After filling our stomachs, we made our way into the main hallway, which was loaded with interesting displays of buildings from Iran and other artifacts from the past. Next, I was delighted to see family trees spread out across all of the walls. I eagerly searched for the Levian family, and of course, it was the largest of all! I could have admired all of the displays for the rest of the day, but I soon saw everybody filling into the main sanctuary. Once seated, several rabbis and community members made speeches. I was fascinated by the stories that were told and the world that had been unfolded before me. I learned about the way the Jews in Mashad had to keep their religion and traditions hidden from the radical natives of the country in order to save their own and their children’s lives. They had to pretend to convert to Islam, while secretly practicing Judaism and its customs. This period, called Alladadi, began in1839 and lasted for almost a century. After the speeches were made, the biggest surprise of the night soon followed. Several youth members of the community put together a play based on the Allahdadi incident. The play followed a young Mashadi mother struggling to keep her Jewish traditions alive while struggling to keep her family alive at the same time. The biggest shock of the night was when my own brother stepped on stage in full costume! I had no clue whatsoever that he would be participating in the play. His performance as a Mashadi butcher was very impressive and definitely Oscar-worthy. The humor-filled play was not only for entertainment purposes though. It painted a visual picture in our minds of what really happened in the past. Attending the Allahdadi Event of 2009 was definitely one of the most worthwhile experiences of my life. It has given me such great appreciation for life, as I have witnessed exactly how much my ancestors have sacrificed to get me where I am today.