TU KE BIVAS

2021 - 2025

Tu Ke Bivas is part of a Sephardic blessing my parents often invoked: "May you live, grow, and thrive like a little fish in freshwater." I am a Sephardic Jew, part of the diasporic population expelled from Spain during the Inquisition in the late 15th century. My family’s migrations have taken us from Turkey to Colombia to the United States. Throughout, we have maintained our Ladino language, Jewish religion, and Sephardic customs.

My photographs explore how my mother and daughter continue to enact these traditions and rituals today. As I contemplate their different ways of preserving and celebrating our history, I consider my own relationship to this heritage and what interpretations my daughter will carry forward.

(This portfolio is complete with 47 images of which less than half are currently displayed on this website. Please contact me to see full portfolio at becky@beckybehar.com. Also - the name of this portfolio was “Tu Que Bivas”and it has been changed in Spring of 2025 to “Tu Ke Bivas” to reflect the Ladino spelling.)