Ashkenazis and Sephardic Jews

During the compilation of the Talmud (around the 43rd century in the Hebrew calendar – approximately 1500 years ago), Babylon — parts of which are in present-day Iraq — was the main center for Jews. Cities like “Sura” and “Pumbedita” were renowned for their religious academies (Yeshivas), where Jews would go for Torah education and to find answers to their religious inquiries. However, as the Talmud was nearing its completion, the Sasanian kings ruling over Babylon restricted the freedoms of Jews and closed their academies.

The Muslims would later defeat the Sassanians, and with the rise of Islam came a new era of freedom for the Jews now living under Arab rule. The Muslim rulers, being more enlightened than their Christian or Zoroastrian predecessors, allowed Jews to live peacefully under their dominion. A sense of peace and freedom emerged for Babylonian Jews, and the “Sura” and “Pumbedita” opened again. Babylon flourished once more, becoming the center for Torah education and religious studies for Jews worldwide. Although Jews were required to pay a tax called “Jizya”, they were permitted to organize institutions and have their own courts, living as a free Jewish community.

During this period, the academies of “Sura” and “Pumbedita” gained even more importance than in the past. Their leaders held the titles of “Gaon” or scholar and genius. The title “Rosh Galuta”, or “Head of the Exile” or “Exilarch”, regained its glory. While Rosh Galuta dealt with administrative and political matters of the Jewish community, the Geonim focused on cultural and religious affairs. In most cases, the Geonim had more influence and impact on religious authority than the Rosh Galuta. The Gaon of the city of Sura served as the head of all Jewish religious affairs.

Furthermore, periodic gatherings brought together scholars from diverse regions, with the Gaon presiding over these discussions on different sections of the Talmud. Jews from all corners of the world corresponded with the Gaon, seeking answers to their religious questions and legal guidance. Many of these inquiries and responses have been preserved to this day, holding significant value as they illuminate various religious issues that arose after the era of the Amoraim. The Geonim held such immense importance and fame that a 500-year period (spanning from 4800 to 4300 in the Hebrew calendar) was designated as the “Era of the Geonim”.

Following the passing of the Egyptian Rav Saadia, who was one of the greatest and most renowned Geonim, the brilliance and grandeur of the Sura academy began to wane. Gradually, the social life of Babylonian Jews faced a decline, primarily due to the pressures imposed by new rulers. As the 48th century of the Hebrew calendar drew to a close, the academies ceased to exist, and leadership among Jews began to shift from Asia to Europe, particularly to Spain.

It is worth noting that Jews had already established a presence in Spain long before the decline of the Sura academy. Spain had become the new Jewish center by approximately the year 4700 in the Hebrew calendar. With the fall of Babylon and the closure of Jewish centers of religious learning, a significant migration of Jews from those regions to Spain occurred, carrying Babylonian culture and teachings with them.

In Spain, they found a period of relative freedom, peace, and prosperity similar to the earlier experiences of Jews under Muslim rule in the region.

The fall of Babylon as a prominent center had significant repercussions. It resulted in the dispersion of scholars of religious sciences across Islamic and Christian countries, severing the organized connections that once existed. As a result, scholars began to adopt various customs and practices, as they took different opinions on emerging issues.

These developments eventually led to a notable division within the Jewish community, giving rise to two distinct groups: the “Sephardim”, who followed the teachings of Spanish scholars, and the “Ashkenazi”, who aligned themselves with the traditions and scholarship of German scholars

1- Sephardim:

Sephardim or Sephardic Jews (Heb. MyVrps, singular yVrps Sephardi) are a group of Jews who lived in Spain or Portugal until their expulsion in 1492. The term  Sephardim is sometimes mistakingly used to refer to all non-Ashkenazi Jews. The word  Sephardim is mentioned in the Old Testament (Obadiah 1:20) in reference to the ancient land of Spain. According to tradition, Jews have had a long history of residence in Spain, dating back to Solomon’s rule. However, Jews in this land have always suffered religious persecution and discrimination under Christian rule in Europe and Spain. The situation improved when Muslims, specifically Arabs, conquered Spain in 711.

Furthermore, Jews in Spain were able to establish connections with the religious center of the Jewish world at that time, Babylon and Iraq. These connections allowed them to adopt the religious customs of Babylonian Jews. In the early days of Arab-Islamic rule, this relatively free atmosphere ushered in a golden age for Spanish Jews. Prominent religious figures emerged during this period, including Hasdai ibn Shaprut (an advisor to the caliph), Samuel HaNagid (political advisor, poet, and scholar), Moshe ibn Ezra (poet), Solomon ibn Gabirol (poet and philosopher), Judah Halevi (poet and philosopher), and, most importantly, Moses Maimonides, also known as Rambam (physician, philosopher, and theologian).

With the onset of persecution by the Islamic Almohad Caliphate in 1148BC, Jews migrated to Christian-majority regions in Spain. After the reconquest of Spain by Christian rulers, Jews were once again scattered throughout the country. In 1391BC, the Jewish community in Spain faced disintegration and persecution due to pressure from the Christian government and the Inquisition, which sought to enforce compulsory conversion to Christianity. Ultimately, in 1492BC, a decree was issued to expel Jews who did not convert to Christianity (and apparently remained in effect until 1968BC according to the law).

Sephardic Jews mostly migrated to North Africa, Italy, and especially Turkey, where Sultan Bayezid II warmly received them. During this time, the Spanish diaspora was formed. It became known as “exile within exile”, as they were expelled not only from the Holy Land, but also from their homeland, Spain. After about a century, another branch of Jews called “Marrano” emerged.

 

The Marrano were Jews who pretended to be Christian. They gradually migrated from Spain to Portugal, where the risk of religious inspection was lower. As their population grew, they gained the ability to cast aside their Christian facade and continue their social life as Jews. During this time, the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, and Amsterdam became a center for the Marrano.

Portuguese Jews predominantly migrated to the Netherlands in the 17th century, establishing multiple synagogues and centers for religious education. Gradually, groups of Sephardic Jews migrated to Britain, Western Europe, and South America.

2- Ashkenazi Jews:

Originally, Ashkenaz referred to densely Jewish-populated areas in Northwestern Europe, especially around the Rhine River. In another sense, Ashkenazi Jews are Jews of German and French (and later Lithuanian and Polish) descent.

The earliest signs of the initial division of Ashkenazi Jews date back to the 14th century when a Jewish author born in Western Germany (died in 1327BC) wrote about his life in Toledo, Spain: “I do not eat according to their (i.e., Sephardic) way but rather according to the customs of my ancestors and the scholars of Ashkenaz, who inherited the [laws of the] Torah from their ancestors during the time of the destruction of the Holy Temple. Just as the customs of our ancestors and our scholars in France are superior to the customs of the inhabitants of these lands (Sephardim)”.

With the migration of the Ashkenazis from west to east in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries, countries like Lithuania and Poland became centers of Ashkenazi culture.

During the Middle Ages (from 1000 to 1492BC), Sephardic Jews were the principal and active members of Judaism worldwide, constituting at least half of the Jewish population worldwide. However, from the mid-17th century onwards, most of the Jewish population and religious importance shifted from Sephardim to Ashkenazim. The mass killing of Jews in Poland (Chmielnicki in 1648BC) dispersed Ashkenazim across Western Europe. After a few generations, they became more numerous and influential than the Sephardim of those lands. In the late 19th century, due to the persecution of Jews in Russia, a significant population of Ashkenazim migrated from Eastern Europe to various parts of the world, so much that they came to constitute the majority of the Jewish population in Europe, Australia, South Africa, the United States, and Israel. During this time, the Sephardic population was predominantly the majority in North Africa, Italy, the Middle East, and scattered areas in Asia.

Before the Holocaust and World War II, 90% of the world’s Jewish population were Ashkenazi (out of 16 million Jews, 15 million were Ashkenazi, while the remaining 1 million were Sephardic and non-Ashkenazi). The Holocaust resulted in a significant reduction in the Ashkenazi population on this continent. With the isolation of Russian Jews from the Jewish world, the United States of America became the primary center of Ashkenazi Jews.

3- Religious customs and practices:

Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews base their religious beliefs and behaviors on the Torah and Talmud. However, they may have different interpretations and opinions on certain religious practices. Both groups generally follow their religious laws today in accordance with the four-volume book “Shulchan Aruch”, which is a summary of practical Talmudic laws and the legal rulings of Jewish scholars, written by Rabbi Yosef Karo (famous as the Maran) about 500 years ago. However, Rabbi Yosef Karo was Sephardic, and sometimes the legal rulings of Ashkenazi scholars differed from those in his “Shulchan Aruch”. Therefore, a scholar named Rabbi Moshe Isserles (known as the Rema) added comments to the “Shulchan Aruch” in accordance with Ashkenazi beliefs. Ashkenazi Jews refer to the opinions of Rabbi Moshe Isserles when there are differences of opinion with Sephardic Jews.

When comparing the religious beliefs of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews, it is commonly observed that Sephardic views are more extensive, inclusive, and flexible in interpretation, while Ashkenazi views tend to be more conservative and rooted in the written scriptures of the Bible and Talmud.

4- Relations between the two groups:

Relations between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews have varied over different periods and depending on the cultural context. For example, in the past, in the Netherlands and France, Sephardic communities excluded Ashkenazi Jews from their society. However, in Italy, both groups lived together without issues. In the 17th and 18th centuries, with the arrival of Ashkenazi Jews in Jerusalem, tensions arose in their economic relations with Sephardim. At the beginning of the 19th century, efforts by Ashkenazi Jews in Jerusalem to gain recognition by the Ottoman government were supported by Sephardic Jews.

These religious differences are nowadays fixated in Israel, where two major religious authorities lead the two groups.

5- Examples of religious behavioral differences between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews:

1	Sephardis	Ashkenazis
2	Minor differences in Tefillah scripts
3	Tefillah and synagogue ceremonies
4	Differences in the details of post-slaughter examination (Shechita)
5
6		Large tallits may only be worn by married men
7	Wooden or metallic case for the Torah scrolls	Fabric cover for the Torah scroll
8	Different accentuation in the melodies of the Torah
9	Difference in the reading of some haftarots
10	Married women must cover their hair	Based on the opinion of some scholars, married women cover their hair with wigs
11		Monogamy for men (The decree of Rabbi Gershom ben Judah)
12
13		Difference in the pronunciation of some letters, especially “th”
14		Rice is prohibited on the Passover
15	Priests bless the congregation on every morning Tefillah	Priests bless the congregation only on Yom Kippur and some special occasions
16	Members exist under one title — Orthodox	Members form groups, such as Orthodox, Conservative, Reformist, etc.
17	Berakhah is prioritized in the Sabbath Candle Lighting	Duties are prioritized in the Sabbath Candle Lighting
18	Mishnah Avot is recited during the 40 days of repentance from the beginning of the month of Elul to Yom Kippur	Mishnah Avot is recited for six weeks from Passover to Shavuot
19		The religious engagement ceremony is held under the sky
20	Torah scrolls are shown to the congregation before being recited	Torah scrolls are shown to the congregation after recitation
21	Different legal details in writing the letters of the Torah scroll (and other religious manuscripts)
22	Different synagogue layout