Sephardic law and customs

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Sephardic law and customs are the law and customs of Judaism which are practiced by Sephardim or Sephardic Jews (lit. "Jews of Spain"); the descendants of the historic Jewish community of the Iberian Peninsula, what is now Spain and Portugal. Many definitions of "Sephardic" also include Mizrahi Jews, most of whom follow the same traditions of worship as those which are followed by Sephardic Jews. The Sephardi Rite is not a denomination nor is it a movement like Orthodox Judaism, Reform Judaism, and other Ashkenazi Rite worship traditions. Thus, Sephardim comprise a community with distinct cultural, juridical and philosophical traditions.^[1]

Sephardim are, primarily, the descendants of Jews from the

For the purposes of this article, there is no need to distinguish Iberian Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, as their religious practices are basically similar: whether or not they are "Spaniard Jews" they are all "Jews of the Spanish rite". There are three reasons for this convergence, which are explored in more detail below:

• Both groups follow general
  Ashkenazic
  tradition.
• The Spanish rite was an offshoot of the Babylonian-Arabic family of Jewish rites and retained a family resemblance to the other rites of that family.
• Following the expulsion the Spanish exiles took a leading role in the Jewish communities of Western Asia (the Middle East) and North Africa, who modified their rites to bring them still nearer to the Spanish rite, which by then was regarded as the standard.

Law

Jewish law is based on the

The Gaonic period

The two principal colleges,

The learning of the Tosafists, but not the literature on Ashkenazic customs as such, was imported into Spain by Asher ben Yeḥiel, a German-born scholar who became chief rabbi of Toledo and the author of the Hilchot ha-Rosh - an elaborate Talmudic commentary, which became the third of the great Spanish authorities after Alfasi and Maimonides. A more popular résumé, known as the Arba'ah Turim, was written by his son, Jacob ben Asher, though he did not agree with his father on all points.

The Tosafot were also used by the scholars of the Catalan school, such as

The Polish rabbi Moses Isserles, while acknowledging the merits of the Shulḥan Aruch, felt that it did not do justice to Ashkenazi scholarship and practice. He accordingly composed a series of glosses setting out all respects in which Ashkenazi practice differs, and the composite work is today accepted as the leading work on Ashkenazi halachah. Isserles felt free to differ from Caro on particular points of law, but in principle he accepted Caro's view that the Sephardic practice set out in the Shulḥan Aruch represents standard Jewish law while the Ashkenazi practice is essentially a local custom.

So far, then, it is meaningless to speak of "Sephardic custom": all that is meant is Jewish law without the particular customs of the Ashkenazim. For this reason, the law accepted by other non-Ashkenazi communities, such as the

An important body of customs grew up in the

Liturgy

Origins

For the outline and early history of the Jewish liturgy, see the articles on

1. The Spanish exiles were regarded as an elite and supplied many of the Chief Rabbis to the countries in which they settled, so that the Spanish rite tended to be favoured over any previous native rite;
2. The invention of printing meant that Siddurim were printed in bulk, usually in Italy, so that a congregation wanting books generally had to opt for a standard "Sephardi" or "Ashkenazi" text: this led to the obsolescence of many historic local rites, such as the Provençal rite;
3. R. Joseph Caro's Shulḥan Aruch
   presupposes a "Castilian rite" at every point, so that that version of the Spanish rite had the prestige of being "according to the opinion of Maran";
4. The
   Chaim Joseph David Azulai
   ).
5. The influence of Isaac Luria's Kabbalah, see the next section.

Lurianic Kabbalah

The most important theological, as opposed to practical, motive for harmonization was the Kabbalistic teachings of Isaac Luria and Ḥayim Vital. Luria himself always maintained that it was the duty of every Jew to abide by his ancestral tradition, so that his prayers should reach the gate in Heaven appropriate to his tribal identity.^[13] However he devised a system of usages for his own followers, which were recorded by Vital in his Sha'ar ha-Kavvanot in the form of comments on the Venice edition of the Spanish and Portuguese prayer book.^[14] The theory then grew up that this composite Sephardic rite was of special spiritual potency and reached a "thirteenth gate" in Heaven for those who did not know their tribe: prayer in this form could therefore be offered in complete confidence by everyone.

Further Kabbalistic embellishments were recorded in later rabbinic works such as the 18th century Ḥemdat Yamim (anonymous, but sometimes attributed to

The influence of the Lurianic-Sephardic rite extended even to countries outside the Ottoman sphere of influence such as Iran (Persia). (The previous Iranian rite was based on the Siddur of Saadia Gaon.^[15]) The main exceptions to this tendency were:

• their ancestral tradition based on the works of Maimonides
  (and therefore do not regard themselves as Sephardi at all), and
• the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of Western countries, who adopted a certain number of Kabbalistic usages piecemeal in the 17th century but later abandoned many of them because it was felt that the Lurianic Kabbalah had contributed to the Shabbetai Tzevi disaster.^{[citation needed]}
• Some Moroccan communities did not accept certain Kabbalistic practices because they said that they had old traditions that they did not need to change.

There were also Kabbalistic groups in the Ashkenazic world, which adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic ritual, on the theory of the thirteenth gate mentioned above. This accounts for the "Nusach Sefard" and "Nusach Ari" in use among the Hasidim, which is based on the Lurianic-Sephardic text with some Ashkenazi variations.

19th century

From the 1840s on a series of prayer-books was published in

An important influence on Sephardic prayer and custom was the late 19th century Baghdadi rabbi known as the

In the Sephardic world today, particularly in Israel, there are many popular prayer-books containing this Baghdadi rite, and this is what is currently known as Minhag Edot ha-Mizraḥ (the custom of the Oriental congregations). Other authorities, especially older rabbis from North Africa, reject these in favour of a more conservative Oriental-Sephardic text as found in the 19th century Livorno editions; and the Shami Yemenite and Syrian rites belong to this group. Others again, following R. Ovadia Yosef, prefer a form shorn of some of the Kabbalistic additions and nearer to what would have been known to R. Joseph Caro, and seek to establish this as the standard "Israeli Sephardi" rite for use by all communities.^[16] The liturgy of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews differs from all these (more than the Eastern groups differ from each other), as it represents an older form of the text, has far fewer Kabbalistic additions and reflects some Italian influence. The differences between all these groups, however, exist at the level of detailed wording, for example the insertion or omission of a few extra passages: structurally, all Sephardic rites are very similar.

Instances of Sephardic usage

Tefillin

• Most Sephardi groups do not put on tefillin during Ḥol ha-Mo`ed (the middle days of festivals). L
• They say only one blessing to cover the tefillin of the arm and the head, rather than one for each. However they say the second blessing if they are interrupted and have to say something after placing the arm tefillin.
• Sephardim wind the tefillin strap anti-clockwise (for a right-handed person). The form of the knot and of the wrappings round the hand are also different from that of the Ashkenazim.
• The letter shin on the head tefillin has a different calligraphy than on the Ashkenazi tefillin.
• The script used in Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot is different from the Ashkenazic and nearer to the printed square characters.^[17]

Tzitzit

• It's not a Sephardi practice to let the tzitziyot of the tzitzit katan hang out.
• In the tzitzit, each winding loops through the preceding one, and the pattern of windings between the knots is either 10-5-6-5 (in some communities, L) or 7-8-11-13 (in others, per Shulḥan `Arukh).^[18]

Mezuzah

• Mezuzot are placed vertically rather than slanting, except among Spanish and Portuguese Jews in western countries.

Liturgy

• In many of the prayers, Sephardim preserve
  Biblical Hebrew: examples are "Naqdishakh" (not "Naqdishkha") and "ha-Gefen" (not "ha-Gafen").^[19]
• Sephardim read/chant most of the prayers end to end out loud, unlike the Ashkenazi practice that the Hazan reads the first line out loud, followed by silent reading, and finishing up by reading the last few lines out loud before moving to the next prayer.
• Sephardim start Mincha with Patach Eliyahu, Leshem Yihud, Ma Yedidot,L Korban HaTamid, and Parashat HaKtoret before Ashrei. While Patach Eliyahu is sometimes omitted, the other prayers are standard practice by most Sephardim.
• Friday evening, most Sephardi groups (but not the Spanish and Portuguese) sing the Shir hashirim between Minha and Kabbalat Shabbat. L
• The order of the prayers in the Zemirot differs from the Ashkenazi practice and has some additional prayers included.
• Close to the end of the
  Weekly Maqam
  in the Eastern communities.
• Before the `Amida they don't say Tzur Yisrael.
• The second blessing before the Shema begins "Ahavat `Olam" (and not "Ahavah Rabbah") in all services.
• Many Sephardim don't take 3 steps back and 3 steps forward before the `Amida nor bend their knees.
• In the summer months they use the words Morid ha-Ṭal in the second blessing of the ``Amida. P
• The Qedushah of the morning service begins "Naqdishakh ve-Na`ariṣakh", and the Qedushah of
  musaf (the additional service for Shabbat
  and festivals) begins "Keter Yitenu L'kha".
• There are separate summer and winter forms for the "Birkat ha-Shanim".
• There is no
  minḥah
  (the afternoon service) on any day. P
• In most communities, Kohanim say the Birkat ha-Kohanim every day during Shaharit and Musaf even outside of Israel, unlike the Ashkenazi practice to say it only on the major Festivals. However, in Spanish and Portuguese communities, it is recited only on festivals like Ashkenazim, and in some communities, it is done on Shabbat but not during the week.
• The last blessing of the `Amidah is "Sim Shalom" (and not "Shalom Rav") in all services.
• In most communities (except for Spanish and Portuguese) since the times of the Ari, the short Tahanun includes the Vidui, the Thirteen Attributes, and Psalm 25, among others.L The order of the long Tahanun varies based on the particular rite and includes 3 additional Thirteen Attributes. Most communities stand for the beginning of
  Tahanun
  (including the Vidui, the Thirteen Attributes) and sit erect (without resting their head on their arm) for Psalm 25, but customs vary between communities.
• When taking out the Torah on shabbat, most Sephardic communities recite Ata horeta ladaat.
• Some of the haftara readings are different than the Ashkenazi practice.
• Close to the end of the Musaf service, Sephardim read Kol Yisrael before Ein Keloheinu.
• The Hazan calls Barechu before the `Aleinu.
• After Aleinu, some Sephardim say Uvtorateha Hashem Elokeinu katuv leimor Shema` ...
• Most Sephardim sit for Kaddish unless they were standing previously.
• The Kaddish is longer and the congregation responds Amen after Berich hu.
• Adon Olam has an extra stanza (and is longer still in Oriental communities^[20]).
• Shalom Aleichem has an extra stanza.
• The verses recited at the beginning of
  Havdala
  are different from the Ashkenazi practice.
• The blessing before Hallel concludes with לגמור את ההלל, rather than לקרא את ההלל.

Torah scroll

• In many communities (mostly Mizrahi rather than Sephardi proper) the Torah scroll is kept in a tiq (wooden or metal case) instead of a velvet mantle.
• They lift the Torah scroll and display it to the congregation before the Torah reading rather than after.^[21] B

Synagogue

• Typically, the Torah reading platform, which Sephardim generally call Teva/Teba, is traditionally not in the front of the sanctuary but in the center or back of it.
• In Middle Eastern communities, the Torah is read on a horizontal box also called the Teva/Teba rather than a slanted table as the Ashkenazic or Western Sephardic tradition.
• The ark where the Torah scrolls are stored is called Hekhal (also Hekhal kodesh in the Greek and Turkish communities), rather than Aron kodesh.

Torah service

• The blessing after the `Aliya may include Torato before Torat emet.
• After an `Aliya, the `oleh is congratulated by other congregants with Hazak uvaruch rather than Yasher koach and the ole responds with Hazak ve'ematz.
• Most Sephardim remain seated when the 10 Commandments are being read. However Western Sephardim (UK and the Netherlands) stand, similar to Ashkenazim.

Kashrut

• Sephardim distinguish rice from kitniyyot.
  • While Mizrachi Jews generally eat rice on Passover, many Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Turkish, and North African Sephardim do not.
  • Most Sephardim regard it as permissible to eat fresh
    legumes
    and seeds such as green beans and fresh peas or maize) on Passover.
  • The custom of eating dried legumes on Passover varies between communities, it is independent of the custom of eating rice.
  • Some Greek and Turkish Sephardim have the custom to also avoid potatoes on Passover.
• Many Sephardim avoid eating fish with milk, as in Eastern Mediterranean countries this is widely considered to be unhealthy (by non-Jews as well as Jews). Ashkenazim and Western Sephardim argue that this practice originated from a mistake in the Bet Yosef, and that the prohibition really concerned the eating of fish with meat.^[22]
• The laws of sheḥitah are in some respects stricter and in other respects less strict than those of Ashkenazim (modern kashrut authorities try to ensure that all meat complies with both standards).
• The Sephardi definition of bread is significantly stricter than the Ashkenazi one. Many challot consumed by Ashkenazim on Shabbat contain too much egg, sugar, raisin, even chocolate to Sephardi standards and are considered cake (uga, עוגה) rather than bread (lechem, לחם). Therefore the hamotzi lechem (המוציא לחם) blessing cannot be said over it and in turn the kiddush is not valid. Ashkenazi hosts are encouraged to be sensitive to this difference when having Sephardi guests over.

Holidays

Yamim Noraim

• Seliḥot are said throughout the month of Elul in the morning rather than at night.
• Around Rosh Hashanah, the typical new year greeting is "Tizku leshanim rabot" (תזכו לשנים רבות). The answer is "Ne`imot vetovot" (נעימות וטובות).
• Sephardic
  Tashlikh and Kapparot, though they were re-introduced by the Lurianic
  school. Spanish and Portuguese Jews still do not observe them.

Hanukkah

• Only one set of Hanukkah lights is lit in each household.
• The shammash is generally lit after the other Hanukkah lights and after singing Hannerot hallalu, instead of being used to light them (which would be impractical, given that the lights are traditionally oil lamps rather than candles).

Passover

• Sephardim only say blessings over the first and third cups of Passover wine, instead of over all four.
• The items on the
  Ashkenazim
  ). L

Counting of the `Omer period

• During the Counting of the `Omer period, observant Sephardi men avoid cutting their hair and shaving/cutting their beard for 34 days, rather than 33, as the Ashkenazi practice.

Life cycle

Birth and naming

• The naming ceremony of a girl is called Zebed habbat/Zeved habbat in Hebrew and las Fadas in
  Judeospanyol. In some communities (e.g., Hamburg) it happens on the 30th day after birth. The core elements are Shir hashirim
  2:14 (and for a first-born girl, 6:9) and a Mi shebberakh referring to the matriarchs for the naming of the girl. Each community has various additional elements to the ceremony.

• The Sephardi term of commemorating a close relative's death is nahala (נחלה) or meldado. Ashkenazim use the Yiddish term Yahrzeit instead.
• The common Sephardi greeting to express a condolence is Min hashamayim tenuhamu (מן השמים תנוחמו).
• If a relative passed away in the month of Adar, in a leap year, most Sephardim commemorate it in Adar II rather than the Ashkenazi practice of Adar I or both.
• The Sephardi memorial prayers (Hashkabot) serve a similar role to the Ashkenazi Yizkor.

Given names

• Sephardim often name their children after living grandparents, which is a great respect. On the other hand, Ashkenazim never name their children after a living person.

Bibliography

Rabbinic works

Halachah

• Abudirham, David
  , Sefer Abudirham
• Caro, Joseph, Shulḥan Aruch
  (innumerable editions)
• ISBN 1-58330-160-7
• Sofer, Ḥayim, Kaf ha-Ḥayim
• Rakaḥ, Yaakob, Shulḥan Leḥem ha-Panim (6 vols., ed. Levi Nahum), Jerusalem
• Jacobson, B. S., Netiv Binah: Tel Aviv 1968
• Dayan Toledano, Pinchas, Fountain of Blessings, a Code of Jewish Law, mekor bracha: London 1989, Jerusalem 2009 (edited and expanded to 4 volumes).
• Toledano, E., and Choueka, S., Gateway to Halachah (2 vols.): Lakewood and New York 1988–9.
  ISBN 0-935063-56-0
• Yitzhak, Hertzel Hillel, Tzel HeHarim: Tzitzit: New York, Feldheim Publishers 2006.
  ISBN 1-58330-292-1
• HaLevi, Ḥayim David, Mekor Ḥayim haShalem, a comprehensive code of Jewish law
  • Kitzur Shulḥan Arukh Mekor Ḥayim, a digest of the above code
• Yosef, Ovadia, Ḥazon Obadiah, Yabbia Omer and Yeḥavveh Da'at, responsa
• Yosef, Yitzḥak, Yalkut Yosef, codifying rulings of Ovadia Yosef
• Yosef, David, Torat Ha-Mo'adim (rules about the
  Jewish holidays
  )
• Yosef, David, Halachah Berurah, another codification of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's rulings

Kabbalah

• Vital, Ḥayim, Sha'ar ha-Kavvanot (vol. 8 of the 15 volume collected writings)
• anon., Ḥemdat Yamim
• Algazi, Yisrael, Shalme Tsibbur and Shalme Ḥagigah

Local customs

• Mueller, J., Ḥilluf Minhagim she-bein Benei Bavel u-Venei Eretz Yisrael: 1878
• Lewin, B. M., Otzar Ḥilluf Minhagim: Thesaurus of Halachic Differences between the Palestinian and Babylonian Schools: Jerusalem 1942
• Gaguine, Shem Tob, Keter Shem Tob, 7 vols. (Spanish and Portuguese and comparative): vols. 1-2, vol. 3, vol. 6, vol. 7
• Ben Ya'akov, Abraham, Minhage Yahadut Bavel ba-dorot ha-aḥaronim (Iraq)
• Ades, Abraham, Derech Ere"ts: Bene Berak 1990 (Aleppo)
• Ben Shimon, Refael Aharon, Nehar Mitzrayim (Egypt): vol. 1, vol. 2
• Hacohen, Mosheh, Berit Kehunah, 1941 (Jerba)
• Messas, Yosef, Mayim Ḥayim (Morocco)
• Toledano, Shelomo, Divre Shalom ve-Emet: Pisqe Ḥachme Marocco (Morocco)
• Bitton, Eliyahu, Netivot ha-Ma'arav (Morocco)

Prayer books

See List of Sephardic prayer books.

Secondary literature

• Angel, Marc D., Voices in Exile: A Study in Sephardic Intellectual History: New York 1991
• R. Chouraqui. "The Leadership and Traditions of the Sephardi Sages in the Modern Era." Conversations 1.7 (2010): n. pag. Web. <http://www.jewishideas.org/articles/leadership-and-traditions-sephardi-sages-modern-era>.
• Dobrinsky, Herbert C., A treasury of Sephardic laws and customs : the ritual practices of Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese Jews of North America. Revised ed. Hoboken, N.J.: KTAV; New York, N.Y.: Yeshiva Univ. Press, 1988.
  ISBN 0-88125-031-7
• JSTOR 41482436
  .
• Ginzberg, Louis, Geonica: New York 1909
• Goldschmidt, Meḥqare Tefillah u-Fiyyut (On Jewish Liturgy): Jerusalem 1978
• ISBN 978-1-4962-0554-4
• Mauroof, Joshua, Rabbi. "Sephardic Tradition - The Judaism of the Future." University of Maryland. 28 Mar. 2013. Lecture. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG10ZhFN4tM>.
• Reif, Stefan, Judaism and Hebrew Prayer: Cambridge 1993. Hardback
  ISBN 0-521-48341-7
• Reif, Stefan, Problems with Prayers: Berlin and New York 2006
  ISBN 3-11-019091-5
• Tabori, Yosef, "The influence of the expulsion from Spain on prayer rites" (Hebrew) in the Rambi catalog.
• Wieder, Naphtali, The Formation of Jewish Liturgy: In the East and the West
• Zimmels, Ashkenazim and Sephardim: their Relations, Differences, and Problems As Reflected in the Rabbinical Responsa : London 1958 (since reprinted).
  ISBN 0-88125-491-6

• Nusach
• Yeshiva#Sephardi yeshivas
• Yeshiva#Israel

Notes