Jews deriving from, roughly, Muslim lands.
3
votes
1answer
176 views
Intermarriage among Middle eastern Jews right before 1948
I was wondering does anyone know where I can find out the Intermarriage rate among Middle eastern Jews right before 1948 particularly amongst the Iraqis and the Syrians?
1
vote
1answer
37 views
Does one mourn during the days following Shavuot?
We say the four verses starting "Yehi Shem" (instead of Tachanun) after Shavuot because of the bringing of the Korbanot. Does this have any impact on mourning after Shavuot?
3
votes
2answers
98 views
Rav ovadia Yosef mishna berura
A rabbi recently told me that rav ovadia yosef has a "Mishna Berura" style commentary on the shulchan aruch. (I presume he wasn't referring to his son's work Halacha Berura.) anyone know what this ...
14
votes
1answer
451 views
What was daily life like for Jewish women living in al-Andalus in the 10th/11th centuries?
The emir of Al-Andalus (approximately the Iberian peninsula) declared himself a new caliph, breaking off from the caliphate in the east, circa 950 CE. I have read that the next couple hundred years ...
1
vote
3answers
93 views
What do Sephardic sources have to say about women wearing t'filin?
This answer to another question about women and talit/t'filin says (about t'filin):
Because of the Rema is the foremost Ashkenazic authority of halakha, the great modern Askenazic poskim (R. Moshe ...
8
votes
0answers
70 views
Non-Ashkenazic Talmud-learning tune
I am very familiar with a particular Ashkenazi yeshivish tune for Talmud learning. This is well-described in the linked question as:
[T]he kind of singing rhythm that people use when contrasting ...
4
votes
3answers
307 views
Aufruf and Shabbat Chatan?
Why is an aufruf (Askenazim) before and a shabbat chatan (sefardim) after the wedding? I know there is an idea of a chaasan going to shul from the Pirkei d'Reb Eliezer 17 but how did it get split ...
2
votes
1answer
254 views
How do rabbis explain the reason for the Spanish Expulsion. Why did the Jewish people deserve it
I notice you already have this question for the Holocaust but haven't found it for the Spanish expulsion. I understand that many great people gave reasons for it, like the seder hadoros, tsror hamor ...
8
votes
2answers
190 views
Ashkenazic vs. Sefardic grammar tendencies
I notice that when referring to God in the second person in a possessive form, Sefardim often use the female form where Ashkenazim use the male form.
For example, where Ashkenazim say in kedusha, ...
5
votes
1answer
64 views
Source for Rav Avraham Yosef's ruling on Ba'alei Teshuva
A friend mentioned, and I read the same here, that Rav Avraham Yosef and/or Rav Ovadiah Yosef ruled that Ba'alei Teshuva in Israel (with no direct masoret of their own) should adopt the Sepharadi ...
3
votes
1answer
51 views
Can one say “Hazak u'Baruch” to both men and women? If not, is there a female equivalent?
When returning from an Aliyah la'Torah, I am commonly met with "Hazak u'Baruch". I have encountered this saying in other situations when someone does something praiseworthy.
Can one say "Hazak ...
2
votes
1answer
64 views
Why did the Shulchan Aruch hold of waiting until Lad LaOmer to cut one's hair?
The Shulchan Aruch (493:2) writes that one should not cut one's hair until the morning of the 34th day of the 'Omer ("אין להסתפר עד יום ל"ד בבקר"). What is the source for waiting until the morning of ...
10
votes
3answers
104 views
Why is there a difference of opinion about whether modern magic is prohibited or permitted?
I'm an amateur magician.
All of the Ashkenazi rabbis that I've talked to said that as long as my audience knows that I am just doing tricks and not real magic, the Torah allows me to perform magic ...
4
votes
2answers
75 views
Sifre Tora in boxes vs. in cloths
All S'faradi synagogues I've been in have each sefer Tora in a box. All Ashk'nazi ones I've been in have each sefer Tora in a cloth. When did this split occur, and why, and how?
I assume either:
...
1
vote
1answer
34 views
Sephardim and Two Sifrei Torah
On a day when we take out 2 Sifrei Torah do the Sephardim put both on the bima and open one and read from it leaving the other closed? Or do they put only one on the bima and leave the other in a ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views
Can sefardim eat lafa before Pesach?
There is a custom(?) to abstain from eating matza 30 days before Passover so that the taste will be new. There are some sects of sefardic or teimani Jews who eat a type of matzah that is more akin to ...
1
vote
0answers
68 views
Do Sefardim Eat Chametz-Like Food made from Fruit Juice?
The Rambam rules that if flour is mixed with fruit juice but no water, it cannot become chametz (הלכות חמץ ומצה פרק ה) :
ב חמשת מיני דגן אלו--אם לשן במי פירות בלבד, בלא שם מים בעולם--אינם
באין ...
9
votes
2answers
169 views
Did the Rosh (Rabbeinu Asher) describe the culture clash moving from medieval Germany to Spain?
Rabbi Asher (the "Rosh") moved from medieval Germany to Spain. I know he describes some different halachic practices that were done in Spain (e.g. linen tzitzis); but does he describe the difference ...
8
votes
1answer
364 views
What is the origin of hazak u'baruch?
Hazak u'barukh is a phrase commonly said after one does something in the synagogue (e.g., after an aliyah). What is its origin?
2
votes
2answers
122 views
What is the origin and meaning of mabrouk?
Instead of mazal tov, some sefardim use the term mabrouk(sp?). What does that term mean and what is its origin?
4
votes
4answers
255 views
Are Sephardic Jews allowed to dress up in costumes on Purim?
The custom of dressing up in costumes on Purim originated from Ashkenazic communities in Europe and has become a popular custom today for Ashkenazim (cf. Rema in Shulkhan Aruch Orach Chaim 696:8).
...
6
votes
7answers
529 views
Why do Sephardic Jews dress in black and white?
Many observant sephardim in Israel, especially those in yeshivot, dress in black and white. Does anyone know how this happened?
There is no tradition of Jews in North Africa or in the Middle East ...
7
votes
1answer
122 views
What is the minhag followed in the Bnei Tzion Siddur?
Bnei Tzion is an Israeli siddur published in 1996 by Sinai Publishing in Tel Aviv. It's a Sephardi siddur but has some interesting variants (e.g., very similar Havdalah to Ashkenazi practice). I'm ...
5
votes
4answers
160 views
What are Brochos differences of Sefardim and Ashkenazim?
For example, according to sefardim the bracha on matzo is mezonos (during the year), while it's hamotzi for Ashkenazim.
What are other differences between Ashkenazim and Sefardim with regards to ...
5
votes
1answer
135 views
Do Sefardim keep Rashi time or Rabbeinu Tam time?
On one hand, the Shulchan Aruch rules in Hilchos Shabbos like Rabbeinu Tam (that one should add to Shabbos from shkiya [not that it's shabbos yet halachically, and one can do melacha at that point]), ...
5
votes
4answers
355 views
Kiddush cup handoff
Why do some Jews (Sephardic, Hasidic, et al.) place the kiddush cup into the hands of another?
7
votes
5answers
198 views
An Ashenazi kohain lives outside Israel. When it is not Yom Tov, can he bless the people in a Sefardi shul?
I am a kohain living outside Israel where the Ashenazi custom is that we only bless the people (duchan) on Yomim Tovim. Where I live, there are Sefardi shuls where the kohanim duchan on Shabbos and ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
The (female) name Freeda amongst Sefardim
I am under the impression that the name Freeda is a female Yiddish name. For some reason it seems to be very popular amongst the Sephardim. How did this happen?
6
votes
2answers
239 views
Eating by one who doesn't separate glass
Some, mainly Ashkenazim, hold that glass dishes must be separated between milk and meat. Some, mainly Sefardim, do not. May the former eat on the latter's glass dishes?
11
votes
1answer
248 views
What is a “Sephardic Jew”?
My name is Paul Avila (yea, I know, doesn't sound Jewish at all) I was born in the Azores Portugal and moved to the United States when I was 2. People always ask me if I am Persian. Never ...
6
votes
3answers
211 views
Are there any Sefardi Posekim that permit the consumption of Chodosh in Chutz LaAretz?
Are there are any Sefardic Posekim that permit the consumption of Chodosh in Chutz LaAretz just like the Ashkenazim's Heterim?
Preferably Aharonim or contemporaries.
2
votes
1answer
83 views
Selichos start: Ashkinazim vs. Sefardim
Why do Sefardim start saying Sleichos earlier than Ashkinazim?
10
votes
4answers
161 views
Not falling on hands for Tachnun
How come Sepharadim do not "fall on their faces" during Tachanun as Ashkenazim do, if the prayer is called "nefilat apa'im" (literally the falling of the faces)?
The Shulchan Aruch seems to hold of ...
1
vote
2answers
184 views
Main Sefardi Rav
Which rabbi do the majority of sefardim follow? Or, do a majority of them not follow a single rabbi?
5
votes
1answer
91 views
When do Sefardim start mourning in a year that Tisha B'av is postponed until Sunday?
As mentioned here, Sefardim observe the mourning period known to Ashkenazim as "The Nine Days" only during the week that Tisha B'av occurs.
Tisha B'av falls out on Shabbat this year (5772), and the ...
4
votes
2answers
152 views
Which sephardic groups forbid eating rice during Pesach and why?
I was recently at a shiur where this came up briefly and somewhat tangentially. Does anyone know which groups forbid rice but allow other kitniyot (e.g., beans) during Pesach? Any references/pointers ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
English translation of Sefer Machaneh Ephrayim
Is there an English translation on the Internet or in print of the book of the chiddushei harav efraim navon?
As of Tammuz 5772, I have encountered no evidence that such translation exists.
7
votes
2answers
165 views
The Split Between Sefardim and Ashkenazim
How did this split happen historically and halachically before Shulchan Aruch, and why is not like having two Torahs? Where is the source for the split?
4
votes
4answers
189 views
5
votes
3answers
158 views
May one use a Sephardic Torah in an Ashkenaz minyan?
May an Ashkenaz minyan use a sephardic torah (written in כתב וועליש) for their minyan or vise versa? Please cite a source
6
votes
0answers
117 views
Can an Ashkenazi write a Sephardi Torah?
If an Ashkenazi Sofer writes a Sefer Torah in the Sephardi or Yemenite tradition:
a) has he fulfilled his obligation of writing a Sefer Torah (thanks, Double AA!), and
b) since a Sefer Torah must be ...
2
votes
2answers
99 views
Birchas Hatorah and Sefardic women
In an earlier question I mentioned that women make Birchas Hatorah. Is the same true for Sefardic women and why?
7
votes
3answers
224 views
How does laughing confuse the Satan?
Sefardim have a practice (custom?) to laugh during habdalah. When I asked the reason for this practice I was told that it was "to confound the satan". I assume it has something to do with ...
8
votes
2answers
107 views
What are some traditional Iraqi Minhagim?
I'm a Sefaradi Jew of Iraqi descent, but my dad is not religious. I have looked in books like "A Treasury of Sefaradic Laws and Customs", but they tend to not have Iraqi specific Minhagim. I would ...
7
votes
2answers
167 views
bracha on tefillin while sitting
The shulchan aruch apparently writes (by hilchos tzitzis) that one should stand while reciting birchas hamitzvah. Tefillin are a mitzvah. So why is the Sfardic minhag to sit while putting them on and ...
9
votes
2answers
224 views
How does Hagbah work on a Sephardic Torah case?
How does one do Hagbah on a Torah in a Sephardic Torah case, such as one of these silver cases (picture courtesy of Hadad Brothers) :
See also the Ashkenazi version of this question.
3
votes
3answers
1k views
Why can Sephardic Jews Eat Rice on Passover?
Why can Sephardic Jews eat rice on Passover? Is this specified in the Torah somewhere?
2
votes
1answer
95 views
Is the Magen HaElef Sefaradi or Ashkenazi?
There is a Sefer written by someone named Yaakov Ben Yaakov Moshe called Magen HaElef. Is he Sefaradi or Ashekneazi?
5
votes
2answers
174 views
Tallit with Wool Atara
The only tallit I know of that has an all wool atara is the Beit Yosef Tallit, which is marketed for Sephardim. Is there a specific source for this or is it simply being machmir to wear an all-wool ...
4
votes
1answer
181 views
Ashkenazim and Kitniyot on Erev Pesach
The following hypothetical case was raised in class today:
An American (ashkenazic) Jew is visiting Israel. On Erev Pesach, he has a hankering for sushi (the word hankering was not used in class -- ...
