Questions tagged [ashkenazi]
Literally "Germany". Questions about the Jews of all the area that was once medieval Germany, more generally of all Catholic and Protestant (and some Eastern Orthodox) lands, and their laws and customs.
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Why do Ashkenazim eat Milchigs (dairy) on Shavuos?
Why do Ashkenazim have a Minhag to eat Milchigs (dairy) on Shavuos?
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What's a good technique for a not-so-strong person to do [Ashkenazi] Hagbaha?
I've seen many people shy away when asked to do Hagbaha (הגבהה), thinking themselves too weak. I know for a fact that it doesn't take that much strength to do it correctly, so I'd love to see a ...
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Zeicher vs Zecher
Why do many Ashkenazic congregations repeat (at least a portion of) the last verse (Devarim 25:19) of Parashat Zachor twice, once saying "zeikher" and the other "zekher" (flipping the first vowel from ...
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What are some instances in which ashkenazim do NOT follow Rama?
What are some instances in which ashkenazim do not follow Rama? I can think of Kapparos off hand, but surely there are more...
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Talis over head
Why is it that most Ashkenazim that are not married do not put the Talis over their head?
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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
user1668
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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?
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Adopting minhagim not from your mesorah
Is it appropriate to adopt minhagim that have historically not been observed by your community?
Examples
Ashkenazim pointing to the sefer Torah, usually with the pinky,
during hagbah (after Krias ...
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What are the major regions relevant to Ashkenazi minhagim?
Motivating this question are the instructions in the ArtScroll Siddur for the two versions of kel erekh apayim, said on weekdays before taking out the sefer torah: one is identified as “נוסח אשכנז, ...
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How do different communities practice regarding women's saying a b'racha on s'firas haomer?
Mishna B'rura 489:3 says women do not say a b'racha on s'firas haomer; Aruch Hashulchan 489:4 says they do. What is the practice of various Ashk'nazi communities (for example, chassidic (various sects)...
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"Yaamod p'loni ben p'loni... chazak"?
The last ole (person called to the Torah) (besides the maftir) of Vaychi, P'kude, B'chukosay, and Mas'e is, in my experience, called using the formula "yaamod p'loni ben p'loni sh'vii chazak", with ...
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When and why did the black velvet yarmulke become the standard for some communities?
Ashkenazi yarmulkes from around 200 years ago closely resemble the Yerushalmi style - white knitted with a tassel on top. Today, the vast majority of Chasidim and Yeshivish Jews seem to wear black ...
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Yerushalmi Versus Bavli
What are the differences between the two Talmuds? or are there differences? Why did the two Talmuds develop separately or did they? Why do we Poskin like the Bavli or do we? Is it true that the ...
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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 ...
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Mezuza positioning: why top angled in not out?
Why does the angle a mezuza positioned on the doorpost at have its top towards the room, and the bottom away from the room?
I understand this may be an Ashkenazi custom, and that Sephardim position ...
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Why do Ashkenazim say a b'racha for each of the four cups?
Normally if you have wine and refill your glass during the meal you don't make a new borei p'ri hagafen. Why do we (at least Ashkenazim) say a new b'racha for each cup at the seder? I think I've ...
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what is the single letter difference between ashkenazi and sephardi torah scrolls
According to http://onthemainline.blogspot.co.uk/2005/12/textual-criticism-of-torah-response-to.html
The only letter difference between Ashkenazim and Sephardim is whether
a particular word ends ...
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Kitnios on Pesach
Why and when did the minhag start that allows Sephardim to eat Kitnios (Legumes)but not Ashkenazim?
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Why "hayom yom rishon", not "echad"?
Rabbi Menachem Greenblatt (St. Louis, Missouri) mentioned at s'uda sh'lishis (Shabas parashas "Ki Setze" 5772) that the correct name for Sunday is echad b(a?)shabas, as is written in k'suvos and ...
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Is the existence of Ashkenazi and Sephardi traditions a violation of "Lo Titgodedu"?
Devarim 14:1:
בָּנִים אַתֶּם לה' אֱלֹקיכֶם לֹא תִתְגֹּדְדוּ וְלֹא־תָשִׂימוּ קָרְחָה בֵּין עֵינֵיכֶם לָמֵת׃
You are children to Hashem your G-d. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make a bald ...
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Are there any minhag and customs specific to Czech Jews and have they been documented?
I'm a baal teshuva with Czech Jewish ancestry. I have an interest in the minhag of my ancestors as well as in common cultural practices, and perhaps pass them on where I can. Have they been documented ...
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Why the split between Sefardim and Ashkenzim?
Why is there a much bigger split between Sefardim and Ashkenzim and not, say, between Sefardim and people who lived in Bavel? The distance between Spain, and say, Israel should have been big enough to ...
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Sefer similar to Yalkut Yosef for Ashkenazim
Yalkut Yosef is a revolutionary work for the Sefardic world. He covers every aspect of practical Halacha as understood by his father Hacham Ovadia (who mostly follows the Shulchan Aruch) and applies ...
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What does the munach say?
I'm asking according to Ashkenazi leining. The trop mark i have trouble with is the munach. It has two different sounds - a sort of "shaky" sound when it's on its own, and a sort of nothing sound when ...
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Can I have kitniot in my house on Pesach if I cannot eat them?
The question boils down to:
Can I have kitniot in my house on Pesach if I cannot eat them (in the Ashkenazic tradition)?
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Seeking a German Siddur
I was wondering if there is a 'Minhag Ashkenaz' siddur presently in print. I have an older one at home, but it has sentimental value and as a university student, I would rather avoid using such a ...
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Why do the laws of kitniyot still apply today to Ashkenazi Jews on Passover?
How did the tradition start?
Why is it still around today?
What is the basis for this Halacha (הלכה)?
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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 -- ...
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Why is 'misod chachomim unevonim' sometimes said and sometimes omitted in the repetition of the Amidah?
In Askenazi communities, the piece beginning 'misod chachomim unevonim' is said at the repetition of the Amidah at Shacharis when there are piyuttim (except Purim) and on Musaf on Yomim Noraim as well ...
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Why is it "Beiz"?
I understand the Ashkenazi pronunciation of Hebrew is that the letter 'ת' with no דגש is an 's' sound.
So why do (many) Ashkenazim pronounce the name of the letter 'ב', which is normally spelled ב-י-...
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All these verses to say before havdala
Before saying the blessings relevant to havdala on motzei shabbos, we (Ashkenazim) include a bunch of p'sukim:
"הִנֵּה אֵל יְשׁוּעָתִי אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ יְהוָה וַיְהִי ...
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Is "קל ארך אפים" said if the Torah's not to be read from?
Tachanun is supplemented on Mondays and Thursdays by extended tachanunim starting "V'hu rachum". On those days, after tachanun is half-kadish (kadish l'ela, as some call it), a short paragraph that ...
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Is cholent required?
Is making cholent on Shabbos a minhag that is so universal that it has in effect become required for Ashkenazim?
Or, if I am correct that it is required (by at least some authorities) to have hot ...
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Why do older Anglo Ashkenaz texts transliterate ת as "th" and how was it pronounced?
Many older (19th and 20th century) Anglo Ashkenaz seforim translate ת (without a dagesh) as "th" - resulting in transliterations like "Sukkoth", "haftaroth", "mishnayoth" - when the general Ashkenazi ...
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Chalak or Glatt?
Which standard is considered more machmir: chalak (Beit Yosef) or glatt?
I have heard that when the Ashkenazim started emigrating in force to Israel, there was an issue of the Ashkenazim being meikel ...
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Problem with Likkutei Maharil
I was listening to a class by Rav Asher Weiss on asmachta and he brought three explanations for its purpose:
Ritvah - A derabannan that has a source in the torah
Tosafos and Rambam - Memorization
...
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May an Ashkenazi wear Yemenite Tzitzith?
Many Ashkenazim now wear Tzitzith with Techeleth tied in the tradition of the RaMBa"M. However, my understanding is that Ashkenazim minimally require a double-knot at the base of the tassle in order ...
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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 ...
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Under what circumstances can Ashkenazim rely on Sephardic poskim?
Is there any reason an Ashkenazi Jew should not hold by the psak of a Sephardi rov--or vice versa--for decisions relating to general matters (not ostensibly to do with particular minhagim)?
If so, ...
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Ashkanazim paskening like Rema
Was it always a straightforward presumption ("davar pashut") that in general the Ashkanazim should decide Halachic questions ("pasken") in accordance with the Rema over the Machaber/Beis Yosef (when ...
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Minimum Number of Days before Hefsek Tahara: Sephardi vs. Ashkenazi
Why do Sepharadi keep a minimum of four days and Ashkenazi keep a minimum of 5 days before hefsek tahara? What is the underlying reason behind this difference?
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Is there any basis for Chabad minhagim regarding tallit gadol?
I often daven at Chabad shuls and I have noticed that they have some particulars regarding tallit usage inconsistent with the rest of Ashkenazi Jewry, including:
not wearing when receiving an aliyah ...
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Can egg Matzo be used to make an Eruv Chatzeiros on Pesach?
Inspired by Matzah eruvin on erev Pesach
Can egg Matzo be used to make an Eruv Chatzeiros on Pesach? On Pesach, Ashkenazim do not eat egg Matzo; however, it is not Chometz. In certain instances it ...
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Why do most Ashkenazim read the Torah flatly on a table while many Sefardim read it standing vertically?
(In case you didn't know,) I am Ashkenazic. Most Ashkenazic congregations perform Torah reading by laying the Torah flatly on a table and reading the Torah as it is on the table.
Many Sefardic ...
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Teacher and tradition of R' Judah ben Meir HaKohen
Who was the teacher of R' Judah ben Meir HaKohen, and from which chain of tradition does he derive? I ask because I cannot find much information about him online, other than many references to his ...
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What is the significance of the different windings on tzitzit's?
The Ashkenazic form of windings are 7, 8, 11 and 13. What is the significance for these numbers?
The Sephardic form of windings are 10, 5, 6 and 5. What is the significance for these numbers?
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Why skip Yikum Purkan and Mi Sheberach on a weekday Yom Tov?
This is a question specific to Ashkenazim (Nusach Ashkenaz, Nusach Ari, and Nusach Sefard).
On Shabbat, after the Torah Reading and before Mussaf, 3 prayers, (2 Yikkum Purkans and a Mi Sheberach) are ...
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Selichos start: Ashkinazim vs. Sefardim
Why do Sefardim start saying Sleichos earlier than Ashkinazim?
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Can Sefardim eat meat in the homes of Ashkenazim?
In light of the details found in answers to this question, which suggest that neither Chassidish nor glatt nor non-glatt Ashkenazi meat is halachically acceptable for Sefardim, would there be any ...
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Birkat Kohanim in entirely Israeli minyan in chutz laaretz
According to the book Hilchot Tzava by Harav Zecharya Ben Shlomo a minyan of entirely Israeli soldiers in chutz laaretz should have the kohanim go up and duchan. What is the halachic rationale for ...
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