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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Germanic populations in Talmudic and other rabbinic texts?
In the 11th century, Hai Gaon and Rashi refer to the country and language of “Ashkenaz” (referring to the area around the Rhineland, northern France and Germany). By the 12th and 13th centuries, ...
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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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Why do Ashkenazim eat Milchigs (dairy) on Shavuos?
Why do Ashkenazim have a Minhag to eat Milchigs (dairy) on Shavuos?
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Which Chasidic group departed the least from Ashkenazi minhag and nusach?
Chasidic groups vary in terms of their siddur's differences from nusach Ashkenaz, as well as their general minhagim and hashkafic approaches.
Is there a Chasidic group which most closely matches the ...
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Why do we do hosha'nos and hakafos counterclockwise?
I have attended services in a number of different Ashkenazic synagogues on Sukos and Sh'mini Atzeres/Simchas Tora. When going around the bima for hosha'nos on Sukos, and, in most cases, when doing so ...
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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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Mesorah exchange between communities
Based on this thread
What exactly prevents Ashkenazim from accepting Mesorah from other communities on things that we have not done in our own community?
For example, what is it about the Mesorah of ...
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Why omit "Av harachamim" for the four parashiyos?
"Av harachamim" is a prayer asking God to recall those who died al kidush hashem. It was written in response to the First Crusade (and is thus said only in the Ashk'nazi rite). Because of its somber ...
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Soft Matzah for Ashkenazim
The Rama in 460:4 writes that one should make thin matzos and the Mishna Brurah 16 writes it should be thin. Rav Nebontzol (in his notes on the Mishna Brurah) points out the Be'er Heitiv 8 which ...
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How was the Volozhin Yeshiva special?
The Volozhin Yeshiva is known as the "first yeshiva".
What was the system of Torah learning in Europe before Volozhin and in what way did Volozhin change the system?
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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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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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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 two ...
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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 ...
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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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Why don't some people say Vihi Noam Motzei Shabbos of Shabbos Hagadol 5772?
Regarding saying Vihi Noam on Motzei Shabbos Shabbos Hagadol which falls out a week before Pesach (The first night of Pesach is on Friday Night) Luach Kollel Chabad writes:
On Saturday night, we ...
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Shabbat clothing on shabbat chazon
The rema writes in סימן תקנ"א that on shabbat chazon one does not wear shabbat clothing and instead one wears weekday clothing.
אפי' בשבת של חזון אין מחליפין ללבוש בגדי שבת כי אם הכתונת לבד (מרדכי ...
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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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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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Did the Rosh (Rabbeinu Asher) describe the culture clash moving from medieval Germany to Spain? [closed]
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 ...
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Standing for Kaddish at a shul with a different nusach
It has already been established that Ashkenazim generally stand for Kaddish, while Sephardim sit unless they were already standing. (That said, I have observed Sephardim who davka sit for Kaddish.)
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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 ...
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Any good sources for Ashkenazi prayer modes and melodies for the whole year?
Anyone know of any good sources for Ashkenazi prayer modes and melodies for the whole year? I'm looking for traditional Ashkenazi nusach, but perhaps not embellished like concert chazzanut. A good ...
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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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Reading the megillah without the taamim (cantillation)
The Kesser Shem Tov 2:pg.536 writes that the minhag of London and Amsterdam is to read the Megillah without the taamim (cantillation). This minhag is also found in Alger and Ashkanaz. The reason that ...
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What is the approximate date of the demarcation between Ashkenazim and Sephardim?
Based on this article it would seem that the transition from a unified people into two groups, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, began in the 9th century and proceeded over time. I would like to know if there ...
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What's the earliest source/discussion on green beans being "kitniyot" (prohibited legumes) on Passover?
My understanding is that most Ashkenazic communities today don't eat green beans on Passover, treating them as kitniyot (a bunch of legumes for which the custom arose to avoid on Passover). What's the ...
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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
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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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wording of the invitation to birkas hamazon
I know some Ashk'nazim say rabosay n'varech, some rabosay mir velen bentschen, and some hertzi rabosay mir velen bentschen. (Any other forms?) Is there any particular reason given for one or another?
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Is there a custom to color eggs on Lag Baomer?
I heard from an old Lithuanian/Polish Jew (frum from Lithuania/Poland). He says that he had a custom to eat colored eggs in his shtetl, and everyone did it.
Is this custom documented anywhere, and ...
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Basis for not doing a full sof-aliya trop on Hashem's name
The Ashkenazi leining for the end of an aliya generally has a drop of 4 tones. In my preferred key, that's from D to A (hit y then e on this virtual piano). However, some baalei kriah in my shul do ...
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Changing minhag about tallit gadol
I first became involved with a non-orthodox congregation where it was customary for everyone over Bar Mitzvah age to wear a tallit gadol. However, I understand that it is an Ashkenazi minhag not to ...
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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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Why are Ashkenazi haftarahs longer than that of Sephardim?
A look at Wikipedia confirms my suspicion that when Ashkenazim and Sephardim read the same haftarah, the Ashkenazim generally start earlier and/or finish later than that of Sephardim. Is there a ...
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Sefer Torah enclosures
The Torah scrolls of Ashkenazim have a very different look than those of Sepharadim. Ashkenazim just roll the parchment onto two poles, and read it in a horizontal position; the Sepharadim install the ...
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Theological Justification for Discrimination against Sephardim?
There have been numerous cases of Ashkenazi Haredi schools in Israel discriminating against Sephardim. I am personally very disturbed by what I consider to be a great chillul Hashem, and I find such ...
user5540
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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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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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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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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?
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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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Why do yekkes say Shir Mizmor Le'Osof each morning?
There is a very old Minhag Ashkenaz (i.e. practiced by yekkes) that every day after Shacharis (or Musaf) one says Psalm 83 (Shir Mizmor LeOsof).
I have done this for a long time, however I am yet to ...
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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 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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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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In what relative positions are multiple Sifrei Torah placed on the bimah?
When two Sifrei Torah (when the second sefer is needed for a special maftir) are placed on the bimah just before hagbah for the first Torah, should the first sefer read from be on the left or the ...
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