Hi All,
A few non-Jews have asked me about the difference between Sephardi Judaism and Aszkenazi Judaism. By way of response, I want to share this excellent lecture at the University of Maryland, by Rabbi Joshua Maroof; an American Sephardi Rabbi. He pretty much sums up my feelings on Judaism. I would highly recommend that people spend the full hour listening to this lecture, which gives a good intro into Sephardi Judaism .
The key points are :
- Sephardi Judaism is 'universal' & 'big picture' in its ethos, in so much as we are immersed in secular as well as religious studies, including science, poetry, literature and philosophy, to the extent that our historical Rabbis are well known outside of the Jewish world, pace the example that historically both Chrisitan and Arab scholars are familiar with and quote Moses Maimonides among others.
- Sephardi Judaism is 'Bible based', in so much as the root of our outlook is more Hebrew Bible than Talmud.
- We therefore see the law as a means to an end, not an end in itself
- We are often seen as being more 'liberal' or 'reform' by Aszkenazi Orthodox, because studying the Hebrew Bible , rather than the Talmud. is the emphasis of Aszkenazi Reform and because we seek to be conservative in not adding more and more to Jewish law, without a good reason
- This emphasis on the Hebrew Bible is reflected in our more 'lively' and 'joyful' liturgy
- We are not rigid in our world view
- We seek to make Jewish law easier to understand and this is why so many famous Sephardi Rabbis provided 'codifications' of Jewish law.
Contemporary issues (toward the end) :
- Conversion- Sephardi see this as a willingness to join the Jewish nation, rather than being a set of dogmas that one must instantly follow or have your conversion revoked . There is an interesting discussion toward the end about this in Israel (he compares what Haredi are doing now as being like a Catholic conversion! Hi Happy Jack!).
- Women's issues-
- The Rabbi argues if it were not for Sephardi Rabbis, women in Israel would NOT have the right to vote & be in positions of leadership (ironic because we are small 'c' conservatives and traditional)
- Women singing in front of men, which caused issues in Israel. Sephardi note that in the Hebrew Bible women sung for King David and the interpretation of women singing in front of men is against 'sexual' songs (the Rabbi mentions Britney Spears as an example!)
- Sephardi have no problem in principle of women being Posek or Rabbis
Brilliant conclusions of Judaism toward the last 12- 15 minutes.
Shabbat Shalom!
