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I read where Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews are basically melded together now.
What is this based on?
I can say that Israeli Hebrew accent/pronunciation is definitely more Sephardic than Ashkenazi.
As for Sephardic vs. Mizrahi the main difference is where these Jews come from nowadays. Would it be wrong to assume that the Mizrahi Jews were formed as a result of the expulsion of the Sephardic Jews from Spain (1492)?
I can say that Israeli Hebrew accent/pronunciation is definitely more Sephardic than Ashkenazi.
As for Sephardic vs. Mizrahi the main difference is where these Jews come from nowadays. Would it be wrong to assume that the Mizrahi Jews were formed as a result of the expulsion of the Sephardic Jews from Spain (1492)?
I think a lot of people are confused regarding the distinction between Sephardic and Mizrahi. Didn't the Mizrahim (Middle Eastern Jews) start to identify themselves as such after the founding of the modern nation of Israel? I'm not sure about that, but I figure you would know, Chava.
There has just about always been a Sephardic community in New York, going back in NYC's history when Jews immigrated here originally from Spain and Portugal via Brazil.
In addition to New York City and Long Island, there are also large congregations in Miami Beach (supporting Cuban Jewish refugees), Indianapolis, Seattle, Portland, and Atlanta. Those other cities support Jewish immigrants from Greece and Turkey.
Would it be wrong to assume that the Mizrahi Jews were formed
as a result of the expulsion of the Sephardic Jews from Spain (1492)?
Not wrong but vague. They were all cousins to the East European Ashkenazi.
Their common expulsion in the 11th C wasn't all that long beforehand.
The Mizrahi (as I was taught) more closely identified with their Sephardic heritage...
and the several Mediterranean port city culture influences (foods especially) which they absorbed over the centuries.
I think a lot of people are confused regarding the distinction between Sephardic and Mizrahi. Didn't the Mizrahim (Middle Eastern Jews) start to identify themselves as such after the founding of the modern nation of Israel? I'm not sure about that, but I figure you would know, Chava.
Whether or not this terminology is anachronistic, I thought that Mizrahim remained in the Levant, and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, after the destruction of the Second Temple, and spoke dialects of Judeo-Arabic. Sephardim, on the other hand, lived in the Iberian peninsula and spoke Ladino between this time period and the Inquisition, after which they mostly (but by no means exclusively) sought refuge in MENA nations. I thought that for the most part, the Sephardim living in these lands retained their distinctive traditions and communities, just like Ashkenazim and Sephardim living in post-Enlightenment Holland and England.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachel NewYork
In addition to New York City and Long Island, there are also large congregations in Miami Beach (supporting Cuban Jewish refugees), Indianapolis, Seattle, Portland, and Atlanta. Those other cities support Jewish immigrants from Greece and Turkey.
I find it especially intriguing when Sephardim remained socially prominent in smaller American Jewish communities like Indianapolis.
Who were the founding Jewish families of those synagogues?
"During 1911-1913 the families of Aroseli, Calderon, Camhi, Eskalyo, Nahmias, Toledo, and Yosha came from Monastir. [A city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia, known today as Bitola, and during the Ottoman Empire as Monastir.] These families, along with the Toledanos, Meshulams, and Cohens formed the Sephardic community in Indianapolis. Other families arriving later from both Monastir and Salonika [Greece] were Alboher, Baruch, Cassorla, Elias, Eskenazi, Farash, Hazen, Mordoh, Nefouse, Pardo, Passo, Profeta, Russo, and Sarfaty."
Whether or not this terminology is anachronistic, I thought that Mizrahim remained in the Levant, and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, after the destruction of the Second Temple, and spoke dialects of Judeo-Arabic.
Perhaps that is correct. But after the expulsion from Spain in 1492 some of the Sephardic Jews went to North Africa (which would mean some of them might be including in the Mizrahi group).
As far as I know nowadays Mizrahi Jews mean Jews that came from Middle East & North Africa. (particularly from Arab speaking countries).
Perhaps that is correct. But after the expulsion from Spain in 1492 some of the Sephardic Jews went to North Africa (which would mean some of them might be including in the Mizrahi group).
I’m sure there was some intermixing (just as there was among Ashkenazim and Sephardim in the aforementioned England and Holland), but I’m pretty certain that the Sephardim retained their distinct customs and communities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava61
As far as I know nowadays Mizrahi Jews mean Jews that came from Middle East & North Africa. (particularly from Arab speaking countries).
That may be true in common parlance, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the divisions between MENA Sephardim, and the MENA Jewish communities which preceded them, have largely gone away in Israel.
That may be true in common parlance, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the divisions between MENA Sephardim, and the MENA Jewish communities which preceded them, have largely gone away in Israel.
In Israel there are still some different traditions between Sephardic & Ashkenazi Jews. Nowadays I doubt there are any major differences between Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews except individual traditions that might be linked directly to individual countries that various Jewish families immigrated from to Israel.
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