[Avodah] AishDas and Mussar

[Michael Kopinsky]

On 3/24/07, Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer <ygbechhofer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>  Not anymore... Although we do discuss these extinct derachim and their
> utility as supplements to the major derachim. Where have you recently met
> active Yeskkishe and Sephardic communities of Avodah that are distinct from
> the "Forks" divisions?
>

Sfardim in EY, at least from my experience, are very different in this
regard.  Just read their mussar (my source is Rav Mordechai Eliyahu's weekly
parsha sheet, compiled by someone else from his weekly radio show). Their
mussar seems to echo much more closely the mussar of the Rishonim, such as
Rabbeinu Yonah and the Ran in Drashos.  It does not have depth of experience
of the chassidim nor the depth of introspection of the Mussarniks, but is
much more to the point, and thus more harsh.  Rabbi Prof Haym Soloveitchik
(in Rupture and Reconstruction) claims that Sfardi mussar has much more of
the fire and brimstone stuff.  While RME doesn't have that, it is much more
direct than what we're accustomed to.

Granted, I think that many of them could gain a lot from exposure to other
derachim, but they do have a different derech in mussar, and it's important
to realize this.

Also, what I have seen is in EY, where isolate sfardi communities still
somewhat exist, unlike in the melting pot USA.  It is likely that RYGB's
talmidim, even if sfardi or yekish, will be practicing the American Judaism
descended from chassidus/litvish as described in RYGB's essay, and only
really maintaining "token" minhagim symbolizing their sfardi ancestry.
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