[Avodah] Ashkenazim and Sephardim

[Michael Makovi]

>From: "Michael Elzufon" <Michael at arnon.co.il>
>Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:18:41 +0200

>What is the source for the claim that Ashkenazi practice came from Eretz
>Israel and Sephardi practice came from Bavel? My impression has always
>been the opposite.

I read somewhere (I forget where) that the Sepharadim got their practice
from the Geonim - just look at the Rif and the Rambam. Whereas the
Ashkenazim got their practice from Israel through Italy. Where did you see
this claim? Because I forgot where I saw it (but it's a nice thing to say to
Sepharadim in Israel when they claim to be minhag Eretz Yisrael :)

Of course, if this were the case, the Ashkenazim would follow the Talmud
Yerushalmi, I would think. So there must be more to it. But I don't know any
more.

I just took a look at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazim#Background_in_the_Roman_Empire. Very
interesting. B'kitzur, it says that the Jews of Israel and the Mediterranean
lasted a few centuries, and it is possible the Germanic invasion of Western
Europe in the 5th century opened that area up to Jews. So this confirms what
I say above. But the question that remains is, why don't Ashkenazim follow
the Yerushalmi?

A possible answer: The next section of the article states, "The vast
majority of Jews in the world now lived in Islamic lands", and the very top
of the article says that Ashkenazi Jews in the 11th century were only 3% of
world Jewry. If so, it is possible that the overwhelming majority Sephardi
culture simply wiped out much of the Ashkenazi practices. Especially any
Sepharadi merchants or rabbis who went to Europe, likely would have
impressed the riches of Gaonic-Sephardi learning. This could have occurred
at a very early date, maybe even in the 5th through 7th or 8th centuries
(I'm using numbers loosely), leaving plenty of time for divergence between
Ashkenazim and Sephardim by the time of Rambam and Rashi/Tosafot. This would
especially explain how Ashkenazim had their own minhagim and derech limud of
Gemara but weren't so different as to follow the Yerushalmi or follow the
Bavli but not the Gaonim, for example. But I'm just conjecturing.
Mikha'el Makovi
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20071228/d55a51bb/attachment-0001.htm>