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Description

Demystifying Differences Between Sephardic And Ashkenazic Jews

As the rabbi of a Sephardic synagogue for over twenty years who is himself of Ashkenazic descent and trained in Ashkenazic yeshivot, Rabbi Haim Jachter has a unique vantage point from which to observe the differences in customs and halachot between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. In Bridging Traditions, Rabbi Jachter applies his wide-ranging expertise to explicating an encyclopedic array of divergences between Ashkenazic and Sephardic halachic practice, while also capturing the diversity within different Sephardic communities.

This fascinating work begins with an overview of opinions on lo titgodedu - the prohibition of forming factions in Judaism - and how that impacts the practices of an Ashkenazi praying in a Sephardic synagogue and vice versa. The book concludes with chapters on Yemenite and Moroccan halacha as well as overviews of the halachic approaches of some of the major Sephardic poskim of the last century: Rav Ovadia Yosef, Rav Shalom Messas, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul, and Rav Hayim David Halevy.

The intervening chapters discuss a plethora of issues which separate Ashkenazim and Sephardim, from the well-known to the obscure. In each chapter, Rabbi Jachter provides the sources and rationales behind the practice of each community, on questions ranging from the proper pronunciation of God's name and whether one should sit or stand during kaddish, to eating kitniyot on Pesach (and eating in the home of someone with a different practice than one's own), and the standards for reciting Sheva Berachot, to give but a few examples. Throughout, Rabbi Jachter explains the opinions of both earlier and contemporary poskim and demonstrates how halacha unfolds in often unexpected ways. Moreover, in developing the rationales for both sides of each issue, this book sheds much light on the dialectical back-and-forth of the halachic system as a whole.

Bridging Traditions is essential reading for Jews of all origins who are interested in understanding their own practices and appreciating those of their brethren, and in seeing the kaleidoscope of halachic observance as a multi-faceted expression of an inner divine unity.

Code:	9781592645749
Author:	Rabbi Haim Jachter
ISBN-10:	1592645747
ISBN-13:	9781592645749
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	540
Dimensions:	5.7" x 8.7"
Publisher:	Maggid
Date:	1/10/2022