On Monday, our class went to the Israel Museum to learn about the life of the Jews during The Middle Ages and how they differed, depending on Sefarad or Ashkenaz location and who was in power. The Sefarad is the Hebrew word for Spain and is the location in which most of Sephardi Jewish traditions were born. The Ashkenaz was actually not Eastern Europe, even though many eastern European Jews are Ashkenazi, but it was originally located in Franco-Germany in the Rhineland.
First, we started off learning about Jewish life cycle events throughout the Middle Ages. A majority of the artifacts on display came from the Ashkenaz in Germany. Pictured above is a bench used for circumcision. One seat is for the person holding the baby boy, generally the god father, and the other is for the Prophet Elijah. This bench was one of many other life cycle artifacts. Most of them were Ashkenaz and had a distinct style based on the location or region from which the artifact came. There were also German wimpels, Torah wraps that were the swaddling cloth of the child who was becoming a Bar Mitzvah and nowadays Bat Mitzvahs also. It shows how this is still relevant today through my family. We are Ashkenazi Jews and my Grandma and I made the wimpel used to wrap the Torah during my Bat Mitzvah. There were also Jewish burial shrouds and Chuppah stones, both from Germany, and both artifacts have evolved into traditions we still practice today.
Next, our class went to the hall of Illuminated Manuscripts where we looked at many different Haggadot from Sefarad and Ashkenaz. They each illustrated the story of Pesach, but each had its own individual style, illustrations, and symbolism used to further differentiate the cultures these texts came from. There were other old writings contained in the hall that continued to show a glance at Jewish works and writings from the Middle Ages and the regions they came from.
Then, we went "Shul Hopping" to different preserved and recreated synagogues from the Middle Ages from all around the world. We went in the restored version of the Kadavumbagam Synagogue that came all the way from India. This synagogue was created during The Middle Ages and survived all this time. It has cultural influences from all around the Jewish world. Similarly, we saw synagogues from Italy, Germany, and Suriname in South America, each reflecting a different culture that was contained Jewish cultural influence and influence based around that of the surrounding areas.
Then, we looked at many more artifacts from Sefarad and Ashkenaz Jews from The Middle Ages. We saw images and videos of Israeli Jews getting out of their cars on the highway at the sound of the sirens commemorating HaShoah and their mourning. We also saw many Hanukkiyot from all over Afro-Eurasia, ranging from Morocco and Algeria, to France and Italy, to Moravia and Bohemia, and even all the way to India and Russia. Again the different cultural influences were seen in the Hanukkiyot, depending on where they were created.
We also saw Wedding attire and headdresses for Jews from many parts of Central and Eastern Asia, the oriental Mizrahi Jews. They wore extravagant jewelry and beautiful clothes for both men and women, during their special festivals and events.
Overall, I wish to leave you with these questions:
1) How do you see either Sephardic or Ashkenazic culture from the Middle Ages still in practice today?
2) Which cultures do you think have the strongest influences, specifically in our Western Reform Judaism?
Ashkenazi families might still speak Yiddish. The way we celebrate Pesach is different, Sephardic Jews may eat rice and beans while the Ashkenazi try to avoid it. Sephardic Jews also have always found themselves more assimilated into their local cultures and that practice (apparently) is still in play today. I'd say that Ashkenazi influence is more felt in the west. Maybe I'm biased, but you also have to consider the fact that most Jews are Askenazi.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ashkenazi Judaism is more influential now because a lot of American Jews especially come from Europe. The bimah is usually not in the center, I think, and the ark is often by the bimah. Most of us used to not eat rice or beans on Pesach until the idea that we could became popular recently. My family still doesn't. The special bris bench is still used. I don't remember which group of Jews that came from, though.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, most Jews are descendants of either Sephardic or Ashkenazi cultures. Some Jews still speak Yiddish which is jeepting the cultures alive. I think Askenazi culture has had the biggest influence because majority of Jews have immigrtaed from Europe. Today, a lot of the culture is still being preserved. For example the lifecycle bench used for brisks is used to this day. Many of the modern Jewish traditions have branched off from Askenzai Judaism.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that either of these types of Judaism still portray their beliefs and culture as strongly as they did back in the Middle Ages, but Ashkenazi has definitely had more of an influence on modern Reform Western Judaism.
ReplyDeleteIn modern times one commonality I see is a wooden Torah ark. For some reason, this stuck out to me, as advancing times could do wonders for the resting place of a holy scroll, yet we continue to use this material since far before the Middle Ages. I think that our modern American Jewish culture is heavily influenced by European Jews, mainly Polish, English, or German. This can be seen in our highly reform, less openly Jewish services. If I were to guess, some if this may have come from reform ideals, but some may have also come from the inability to publicly practice Judaism, thus the need to hide it from others with non-stereotypical clothing and a deletion of difficult required rituals that may show others we are Jewish. This would also lead our community to become more outspoken too, as we are free to be Jewish here. Here, we have Jewish communities, activities, and camps, something that could not be done in Europe. This shows how we maintained some secretive aspects of European Judaism while also applying some publicity and action to relish in our newfound freedom.
ReplyDeleteI see Ashkenazic influences mostly today. My temple was founded by Germans in the 1800s so we follow traditional Ashkenazic practices. In Western culture, due to immigration, Ashkenazic practices dominate Judaism. For example, A lot of families are still familiar with Yiddish. Likewise, similar to shetls a lot of people still tend to congregate into Jewish neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ashkenazic Judaism has a bigger influence on our Western Reform communities today that Sephardic because the majority of Jews in the US are descendants from Germany or Eastern European Jews. At my synagogue the bimah is in the front and the torah is incased in a cloth cover rather than a metal cylinder which I believe is Sephardic tradition.
ReplyDeleteLike most people I see Ashkenazic influences the most in today's western Judaism. Most of our traditions have come from older Ashkenazic traditions, and the way we pray is more like them. Also, the way that most temples and synagogues are set up is like an Ashkenazi synagogue and not like a Sephardi one.
ReplyDelete