The Difference Between The Sephardic Nosach (rite) and the so-called "Nusach Sefard"

Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698-1760) known as the "Baal Shem Tov" founded the Chassidic movement in Eastern Europe and began spreading his teachings in circa 1734 . One of the results of this movement was the practical application of Kabalistic concepts and ideas into daily Jewish ritual. If until then most Eastern European Jews followed the (generally non-Kabbalistic) customs and traditions that they inherited from their Western European forbears (known as Minhag Ashkenaz), Chassidut now felt that Kabbalah should be dominant. One of the results of this was the complete change of Nusach (prayer liturgy) from the Ashkenazic tradition to the Sephardic one. The reason for this change was because the Chassidim felt that the Sephardic liturgy was more Kabbalistically oriented and therefore superior. This radical change was accompanied by much controversy and was one of the leading complaints against them by their opponents (known as the Mitnagdim).

To be sure, the Chassidim did not adopt the Sephardic nusach in its entirety, but rather modified the existing Ashkenazic nusach and incorporated within it many Lurianic formulae. The master Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria known as the ARI, was himself part Sephardic and part Ashkenazic, however he was raised and studied in a purely Sephardic milieu. In essence, it can be claimed that the preeminent figure in the Chassidic movement is not the Baal Shem Tov, but in fact it is Rabbi Isaac Luria.

To confuse matters even more, different versions of this new hybrid called "Nusach Sefard" abounded. Various Chassidic groups have different versions of it. The founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (pictured third from top) was the first to publish a new prayer book "according to the rite of the Arizal", known as "Nusach Ari". However, as mentioned, his version was not accepted by all Chassidim as in fact being that of the Arizal.

In some parts of Eastern Europe, Orthodox Jews sometimes used the term 'sephardic' to distinguish themselves from their less traditional coreligionists. In Hungary, the election of a moderate religious Zionist, Rabbi Moses Glasner to the post of Chief Rabbi of Cluj, Transylvania (better known as Klausenberg) in 1878 precipitated the establishment of a newly formed “Sephardic” community in that city. The group consisted of about one hundred Chassidic families who decided that they could no longer remain subject to the authority of a Zionist Rabbi. The term “Sephardic community” was a sort of legal fiction designed to gain the recognition of the secular authorities that would recognize only one Orthodox community within a given town or district. The only “Sephardic” aspect of the community was that they recited prayers in “nusach sefard.” [1]

There were also many Ashkenazic Jews in Eastern Europe who adopted the Sephardic pronunciation of Hebrew because they felt it was the correct one, but we'll leave that for a different post.

A CHASSID OR A SEPHARDI?

The portrait (second from top) of Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Falk (1710-1782), (I mentioned this enigmatic figure before in a previous post) known as the "Baal Shem of London" is often confused with that of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov and founder of the Chassidic movement.

An indication of the confusion that the misuse of the term “Sephardic” often engenders can be seen from the following example.

Former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, Rabbi Dr. Herman Adler in his fascinating biographical sketch [2] of Rabbi Falk writes that Falk referred to himself in his personal book as “the son of Raphael the Sefardi”. However Adler is quick to point out that the term “Sephardi” in this case does not necessarily denote Iberian origins but rather refers to the (then) newly emerging sect of Chassidim who were often called “Sephardim” or “Anshei Sfard” because they prayed in a modified Sephardic rite. In a later republishing of the same article, Adler provides more clues as to the origins of Falk. This time no mention of his possible Chassidic connection is made. Adler merely wonders, “It is unclear why and how he (Raphael the Sephardi) received this appellation (Sephardi). Had he immigrated from Spain or Portugal?” and adds that “Falk's Sephardic pronunciation of Hebrew may have been due to his parentage”. Additional evidence seems to bear this out. In the comment on that passage, Adler writes that Falk gives his name in his commonplace book as חיים שמואל יעקב דפאלק מרדיולה לנידו (Chaim Shmuel Yaakov d’falk Mardiola Laniado) and wonders whether he might possibly be related to the Laniados, a Sephardic family that settled in Italy and the Middle East. The answer seems to be in the affirmative.

Falk's personal assistant, a Polish Jew by the name of Zvi Hirsch of Kalisch (not to be confused with this man. Paranthetically, Kalisch's descendants later anglicized their name to Collins and became part of the upper crust of British society) kept a personal journal where he described his masters daily activities magical experiments. The journal is an intimate window into Falk's life, it describes Falk's frequent quarrels with his wife. One entry records an incident where he threw a dish of food at her head, saying it was cooked so badly that any Sephardi who tasted it would laugh outright....[3].

Falk’s Sephardic ancestry is also briefly mentioned in the recently published Mibaal Shed L’baal Shem (translation mine): “it seems that his father Rabbi Joshua Refael the Sephardi was a descendant of Marranos who arrived in Poland in the 16th century and retuned openly to Judaism. Additional information on Falk’s family is unknown”. [4]

So it can be stated with assurance that the portrait which is purportedly that of the Baal Shem Tov is in fact not the Baal Shem Tov at all, but rather a Polish Kabbalist of Sephardic origin.

Another possible indication of how the conflation of the terms "sephardim" and "nusach sefard" can lead to assumptions and erroneous information can be seen from the case of the Bitterman family of Hrubieszow, Poland. The Bittermans had an oral tradition of Sephardic descent, however recent genetic testing has shown that the family falls within a large group of Ashkenazic families who have no tradition of Sephardic ancestry. The administrator of the Bitterman family website therefore concludes that “It is quite possible that Biterman ancestors were not Sephardim but rather part of a Nusach Sefard congregation, in the region where Hassidism developed” see here

I have recently been informed (by a member of this fmaily) that recent genetic testing has actually provided a clue that does in fact indicate a possible Sephardic origin for this family.

AUTHENTIC SEPHARDIC CONGREGATIONS IN EASTERN EUROPE

(The following is a brief synopsis of a subject that is dealt with in much more detail in my upcoming paper).

However, there were authentic Sephardic congregations in Eastern Europe. Dr. Moshe Montalto, a Sephardic Physician who settled in Poland in the 17th century built a Synagogue in Lublin where the congregants prayed in the Sephardic (Spanish-Portuguese) rite. In Zamocz too, a Synagogue (pictured first from top) was established by Sephardic Jews who settled there in the 16th century and was still called the "Sephardic Synagogue" up until World War II, long after the descendants of the original Sephardic founder assimilated into the Ashkenazi community or moved out.

In Krakow, the historic capital of Poland, a community of Sephardic Jews, who arrived in Poland via Italy, maintained a separate existence until the middle of the 17th century. They kept their own traditions, including praying in the Sephardic rite and only marrying among themselves.

In Lithuania too, authentic Sephardic congregations existed. Shlomo Katzav in his booklet Hasefardim be'eretz Lita lists Sephardic congregations in places like Otian, Biraz, Dolhinov, Heidozishok, Vilkomir and Kopishok. Katzav lists several congregations with the name "Alsheikh" (in Horodna and Shavel, which probably indicate eastern origins). There are also two "Alfas" (indicating origins in Fez, Morocco) congregations, one in Tabarig and one in Lida.

Arthur Menton in The Book of Destiny: Toledot Charlap mentions one Lithuanian town whose Jewish community seems to have been founded by Sephardic emigres, namely Vilkaviskis (Vilkovishk). The community kept accurate records and as recently as 1920, a massive tome containing information about 400 years of Jewish life in Vilkaviskis was cited by several researchers. The book was unofrtunately lost or destroyed in the decades after World War I.

The book indicated that a Jewish settlement existed here at the beginning of the 16th century...Princess Bora Sforges made a gift of lumber to the community to build prayer houses and the copper domed synagogue known to its last days as "the old shul". Its ark... housed the profusely embellished Sefer Torahs which originated in Spain.

Menton's book also recounts the fascinating story of the Charlap/Don-Yahya family; a Sephardic family that settled in Eastern Europe.

In Budapest, Hungary there once existed both a Sephardic and Mizrachi synagogue (the former composed of Spanish and Portuguese Jewish refugees and the latter composed of Syrian Jews who settled in the city). As their numbers decreased, gradually their seperate minyan folded up everywhere and those who remained joined the Ashkenazi minyan (a process that was repeated all across Eastern Europe). [5]

NOTES:

[1]. For the background and more information about the reasons behind the secession see http://www.dorrevii.org/. I am indebted to David Glasner (a descendant of Rabbi Moses Glasner) for this inormation.

[2]. The article is available in its entirety online here

[3]. see Roth, Cecil. Essays and Portraits in Anglo-Jewish History, p. 146

[4]. See Oron, Michal. Mibaal Shed l’baal Shem (Hebrew). Mossad Bialik, (Tel Aviv, 2002). p. 29.

I was surprised to find descendants of Rabbi Falk in present day England, searching for their roots on this website. Unfortunately, until the present moment, I was unsuccessful in initiating contact with them.

[5]. See Jewish Budapest; Monument, Rites History

Other parts of Hungary and Transylvania (not to mention Romania) also had Sephardi and Mizrachi populations. In Bekeczaba, Hungary, many Jews had a tradition they were descended from Mizrachi Jews who came from the region of Armenia. Recent genetic testing has vindicated this claim. More about this in a future post.

Rabbis teaching Kabbalah to non-Jews: not a new phenomenon

Madonna embraces Kabbalah, Hollywood celebrities flock to the Kabbalah center

Think this is something completely new? not exactly.

In Transaction By Jewish Historical Society of England, Rabbi Dr. Herman Adler, Chief Rabbi of the British Empire has a very interesting article about the enigmatic figure of Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Falk, known as the 'Baal Shem of London'[1]. The paper seeks to dispel the hagiography which seems to have surrounded Falk -at least in England where he was apparently held in high esteem. R' Adler writes:

R' David Azulai (Chida) in his small book Maagal Tov (p.13) mentions that when in Paris in 1778, he met the Marquis de Toma and the Marchesa de Croua (in in his previously published unedited article Adler gives the name as de Crona-H), who had saved many Jews from falling into the clutches of the Inquisition. This high-born dame intimated to Rabbi Azulai that the Baal Shem of London had taught her practical Kabballah-a circumstance which greatly roused the ire of the worthy Rabbi[2].

Later R' Adler excerpts the relevant passage from Chida's travelogue מעגל טוב:

On Thursday, the Marquis de Toma came with the Marchesa de Croua. She sat with me and asked that I might pray for her. She afterwards said that she studied the scriptures, and that she had visions of angels and demons who spoke to her. She gave a louis as a charitable gift for Hebron, and mentioned the Baal Shem of London. She said that the Jew gave her a book on Kabbalah, and she told some other remarkable things. I answered her accordingly. Afterwards she said that she was a very highly placed princess, that she had saved many Jews from the Inquisition, that she was the daughter of a Marquis and other exaggerations. How much mischief did this so called Baal Shem work, who in his conceit and arrogance revealed practical kabbalah and conjuration to many prices and princesses to aggrandize himself! Many asked me about him [3].

Intrigued, I did a google search (what else..) on the aforementioned Madame de Crona (or Croua), which sadly turned up no results. But it's safe to assume that she was the equivalent of a modern day celebrity, a Parisian socialite, probably of royal blood.



Some wonder why it is that so many celebrities (Madonna being the most notorious among them) "get into" Kabbalah.

To me it seems quite simple. Eastern mysticism has always held an allure to westerners. It used to be Hinduism, Buddhism etc. now its Kabbalah.

It's interesting to note that in ancient Rome many of the aristocrats were likewise drawn to exotic eastern religions (with Judaism considered to be one of the most prominent) and many of the Roman nobility and upper class; the celebrities of Rome, practiced these faiths and followed its ritual either overtly or covertly. This later made it easier for Paul (or Shaul of Tarshish who some claim was a disciple of Rabban Gamaliel) to peddle his creed to the Greeks and the Romans, as they were already accustomed to many Judeo ideas and beliefs.

Notes:
[1]. It is interesting to note that the once widely circulated image of the Baal Shem Tov-the founder of the Chassidic movement-in in fact a portrait of Falk.
[2]. On the issue of the prohibition against teaching gentiles Torah (אין מוסרין דברי תורה לעכו"ם see tractate Chagiga 13a), there were of course many cases of Rabbis who did teach gentiles (Eliyahu Bachur, Da Modena to name a few). However that was often defended by asserting that the issur only applies if it is done out of religious conviction but not if the motivation is purely 'love of knowledge'. Interestingly, Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg writes that the term מוסרין (transmitting) used by the Talmud (ibid) indicates that the prohibition is only against transmitting סתרי תורה literally 'the mysteries of the Torah' (see שרידי אש ח"ב נה-נו) which would make this whole phenomenon doubly problematic.


[3]. Ironically, we may also discern from the writings of the master Lurianist Rabbi Hayyim Vital, a desire (probably never translated into action) to transmit such mystical secrets to Christians, particularly those in positions of great power. In one of his (Vital's) dreams committed to writing, he reported that he arrived in Rome only to be arrested by the officials of the "Roman Caesar". He is then brought to the "Caeser", and the latter orders the hall cleared. "We were left by ourselves. I said to him: 'on what grounds do you want to kill me? all of you are lost in your religions like blind men. For there is no truth but the Torah of Moses, and with it alone can exist no other truth'. He responded: 'I already know this and so I sent for you. I know that you are the wisest and skilled of men in the wisdom of truth. I want you to reveal me some of the secrets of the Torah and the name of your blessed lord, for I already recognized the truth'...then I told him a bit of wisdom [of the Kabballah] and I awoke." see Moshe Idel's article Italy in Safed, Safed in Italy, p. 249