Hi All,
Q:Why are you Orthodox rather than Reform?
A:
There's a concept called Ahavat Yisrael : "love for one's fellow Jews". So whilst I do not belong to reform Judaism or agree with it , I am still required to love them as fellow Jews. I would not describe myself as a sectarian and I do have an Aszkenazi partner (hence the name of the blog, combining two traditional dishes of our respective cultures) . But I do prefer to see Judaism as a salad bowl, rather than merely a single lettuce leaf. I guess we'd be the tomatoes.
Sephardim - i.e. Us Jews who eat better food,dance better than our Ashkenazi brothers and sisters & who can hold our alcohol , eat rice and legumes on Passover, never eat Geffilte fish - are classed as "Orthodox" because we don't have denominations, but in itself the splitting of Jewry into Reform (and liberal and reconstructionist and secular), Conservative and Orthodox (which in turn is split into modern and Fundamentalist or Ultra or Charedi as they self -designate) begins with European and American Aszkenazi Jewry. I would also say that I simply do not wish to give up the rich cultural heritage of my anscestors, to be assimilated by either Reform or the Ultra Orthodox fractions. In that sense I strongly and I think my family do identify with the Israeli concept of Masortim. This is NOT to be confused with 'Conservative' Judaism which uses the tag of Masorti. See here for further information.
There's a concept called Ahavat Yisrael : "love for one's fellow Jews". So whilst I do not belong to reform Judaism or agree with it , I am still required to love them as fellow Jews. I would not describe myself as a sectarian and I do have an Aszkenazi partner (hence the name of the blog, combining two traditional dishes of our respective cultures) . But I do prefer to see Judaism as a salad bowl, rather than merely a single lettuce leaf. I guess we'd be the tomatoes.
Sephardim - i.e. Us Jews who eat better food,dance better than our Ashkenazi brothers and sisters & who can hold our alcohol , eat rice and legumes on Passover, never eat Geffilte fish - are classed as "Orthodox" because we don't have denominations, but in itself the splitting of Jewry into Reform (and liberal and reconstructionist and secular), Conservative and Orthodox (which in turn is split into modern and Fundamentalist or Ultra or Charedi as they self -designate) begins with European and American Aszkenazi Jewry. I would also say that I simply do not wish to give up the rich cultural heritage of my anscestors, to be assimilated by either Reform or the Ultra Orthodox fractions. In that sense I strongly and I think my family do identify with the Israeli concept of Masortim. This is NOT to be confused with 'Conservative' Judaism which uses the tag of Masorti. See here for further information.
This is because we Sephardim never went through a Jewish enlightenment and splits like Ashkenazi European Jewry . After all being dhimmis under the Porte , so just continued as we had for the past several centuries; although of course we were never and are not some borg like entity and today we have different standpoints, such as rationalist, mystic and I think unfortunately the Sephardic Rabbinical establishment in Israel has felt too much of the shadow of the Ultra Orthodox Azskenazi, which has turned them in many ways into more ultra orthodox-I don't just mean the tendency to wear the Fedora and black of the Askies - than the Latviks! But. No Sephardic Rabbi ever said “Casablanca is the new Jerusalem.” Sorry Moses Mendelsohn🔯😃
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