A Treasury of Sephardic Laws and Customs: The Ritual Practices of Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese Jews of North America

North America's growing Sephardic Jewry includes four major separate and distinct communities: Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese, each with its own unique history and vibrant body of traditions. Although Sephardic Jewry on this continent is steadily increasing in numbers and importance, its practices and customs are still virtually unknown to most American Jews of Ashkenazic (European) background, including many of those who are charged with the responsibility for the religious education of both children and adults. This volume, the first of its kind, provides a comprehensive compendium of the laws and customs of these four main communities of Sephardic Jewry in such areas as holiday observances, worship services, birth, Bar Mitzvah, marriage and divorce, death and mourning, dietary laws, family relations, and many other vital areas of personal, family, and communal life. Based upon extensive research, it serves as a fascinating opportunity to experience the full variety and scope of Jewish life as it evolved in diverse historical periods and cultural regions. Educators especially will find this volume to be a pedagogical took with a wide range of applications.