|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sephardim
Sephardim (singular Sephardi) are Jews originating in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), including the descendants of those subject to expulsion from Spain by order of the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella or from Portugal by order of King Manuel I in 1497. The name comes from Sepharad, a Biblical location. This was probably the "Saparda" mentioned in Persian inscriptions: the location of that is disputed, but may have been Sardis in Asia Minor. Sepharad was identified by later Jews as the Iberian Peninsula, and still means "Spain" in modern Hebrew. In a broader sense, the term Sephardim has come to include Jews of Arabic and Persian backgrounds who have no historical connection to Iberia except their use of a Sephardic style of liturgy. For religious purposes, Jews of these communities are considered to be Sephardim, meaning not "Spanish Jews" but "Jews of the Spanish rite". Accordingly, in the vernacular of modern-day Israel, Sephardi has come to be used as an umbrella term for any Jewish person who is not Ashkenazi. |