is a subject that fascinates not everyone, but certainly has its value if we are to understand some of the Jewish world today and especially the Sephardic Jewish world.
This question is directly related to a phenomenon called Ovadia Yosef. And will be a future post dedicated to this master often controversial, but much more complex than it seems ... (it's called Teasing ;-))
Everything starts with a realization: there is a kind of mismatch between the current practice of Sephardic Jews called "orthodox" and practice of devout Jews say when they were in North Africa.
I am not speaking here of some Jews who would rather be treated at the quiet beach with a sandwich on the last day of Passover a few hours before the end of the festival, but the Jewish question, implied by the Halacha and obligations.
Some examples:
- since when the Jews of the Maghreb are they wearing black suit and Borsalino?
- since when the Jews of North Africa they follow Halakha policy makers from Baghdad?
These two questions cover two issues that are very emblematic of the turmoil experienced by the Jews of North Africa after his disappearance geographical, mainly due to the mass exodus of Jews from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco to a lesser extent, to other more welcoming countries such as France, Canada or Israel.
The first question (Borsalino and Sephardim) is approached by a researcher, Yaacov Loupo in a daring book: Metamorphosis ultra-Orthodox Jews in Morocco (ed. Harmattan).
It describes how the Lithuanian Jews, especially after the war, will "recruit" so massive pupils Moroccan instil in them a mode of study and even of life practiced before the war in Eastern Europe. How young Moroccans, "threatened" by the strategy of liberating the Alliance Israelite Universelle, have been recovered by militants of the study none.
What Loupo regret is two things. On the one hand they could not open the Western world as he wanted the IAU, which is a regret perhaps criticism in the light of sometimes overly assimilationist consequences caused by the Alliance and its rupture with the world of Torah.
But also secondly, the loss of "tradition" Sephardic generally, that is to say, how to live a Jewish life, that is what Jewish tradition calls the "minhag", the daily variation of the principles of the Torah.
And here the author fly, all one can also add another factor that the author does not mention: the Lubavitch activism.
That Chabad (Lubavitch) has helped thousands of Sephardic Jews to rediscover their Jewish identity is undeniable. But it has come at the cost of "conversion" in Hasidism sweeping away thousands of Sephardic traditions. We are talking about both "Folklore" (or the msoki Seoudat Ytro among Tunisian) than the pure halakha: the Lubavitcher Hasidim essentially follow the Shulchan Aruch of Rav Kitzour Gansfried, stating Halachot sometimes very divergent Sephardi makers classics.
This "transformation" is highly visible within the French Jewish community, but rather the target Lupo Yaakov Sephardic Israel, because of their learning in yeshivot Lithuanian Ashkenazi tradition, have in fact followed the same path : Recovering traditions of dress and adopting standards Ashkenazi halachic.
vision Kountras
Kountras The newspaper has a review of the book Loupo: http://kountras.magic.fr/index.php?publid=163&articleno=17
As usual, Kountras deploys a fairly specious argument and especially free from critical reflection on the Orthodox world a sociological perspective. It means as I heard with my own ears Rabbi Kahn, editor of the newspaper, denied that there is any sociological problem of battered women or marriage problems within Orthodox circles to get a idea of the ideological blinders that the newspaper has, despite the high quality background of certain items.
Why is it specious article?
- Because he equates "modernity" to the use of gas, electricity and refrigerator. Modernity is something else. That individual autonomy in seeking personal fulfillment is the ability to have access to secular works and / or criticism is the inclusion in educational settings "profane" allowing to learn a trade, etc. ... All this can be debated (is it good or bad for the continuity of Judaism), but Kountras do not speak ...
- Because he is trying to suggest that the approach of "Lithuanian" is simply a way to bring back these young Sephardic sources of their "real" tradition, given the numerous exchanges between masters Ashkenazi and Sephardic worlds. By this argument, Kountras subscribes to the theory that the Torah is absolute and that minhagim, the traditions of each community are just folklore friendly but superficial and superfluous.
This is even more damaging than some of the arguments of the article are quite acceptable: the initiators of this movement were in good faith, it was an important fight for the vitality of Judaism among these populations, especially against the assimilationist tendencies, and finally two evils choose the least ...
approach questionable
Moreover, the book is Loupo criticized in many respects. First on the form, the book is very lousy: misspellings, outdated layout, typography worthy of a handout of the 60 ...
On the merits, wrote a book Loupo dependent. What does an academic point of view the word "fundamentalist"?
Because that's the word he uses repeatedly to name the rabbis responsible for religious schools in Morocco. His dislike for these people is palpable in his book, which seriously harms the quality of the demonstration. Especially as their point of view does not appear otherwise than in the pre-supposed that Loupo gives them. No real defense, while their position, as I said earlier, is likely to be defended more than valid.
short, damage ultimately this book to be discussed with an a priori anticlerical opposite of what should be a real academic work.
That said, the question of the value of Minhag rest and also happens to be central to the second question: since when the Sephardim from North Africa they follow policy makers from Baghdad? "
Pending Happy Holidays Passover!
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