What is the difference between Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews?

The names

Both names come from the Bible. Ashkenaz is a grandson of Japheth (Genesis 10:3), and medieval Jews used the name for Germany; Sefarad appears in Obadiah 1:20 and was understood as Spain. Jews of the Middle East and North Africa who never lived in Spain are often called Mizrahi (“eastern”), and many follow Sephardi customs.

One law, two traditions

The Shulchan Aruch, the main code of Jewish law, was written by the Sephardi Rabbi Yosef Karo (16th century). Rabbi Moshe Isserles (the Rema) of Kraków added glosses giving the Ashkenazi practice where it differs. Sephardim generally follow Rabbi Karo, Ashkenazim the Rema – so both share one code.

Some differences

The prayer rites differ in wording and melodies; Sephardim often follow a rite shaped by the Arizal’s kabbalah, Ashkenazim the Ashkenaz rite or the Hasidic “Sefard” rite. Hebrew pronunciation differs (Shabbat / Shabbos). Many Ashkenazim do not eat kitniyot (rice, legumes) on Passover, while most Sephardim do. Sephardim often name a baby after a living grandparent; Ashkenazim name after someone who has passed away. Sephardim start Selichot at the beginning of Elul, Ashkenazim the week before Rosh Hashanah. Cuisine, music and the languages they spoke (Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic) also differ.

Today

In Israel and elsewhere the communities have mixed and intermarried for generations; a child usually follows the father’s custom, and a wife may follow her husband’s. Both traditions are equally legitimate ways of keeping the same Torah.