The Special Character of Sephardi Tolerance
Daniel J. Elazar
Sephardim pride themselves on the fact that there has been no
religious reformation in their historical experience to divide
"Orthodox" and "Liberal" Jews. Consequently, however individual
Sephardim chose to practice their Judaism, they stayed within a
common fold because they are not ideologically bound to make
clear-cut divisions. In any Sephardic synagogue anywhere in the
world, one can find a wide mix of worshippers and a wide range of
patterns of religious observance, from the very Orthodox who even
imitate Ashkenazi Orthodox dress patterns to the moderately
traditional who enjoy the occasional spiritual experience.
Sephardim are noted for and pride themselves on being less
fanatic than Ashkenazim in virtually all matters, especially
religion. They certainly are not among the militant, black
garbed Jews who throw stones at vehicles on the Sabbath and
refuse to serve in the army. Sephardim are often bewildered by
the Ashkenazic pursuit of humrot (new and more difficult halakhic
refinements), because they have traditionally sought to balance
the requirements of observance with those of living in order to
achieve a form of religious expression that takes into
consideration the whole human being, to encourage and cultivate
the range of human attributes.
It is difficult for Sephardim to understand the isolationist
trend that is dominant among so many Orthodox Ashkenazim, who see
the salvation of Judaism only in separating it from those who do
not meet current religious standards, which seem to be always
moving to the right. Sephardim see no hope or virtue in
isolation; to them, the result is a warping of Jews and a
distortion of Judaism. Sephardim always have sought to balance
their lives both as Jews and as a part of a larger human society.
Isolation is not and was not a Sephardic goal -- that would have
been a violation of their sense of proportion and balance.
Rather, they seek to accept involvement with the larger world and
its challenges. Historically, in the world in which most
Sephardim lived, there was little occupation and segregation
between Jews and non-Jews and often little residential
segregation. Living and working together prevented the
development of an isolationist spirit.
The Sephardic method of study is another reflection of
balance and proportion. The curriculum of Sephardic schools was
always broad, combining limudei kodesh (study of sacred texts)
with limudei khol (general studies), open to the arts and
sciences, disciplines beyond those emphasized by the sacred
texts. The classic Sephardic curriculum included reading and
writing, Torah, Mishna, and Hebrew Grammar, Poetry, Talmud,
Theology, Philosophy, Logic, Mathematics and Arithmatic,
Geometry, Optics, Astronomy, Music, Mechanics, Natural Sciences
and Medicine. Study was disciplined, analytical, and
integrative. As a result, through the ages rabbis were poets and
diplomats, diplomats were doctors and scholars, kabbalists were
mathematicians, judges were grammarians. Unlike the Ashkenazim,
the Sephardim placed great emphasis on the biblical text as the
starting point for studying the classic works. Sephardic music
also reflects the orientation toward balance and proportion. In
its classic Iberian form, the links between Sephardic music and
Western classical music at its most classical -- Bach and
Beethoven, Handel and Haydn -- are clear. But even in its
classic Arabic form, it is balanced and contrapuntal.
Sephardic interest in the arts and sciences in addition to
the study of holy texts, their interest in politics and large-
scale commerce and not only in the narrow cultivation of
religious observance -- these are all aspects of the Sephardic
concern for the whole. The worst possible fate that could befall
the Sephardim and the Jewish people would be for us to lose this
breadth and openness of spirit to become isolated and segregated
according to the present vogue. On the other hand, this openness
is one of the greatest contributions that we can give to the
contemporary Jewish world.
