Middle East Information Resource
Religions/Belief Systems - Ashkenazi
The Ashkenazi tradition in Judaism developed in Europe, and especially Eastern Europe. The Jewish World is often thought of as divided between Ashkenazi and Sepharadi (q.v.), but the matter is not really so simple. There are about 10 million Ashkenazi Jews out of 13 million Jews worldwide. Historically, the language of the Ashkenazi Jews was Yiddish, but Yiddish is dying out.
The name `Askhenaz` is a biblical name that the Jews themselves used for Germany. The Ashkenazi communities were relatively isolated communities within Christian cities, or separate villages. The Jews had their own laws and customs, and generally had social contact only with each other. They organized and armed themselves in order to protect their communities.
In Poland and elsewhere the Jews often formed “shtetls,” small towns where they represented the majority of the inhabitants. By the 11th century Ashkenazi scholars were redactors of religious texts. New religious literature, such as the Mahzor, containing prayers by European poets, was written that is still used in the Ashkenazi tradition.
In the 10th century Jewish merchants began to settle in France and Germany. Their main asset was a network of trade connections throughout the Mediterranean and the East. The Jews formed small enclaves in cities. Many of them became craftsmen and artisans, where the law permitted it. The main centers of Jewish scholarship were Mainz, Worms, Troyes and Sens.
For the Ashkenazi Jews the studies of Hebrew, the Torah and the Talmud was more than just a way of understanding their religion, it was also a way of protecting themselves against the influence of the societies around them. Europe was often hostile to the Jews, and in any event the Jews were severely limited by various laws. The Ashkenazi tradition is partly a culture of isolation and self-sufficiency.
In 1182 the Jews are expelled from France. In the 14th century there were riots and massacres in Germany. Many Jews move from Germany into Poland. In the 16th century Eastern Europe became the center of Ashkenazi Judaism.
Ashkenazim and Sephardim developed different liturgies, Torah services, Hebrew pronunciation and lifestyles. The rituals of the Ashkenazi were of the Palestinian traditions. Ashkenazi and Sephardi tunes for both prayers and Torah reading are different. An Ashkenazi Torah lies flat while being read, while a Sephardi Torah stands up.
In the 19th century many Ashkenazi Jews moved to North America. In the first decades of the 19th century Reform Judaism started to developed in Ashkenazi communities. Reform Judaism is at least partly a response to assimilation pressure, and an adaptation to a new social environment. In 1845 a Conservative Judaism movement is founded, as a reaction to Reform Judaism.
Ashkenazim and Sephardim have differences in many details of Jewish law and tend to appeal to different religious authorities. Today, for many, the distinctions between Ashkenazim and Sephardim have become less significant. In Israel as well as in other countries, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews live side by side, even though they may relate to separate institutions.
In the 20th century large numbers of Ashkenazi Jews, displaced in World War II, move to Palestine. They became the largest Jewish group in the State of Israel.