Sephardic Jewish resiliency after October 7

Sephardic Judaism, with its emphasis on maintaining tradition and peoplehood over mainstream acceptance and freedom, is poised to overtake Ashkenazic Jews in shaping the Jewish presence in the U.S., particularly after October 7 and the rise of anti-Semitism, writes Mijal Bitton in the current issue of the journal Sapir (Winter). The Middle Eastern and North African (MENA)-background Sephardic Jews have followed a different trajectory in the U.S. compared to their European-origin Ashkenazic cousins, with the former facing considerable discrimination in Muslim countries and stressing family and tradition, and the latter more concerned with mainstream acceptance, freedom of expression, and innovation. While not drawing sharp boundaries between the two groups, Bitton argues that the Sephardic instinct toward preservation rather than transformation has meant “both nurturing strong family units and understanding community itself as an extended family with bonds of mutual obligation that stretch across the entire Jewish people. In these communities, success means building thick communal networks: synagogues that feel as warm as their own living rooms, businesses that employ relatives, and neighborhoods where multiple generations live within blocks of each other.” 

He adds that since October 7, American and Israeli observers have “noticed the resilience of many MENA Sephardic communities: the demographic vitality of Sephardic ethnic enclaves from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, the pan-Sephardic building of new communities in Florida and elsewhere…the unapologetic assertiveness of some Sephardic and Mizrahi students on hostile campuses, and the rise of social media influencers from MENA Sephardic and Mizrahi backgrounds speaking up proudly and confidently as Zionists.” Sephardic synagogues tend to be less intellectual and more experiential. “You will see Jews with different levels of observance and practice joining together to sing to God with intense joy and spiritual connection. It feels like a concert: ecstatic, unselfconscious, direct.” It is the strong family orientation of Sephardic Jews that often models their spirituality. “We approach God as a parent and we approach God through parents,” Bitton adds. Jewish organizations are already gravitating to Sephardic models (whether consciously nor not), embracing “much flexibility on practice and theology in not trying to examine or litigate what individuals do at home. In our public spaces, there are clear—traditional—expectations, such as serving kosher food or observing Shabbat in some way or another. Another bedrock foundation is that Jewish peoplehood matters. Israel is family.” Bitton concludes that the “structural resilience” of Sephardic communities, where cultural acceptance was never a priority, does not lend itself to the identity crisis experienced by many Ashkenazic Jews in the face of mounting anti-Semitism. 

(Sapir, www.sapirjournal.org)