I’m not ashamed to admit that I am a Sephardic muggle. Those who are Harry Potter fans will remember that a muggle is someone who did not inherit magical powers from their parents, either because they had only one parent with magic power, or possibly no one in their family was endowed with these powers.
There is something magical about being a Sephardic Jew. Unfortunately we are not all fortunate to be born “Sephardic.” While my mother was the daughter of two Sephardic parents who immigrated from Turkey, I did not grow up infused with this rich culture. Occasionally I would hear Mom speaking Ladino to her parents and she would cook Sephardic delicacies for our family from time to time. That was the extent of my Sephardic experience. Still, I was fascinated by this aspect of my identity. Being partially Sephardic made me feel special. As I delved into Jewish scholarship, I began to understand the uniqueness of Sephardic Judaism. And I began to wonder: Am I really a Sephardic Jew? After all, mom’s parents may have come from Turkey but Dad’s parents were from Ukraine. Who am I?
My love of Judaism and the Jewish people led me to the rabbinate. For forty years I worked in Conservative congregations in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and New York. I assumed that the way I taught Judaism was the way everyone practiced it. Surely everyone recited the Unetaneh Tokef, the moving prayer recited in Ashkenazic congregations on the High Holy Days in which we say, “On Rosh Ashana it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed…” When I placed a mezuzah on the door post, surely everyone did it the way I did it, placing it diagonally. And while I couldn’t speak Yiddish, I had an ample (and colorful) vocabulary of Yiddish words that I could use in the congregations I served.
Four years ago, I retired. My wife and I moved across the country to Seattle, Washington with our children where we joined Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation and I began my Jewish education all over again! So much of what I assumed was simply Jewish turned out to be Ashkenazi. And there were so many beautiful customs and practices that are Sephardic. As I learned about the culture my family had long abandoned, I found new and lovely ways to practice Judaism and understand the diversity of Jewish life. I may not be a Sepharadi Tahor (a pure bred Sepharadi), but being a Sepharidic muggle allows me to appreciate just how diverse Judaism is.
I believe Sephardic Judaism has something to offer us whether or not we were born to parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents who came from the Ottoman Empire. At the very least, we cannot understand Jewish traditions if we don’t understand the diversity of ways Judaism is practiced. Being a Sephardic muggle is actually a gift; it allows me to embrace the fullness of Jewish life. The truth is Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation is filled with muggles.
There are even some members of our congregation who don’t have Sephardic roots, but have chosen to become Sephardic by choice. Sephardic Judaism has something special to offer Jewish life in America. We assume that Judaism must be defined denominationally. You are either a Conservative, Reform, Orthodox, or a Reconstructionist Jew. Becoming a Sephardic muggle has taught me that there are other ways of experiencing Jewish life that are more inclusive, joyful, and organic. I am glad to have found my way home to Sephardic Judaism.
Comments