Posts by Greggory DuBois d'Holliday Horn
76 posts
Is it just an accident of history that when people think of either Western Sephardic or Spanish-Portuguese, the image is exclusively Amsterdam, London, and the Americas? I know I had no clue about Livorno, Florence, Gibraltar, France, or Oran prior to joining these groups.
Any sources for Livornese practice?
Time for the next can of worms: what are the different communal practices regarding Sephirath Ha'omer? R. Toledano seems to indicate in Fountain of Blessings that the custom of the S&P in London is to "observe" the Omer period between Rosh Hodesh and Lag b'Omer, but other sources (e.g. a Treasure of Sephardic Laws and Customs) seem to say that in the US, S&P custom is more or less the same as othe...
If World Sephardic Library is open today and Monday, I may have a second set if Livorno prayer books in time for the last days of Pessah: Tefillath Hahodesh, Moadei Hashem and Zechor l'Abraham.
Does anyone know anything about minhag Aragonia?
Regarding sephirath haomer, R. Toledano in Fountain of Blessings records the custom of the Spanish & Portuguese is to observe the "mourning" period only from Rosh Hodesh Iyar through the 33rd day of the Omer. What are other customs from our various communities?
The World Sephardic Library is a great source for ספורים that may no longer be available elsewhere. It's where I purchased my copy of כתר שם טוב, and they carry copies of the Livornese prayer books: Tefillath Hahodesh, Beth Obed, Beth Menouha, Zechor leAbraham, and Moadei Hashem. You can even find such gems as Pahad Yitzhak. http://wslibrary.net/catalog/index.php
Which parts of North Africa, other than Morocco, had Spanish-Portuguese communities, and rid the minhaguim of those communities differ from Amsterdam and London?
Does the Italian manner of reading the Torah (as exemplified on www.torah.it) represent an earlier stage of Western Sephardic taame hamiqra? It seems, to some degree, a simplified version. I have my reasons for asking.
An interesting document regarding the Nacao in West Africa and its interactions with Africans.
What is a good siddour for the taanioth?
Regarding the time of motsae Shabbat, what is the current minhag? I've heard that it is to end Shabbat 20 minutes after sheqia, and I've heard that it is to follow the more common practice of 42 minutes (I have also been told that in North Africa it is customary to follow Rabbenou Tam with 72!).
Is it me, or are the S&P and Italian haftaroth nearly identical? It certainly seems that way based on the recordings of Rev. Benarroch and those posted at www.torah.it
Moadim lesimha - haggim ouzmanim lesasson!
Does anyone know if the minhag is to have the ta'anith behoroth on Thursday if Ereb Pesah is also Ereb Shabbath, much like the Moroccans do?
In looking through my new copy of Kether Shem Tob, I see that there are instances where minhag Amsterdam and minhag London are different (e.g. minhag Amsterdam is to stand for every qaddish, in London it is to stand only when the qaal is already standing). In these cases, does anyone know if the other S&P qehiloth (America, Caribbean, Gibraltar, France, Italy, etc) follow Amsterdam or Londin?
I'm replacing my de Sola Pool siddurim - if anyone wants the entire set including the pocket sized, let me know.
Which sidur is the most "accrate/authentic?"
Can anyone tell me if the "Sidour Shalem Mazal Yossef" that's used at Temple Buffault is the same one sold by WSL? And if so, it's pretty much the same as the other S&P nusahoth, right?
According to the site regarding the liturgy of Shaar Hashamayim, during the week, the Aqeda and the Qorbanoth are not read out loud. Does this mean that the going practice on weekdays is simply to read birkoth hashahar and then proceed directly to Hodu?
How much of a difference is there between the London and US S&P prayerbooks? I'm thinking of ordering the Fast Day prayerbook from the UK, since I can't get one here in the US, and don't know if it's worth getting the entire set of prayerbooks from the UK or not (I have all the prayerbooks sold by Shearith Israel).
According to the Portuguese formulary, does one refer to a sick person as bar/bat father's name or bar/bat mother's name?
Tephila shel yad - I've seen three different images of how the tephila shel yad is worn: one similar to the Temanim (shown by Haham Luciano HaLewi de Lopes), one on the Hazzanut-Esnoga page, and one according to the minhag of Firenze. Are there any sources about any of these or the images one sees in paintings and drawings from Amsterdam?
Anyone know the shipping costs from the US to the UK? I'd like to get the siddurim from the S&P congregations in the UK, but I've had a hard time reaching someone to get shipping charges.
Does anyone know what is used in either Shearith Israel or Mikveh Israel on fast days with regards to a prayerbook?