ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a new exploration of the differences and their origins between Sephardic and Ashkenazi practice. To fully understand the origin of the differences this study undertook a careful analysis of primary texts and their cultural background. The thesis proposes that the two divergent traditions originate not geographically as has been suggested by most if not all academics and scholars but rather culturally and epistemologically. Legal conclusions as well as religious customs emerge from a difference in how each of the respective societies relate to authority. In an Ashkenazi environment, the ruling of the Rabbi or Rebbe is final. In those cultures, the study of science and philosophy was discouraged and even outlawed. In Sephardic societies, where science and philosophy were studied alongside religious texts, democratic legal discussions based on the science and philosophy of the day were how rulings and customs emerged. The presentation and conclusions are striking and relevant to understanding Judaism in the 21st century.
