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Prague · 28 Cheshvan 5787

Shabbat this week · 16:02–17:11

Community

Sephardim

סְפָרַדִּים
Awaiting expert review

Descendants of the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula, expelled in the 15th century; they settled around the Mediterranean, in the Ottoman Empire, North Africa and Western Europe.

01

Overview

The name derives from the Hebrew Sefarad (Hispania). After the expulsions from Spain (1492) and Portugal (1496–1497), communities arose in the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, Italy, the Netherlands and elsewhere.

In halakhah they traditionally follow the Shulchan Arukh of Joseph Karo; the traditional language was Judeo-Spanish (Ladino).

Sources