The Italian Nusach [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] is the ancient prayer rite ( nusach ) of the indigenous Jews on the Italian peninsula who are not of Ashkenazi or Sephardic origin.
The Italian Nusach [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] is the ancient prayer rite ( nusach ) of the indigenous Jews on the Italian peninsula who are not of Ashkenazi or Sephardic origin.
The Italian nusach has been considered an offspring of the ancient Palestinian minhag and it has similarities with the nusach of the Romaniote Jews of Greece and the Balkans. However, the documents discovered in Cairo Geniza reveal that the influence of Minhag Eretz Israel on Benè Romì is less extensive than believed. [1]
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word siddur comes from the Hebrew root ס־ד־ר, meaning 'order.'
The Romaniote Jews or the Romaniotes are a Greek-speaking ethnic Jewish community native to the Eastern Mediterranean. They are one of the oldest Jewish communities in existence and the oldest Jewish community in Europe. Their distinct language was Judaeo-Greek or Yevanic, a Greek dialect that contained Hebrew along with some Aramaic and Turkish words, but today's Romaniotes speak modern Greek or the languages of their new home countries. Their name is derived from the endonym Rhomania (Ῥωμανία), which refers to the Eastern Roman Empire. Large communities were located in Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Arta, Preveza, Volos, Chalcis, Chania, Thebes, Corinth, Patras, and on the islands of Corfu, Crete, Zakynthos, Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Rhodes, and Cyprus, among others. The Romaniotes have been, and remain, historically distinct from the Sephardim, some of whom settled in Ottoman Greece after the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
Sephardic law and customs are the practice of Judaism by the Sephardim, the descendants of the historic Jewish community of the Iberian Peninsula. Some definitions of "Sephardic" inaccurately include Mizrahi Jews, many of whom follow the same traditions of worship but have different ethno-cultural traditions. Sephardi Rite is not a denomination or movement like Orthodox, Reform, and other Ashkenazi Rite worship traditions. Sephardim thus comprise a community with distinct cultural, juridical and philosophical traditions.
The machzor is the prayer book which is used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized machzorim on the three pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The machzor is a specialized form of the siddur, which is generally intended for use in weekday and Shabbat services.
Selichot are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days. The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are a central theme throughout these prayers.
Minhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach, refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers.
In Judaism, Nusach, plural nuschaot or Modern Hebrew nusachim, refers to the exact text of a prayer service; sometimes the English word "rite" is used to refer to the same thing. Texts used by different communities include Nosach Teiman, Nusach Ashkenaz, Nusach Sefard, Nusach Edot Hamizrach, and Nusach Ari. In English, the word nusach means formulate, wording.
Italian Jews or Roman Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the Italian liturgy as distinct from those Jewish communities in Italy dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardic liturgy or the Nusach Ashkenaz.
Nusach Ari means, in a general sense, any prayer rite following the usages of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the AriZal, in the 16th century.
Tachanun or Taḥanun, also called nefilat apayim, is part of Judaism's morning (Shacharit) and afternoon (Mincha) services, after the recitation of the Amidah, the central part of the daily Jewish prayer services. It is also recited at the end of the Selichot service. It is omitted on Shabbat, Jewish holidays and several other occasions. Most traditions recite a longer prayer on Mondays and Thursdays.
Nusach Sefard, Nusach Sepharad, or Nusach Sfard is the name for various forms of the Jewish siddurim, designed to reconcile Ashkenazi customs with the kabbalistic customs of Isaac Luria. To this end it has incorporated the wording of Nusach Edot haMizrach, the prayer book of Sephardi Jews, into certain prayers. Nusach Sefard is used nearly universally by Hasidim, as well as by some other Ashkenazi Jews but has not gained significant acceptance by Sephardi Jews. Some Hasidic dynasties use their own version of the Nusach Sefard siddur, sometimes with notable divergence between different versions.
Musta'arabi Jews were the Arabic-speaking Jews, largely Mizrahi Jews and Maghrebi Jews, who lived in the Middle East and North Africa prior to the arrival and integration of Ladino-speaking Sephardi Jews of the Iberian Peninsula, following their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Following their expulsion, Sephardi Jewish exiles moved into the Middle East and North Africa, and settled among the Musta'arabi.
Nusach Ashkenaz is a style of Jewish liturgy conducted by Ashkenazi Jews. It is primarily a way to order and include prayers, and differs from Nusach Sefard and Baladi-rite prayer, and still more from the Sephardic rite proper, in the placement and presence of certain prayers.
Maariv or Maʿariv, also known as Arvit, is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening Shema and Amidah.
The Palestinian minhag or Palestinian liturgy, as opposed to the Babylonian minhag, refers to the minhag of medieval Palestinian Jewry in relation to the traditional order and form of the prayers.
Minhag Morocco refers to the religious customs adopted by Moroccan Jewry, from the Hebrew "Minhag", or custom. Although in the Middle Ages, there was a unique Nusach Morocco, unrelated to Sephardic liturgy, this original minhag has not be practiced since shortly after the Expulsion of Jews from Spain, and it is unfortunately not well documented. Since this time, the Moroccan rite has been a subset of the Sephardic rite, but with certain customs of its own. Many sources contributed to and influenced the development of Moroccan religious customs, including the Shulchan Aruch, the Livorno minhag, the Ashkenazic minhag and even the presence of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Morocco. Minhag Morocco can be considered a sub-class within the Sephardic minhag but has many differences and unique traits. A related concept that falls under Minhag Morocco is the Moroccan Nusach, which more specifically refers to the variations in the prayer service.
Minhag Polin/Minhag Lita is the Ashkenazi minhag of the Polish Jews, the Polish/Lithuanian or Eastern branch of Nusach Ashkenaz, used in Eastern Europe, the United States and by some Israeli Ashkenazim, particularly those who identify as "Lithuanian". This is different from German or Western branch of Nusach Ashkenaz, known in Hebrew as "Minhag Ashkenaz", used in Western and Central Europe.
Jews of Catalonia is the Jewish community that lived in the Iberian Peninsula, in the Lands of Catalonia, Valencia and Mallorca until the expulsion of 1492. Its splendor was between the 12th to 14th centuries, in which two important Torah centers flourished in Barcelona and Girona. The Catalan Jewish community developed unique characteristics, which included customs, a prayer rite, and a tradition of its own in issuing legal decisions (Halakhah). Although the Jews of Catalonia had a ritual of prayer and different traditions from those of Sepharad, today they are usually included in the Sephardic Jewish community.
Minhag Ashkenaz is the minhag of the Ashkenazi German Jews. Minhag Ashkenaz was common in Germany, Austria, the Czech lands, and elsewhere in Western Europe, in contrast to the Minhag Polin of the Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews.