Sephardic Tradition and Modern Life

The Jerusalem Post reports today that MK Haim Amsalem has created a new "social movement" in Israel called Am Shalem that will promote the "moderate Sephardi halachic approach in public life" and strive to restore "the crown of moderate religious and Sephardi social activism to its former glory." This news follows the recent approval by both former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and current Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar of conversions to Judaism performed through the IDF. I believe both of these events tell us a tremendous amount about the spirit of the Sephardic approach to halakhah and tradition and how it represents a powerful paradigm for observant Jews in the modern world.

The approval of the military conversions by the two Sephardic Chief Rabbis caused an uproar amongst the Ashkenazi Israeli Haredi rabbinic establishment because they claimed many of the converts did not remain as observant Jews post their conversion. Rav Amar responded to their critique by outlining the essential halakhot of conversion; what the halakha requires and what it does not. Rav Amar by insisting on the actual halakhah (Rambam, Hilkhot Issurei Biah 13:4, 14, 17; Shulhan Arukh, Yorah Deah 268:3, 12) and not taking on unnecessary stringencies tells us that in matters of personal status and in matters that impact the very nature of the State of Israel, we have an obligation to act in accordance with the authentic tradition. Furthermore, it demonstrates true sensitivity to the plight of the individual and by so doing continues the Sephardic tradition on this topic (see for example She'alot U'Teshuvot Piskei Uziel, She'alot HaZman 64).

The report in the Jerusalem Post about MK Amsalem's new social movement makes it clear that he alone is not starting this movement but rather "it was the outcome of a grassroots movement that saw in the MK a leader who represented their beliefs." There is a real need in our world for religious leadership, and in Israel also political leadership, that has a clear grasp of both the details and of the beauty of the Jewish tradition with an appreciation for what it means to be a Torah Jew who does not reject the modern world but embraces it within the context of the mesorah. The Sephardic tradition has both the intellectual weight and the historical precedent to truly lead this renaissance in modern Jewish life.