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Distinguishing between Ashkenazic and Sephardic* liturgical rites

Contributed by Dr. Abraham Rosenberg, Librarian emeritus, Ets Haim Library, Amsterdam

Presented at Association of Jewish Libraries 2025 Digital Conference, 24 June 2025

The following are the most important elements to consider when determining the liturgical rite

• Baḳashot: Generally indicate the Sephardic rite.
• Ḳadish: When the text contains both additions, Ṿe-yatsmaḥ purḳaneh ṿi-yeḳarev meshiḥeh, and ...ṿe-shavaʻ ṿi-yeshuʻah…, the prayers follow the Sephardic rite.
• Verses said when entering the synagogue: If only Psalms 5:8 is present, this indicates the Sephardic rite. Numbers 24:5 is not said by Ashkenazim exclusively.
• Morning Psalms: When they are called Zemirot, the rite is Sephardic; when they are called Pesuḳe de-Zimra and are preceded by Barukh she-amar, the rite is Ashkenazic.
• Or ḥadash: When the first berakhah preceding the Shemaʻ ends with Or ḥadash, the rite is Ashkenazic.
• Ḳedushah: In the morning prayers, the beginning Neḳadesh et shimkha indicates the Ashkenazic rite; Naḳdishakh ṿe-naʻaritsakh is indicative for the Sephardic rite. In Musaf, the Sephardim start with Keter.
• Birkat ha-shanim: A different, longer version to be said in the winter is indicative of the Sephardic rite, while in the Ashkenazi rite, only a few words differ between summer and winter.
• ʻAlenu at the end of the service: When the text ends En ʻod (Spanish, No mas) the rite is Sephardic; when the text continues ʻAl ken, the rite is Ashkenazic. [In the Ḳedushah of Musaf on Yom Kipur, see p. 205.]
• Evening prayer on weekdays: Absence of the so-called fifth berakhah becomes typical for the Sephardic rite from the 18th century onward.
• Friday night: The full Ḳabalat Shabat occurs exclusively in the Ashkenazic rite.
• Piyuṭim: On Shavuʻot, Aḳdamut is only said by Ashkenazim; Azharot are restricted to the Sephardic rite.
• Rubrics: Yiddish is used in Ashkenazic works only; Romance languages can be used in Roman and Sephardic rites.
• When in doubt, consult a specialist.
  
  

Further information can be found in the author's Ph. D. dissertation, Blessings and thanksgivings : the Jewish prayer book and its early appearance in the Northern Netherlands (2021), accessible online.

*Sephardic rite (נוסח ספרד/nusaḥ Sefarad) is not to be confused with the rite of Sefaradim, Jews of the Orient and North Africa, called ʻAdot ha-Mizraḥ.