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The Sephardim have preserved the romances and the ancient melodies and songs of Spain, as well as a large number of old Spanish proverb s. A number of children's play s, like, for example, El Castillo, are still popular among them, and they still manifest a fondness for the dishes peculiar to Spain, such as the pastel, or pastelico, a sort of meat-pie, and the pan de España, or pan de León. At their festivals they follow the Spanish custom of distributing dulces, or dolces, a confection wrapped in paper bearing a picture of the magen David.
They bear exclusively Portuguese and Spanish given names, as Aleqria, Angel, Angela, Amado, Amada, Bienvenida, Blanco, Cara, Cimfa, Comprado, Consuela, Dolza, Esperanza, Estimada, Estrella, Fermosa, Gracia, Luna, Niña, Palomba, Preciosa, Sol, Ventura, and Zafiro; and such Spanish or Portuguese surnames as Belmonte, Benveniste, Bueno, Calderon, Campos, Cardoso, Cardozo, Castro, Curiel, Delgado, Fonseca, Cordova, Leon, Lima, Mercado, Monzon , Rocamora, Pacheco, Pardo, Pereira, Pinto, Prado, Sarabia, Sousa, Suasso, Toledano, Tarragona, Valencia, and Zaporta.
In contrast to Ashkenazic Jews, who do not name newborn children after living relatives, Sephardic Jews, often name their children after the children's grandparents, even if they are still alive. The first son and daughter are traditionally named after the paternal grandparents, and then the maternal parent's names are next up in line for the remaining children. After that, additional children's names are "free", so-to-speak, meaning that one can choose whatever name, without anymore "naming obligations." The only instance in which Sephardic Jews will not name after their own parents when one of the spouses shares a common first name with a mother/father-in-law (since Jews will not name their children after themselves.) There are times though when the "free" names are used to honor the memory of a deceased relative who died young or childless.
Great authority was given to the president of each congregation. He and the rabbinate of his congregation formed the "ma'amad," without whose approbation (often worded in Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian) no book of religious content might be published. The president not only had the power to make authoritative resolutions with regard to congregational affairs and to decide communal questions, but he had also the right to observe the religious conduct of the individual and to punish anyone suspected of heresy or of trespassing against the laws.
Although the Sephardim lived on peaceful terms with other Jews, they rarely intermarried with them; neither did they unite with them in forming congregations, but adhered to their own ritual, which differed widely from the Ashkenazic. Paradoxically, those who had suffered the racial pride of limpieza de sangre applied a similar concept toward other Jews. Wherever the Sephardic Jews settled they grouped themselves according to the country or district from which they had come, and organized separate communities with legally enacted statutes. In Constantinople and Thessaloniki, for example, there were not only Castilian, Aragonian, Catalonian, and Portuguese congregations, but also Toledo, Cordova, Evora , and Lisbon congregations, and differenced themselves from Romaniotes. In Morocco, Sephardim considered themselves superior to Berber Jews . Under the common pressure of the Islamic society, the Berbers tried to merge with the Sephardim by naming their children with Sephardic names .
One interesting example is the " Belmonte Jews " in Portugal. A whole community survived in secrecy for hundreds of years by maintaining a tradition of intermarriage and by hiding all the external signs of their faith. The Jewish comunity in Belmonte goes back to the 12th Century and they were only discovered in the 20th Century. Their rich Sephardic tradition of Crypto-Judaism is unique. Only recently did they contact other Jews and they now profess Orthodox Judaism, although they still retain their centuries-old traditions.
The term Sephardi can also describe the nusach ( Hebrew language, "liturgical tradition") used by Sephardi Jews in their Siddur (prayer book). A nusach is defined by a liturgical tradition's choice of prayers, order of prayers, text of prayers and melodies used in the singing of prayers. This is to be distinguished by the "Nusach Sepharad" used by Chassidic Jews.
This phrase is frequently used in contrast with Ashkenazi Jews, also called Ashkenazim, who are descendants of Jews from Germany, Poland, Austria and Eastern-Europe.
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