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.

Minhag Ashkenaz and Minhag Polin

The term "Minhag Ashkenaz", strictly applied, refers only to the minhag of German Jews south and west of the Elbe, most notably the community of Frankfurt am Main.[1] Jews in Germany were historically divided into the "Bayers" of Bavaria and southern Germany, who followed the Minhag Ashkenaz, and the "Polanders" in northern Germany who followed Minhag Polin.[2]

History

Following Kristallnacht, a number of German Jews (Yekkes) escaped Frankfurt, relocating to the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, where they still have a synagogue, Khal Adath Jeshurun (KAJ), which punctiliously adheres to the Yekkish liturgical text, rituals, and melodies.[3] Unlike most Ashkenazic synagogues in the United States, which follow the Eastern Ashkenazic (Poilisher) liturgical rite,[4] KAJ follows the Western Ashkenazic rite (Minhag Ashkenaz), in its liturgical text, practices, and melodies. They use the Rödelheim Siddur Sfas Emes (see: Wolf Heidenheim), though the congregation's nusach varies in some places from Rödelheim.

Communities using Minhag Ashkenaz

List of communities, synagogues, and minyanim following Minhag Ashkenaz:[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Daniel Goldschimdt, Rosh Hashanah Machzor, page 14 of introduction. In the Middle Ages, the border seems to have been further east.
  2. ↑ "Bayers and Polanders, "German Jews" and "Polish Jews"". Brandeis University. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  3. ↑ Lowenstein, Steven M. (1989). Frankfurt on the Hudson: The German-Jewish Community of Washington Heights, 1933–1983, Its structure and Culture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0814323854.
  4. ↑ "Nusach". Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  5. ↑ "Communities". Machon Moreshes Ashkenaz. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
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