What happens when you match a Sephardi with an Ashkenazi? “Ashkesfard” couples share their stories about the culture shocks, halachic adjustments, and other unexpected surprises
Her greatest exposure to the Ashkenazi world came when she decided to go to seminary in Israel — not a given in very traditional Syrian families. “When I first introduced the idea to my mom ” Sally says “she just blinked at me. ‘Seminary? What’s that?’ ”
It was in Israel that Sally realized just how vast the spectrum of Jewish life really was. “Going away for Shabbos was fascinating because certain minhagim I took for granted were not ‘Jewish across the board’ but simply Sephardi ” she remembers. “One of the first things I learned was that it’s only Sephardim who have the custom of laughing out loud during Havdalah. I learned this the hard way.
“And before the Yamim Tovim I had no idea why my friends were scrambling to purchase a lulav for Succos or a menorah for Chanukah — my father did these things on behalf of the entire household so there was never a need to purchase them for myself.”
Little did Sally realize that one day several years later she’d be comparing prices for lulavim and menorot as well — when she married Simcha Lustig an Ashkenazi young man from Brooklyn with Gerrer chassidish roots.
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