Ruling the Sephardic Atlantic - The Ascamot and the Organisation of Portuguese-Jewish Communities

Ascamot in the Sephardic Atlantic

This lecture examines the ascamot (bylaws) of various Sephardic Jewish congregations in the Atlantic world during the 17th and 18th centuries. The speaker analyzes how these ascamot reflect the communities' evolving relationship with the concept of the "nation" – a unifying identity for the Western Sephardic diaspora – and their adaptation to diverse social and political environments.

Amsterdam's Talmud Torah congregation served as the primary model for Sephardic communities in the Atlantic. This influence is explicitly acknowledged in the preamble of the first ascamot of London's Sha'ar Hashamayim congregation in 1664, which states its intention to follow the "likeness" of Amsterdam's bylaws.

Despite this shared model, local contexts shaped the organization and regulations of each community. The speaker highlights some of these particularities:

• Amsterdam and Hamburg initially experienced divisions within their Sephardic communities, leading to the establishment of multiple congregations that later merged. In Amsterdam, three congregations unified in 1639 to form the Talmud Torah congregation. Hamburg saw four congregations merge into the Beit Yisrael congregation in 1652.

• Hamburg faced strict restrictions on public worship, forcing its Jewish community to conduct services in private homes for a significant period. These limitations were enshrined in the residence contract between the city authorities and the "Portuguese Nation", reflecting the community's status as a tolerated merchant group rather than a recognized religious minority.

• Southwestern France imposed even harsher restrictions, with Judaism remaining forbidden until the 18th century. This led to the development of crypto-Jewish communities, as exemplified by Bayonne and Bordeaux. Even when Portuguese Jews gained recognition and established congregations, their ascamot still reflected the legacy of clandestine practices.

The lecture then turns to the concept of belonging and the criteria for membership in these communities. Early ascamot generally considered all members as equals, as seen in Amsterdam's unification agreement of 1639 which welcomed Jews from various backgrounds.

However, as communities evolved, distinctions emerged. For example:

• London's 1693 ascamot restricted full membership (yehidim) to heads of households, further refined in 1784 to specify criteria such as age, financial independence, and marital status.

• Suriname's ascamot explicitly excluded non-white Jews from becoming yehidim, although they could be congregants.

• New York's 1728 ascamot stipulated that yehidim must be born in New York and have resided there for at least a year, highlighting the unique demographics of this community with its balanced power between Sephardim and Ashkenazim.

The speaker suggests that limiting full membership served to maintain unity within the "nation" by controlling access to congregational bodies.

Maintaining social harmony and a positive public image were paramount concerns reflected in the ascamot. Many addressed internal conflicts through mechanisms like herem (excommunication), with varying levels of enforcement across communities.

The emphasis on strong welfare systems, particularly support for the poor, also aimed to preserve stability within the community. The ma'amad (governing body) played a crucial role in managing these systems.

Compliance with local laws and avoidance of conflicts with the host society were also prioritized. The ascamot frequently stressed the importance of respecting secular justice, refraining from interfering in legal matters, and avoiding proselytizing.

The speaker concludes by observing that the ascamot, while initially adhering to a shared model, increasingly reflected each community's unique evolution and adaptation to its environment. This growing divergence in bylaws symbolizes a weakening of the overarching "nation" concept in the later stages of the Sephardic Atlantic diaspora.