The Origins of Mizrahi Jews
Mizrah (מזרח, also rendered “mizrach”) is Hebrew for “east,” so Mizrahi Jews are Jews from the eastern lands (roughly the same as Arabia) and their descendants. The term is often conflated with Sephardic (“Spanish”), since many eastern Jewish communities were heavily influenced by Sephardic Jews who had escaped Islamic and then Christian persecution in the Iberian Peninsula.
Historically, the Mizrach was the cradle of Jewish life. Each time Jerusalem was destroyed, the center of Jewish life shifted eastward to Babylonia. Babylonia was the seat of the Exilarachate (Resh Galuta)—the political leadership of the Jewish people—and home to the most influential academies of Torah scholarship, which produced the Babylonian Talmud and shaped Judaism into what it is today.
Read: Who Was the Exilarch?
Are Mizrahi and Sephardic the Same?
People rarely fit neatly inside the boxes we try to squeeze them into, and there are, of course, important nuances. For example, Sephardic Jews from Amsterdam are not at all Mizrahi. Conversely, Persian or Yemenite Jews are Mizrahi but not as influenced by Sephardim as their Iraqi or Syrian compatriots.
Another related term is Mustarabim, Jews native to Arabic lands, who have been largely overshadowed and merged into the Sephardic majority.
An interesting quirk to note is that Morroccans, while culturally and ritually Mizrahi (and Sephardic), are technically not “eastern” at all, as Morrocco is actually as far west as England. This is why they (and their non-Jewish neighbors) are known in Arabic as maghrebi, “western.”
Mizrahi Pronunciation
Mizrahi Jews have their own mode (or, rather, several modes) of pronouncing Hebrew, in part shaped by the Arabic and Ladino that they thrived alongside for centuries. They traditionally differentiate between the Aleph and the Ayin, the Chaf and the Chet. Conversely, they often conflate the Kametz and Patach as well as the Taf and Tet.
Mizrahi Jews Today
While there are few Jews still living in the eastern lands—with the notable exception, of course, of Israel, and to a lesser degree, Iran—Mizrahim have become integral pillars of the many Jewish communities they now call home.
They have produced rabbis, philanthropists, artists, composers, architects, and more.
By and large, Mizrahim distinguish themselves as holding an especially strong fealty to tradition, a reverence for Torah scholars and righteous sages, and a deep love for Judaism.
On a cultural level, they have enriched the Jewish kitchen with favorites like hummus, shakshuka, kubbeh, jachnun, and more.
For more about Mizrahim, please read:
19 Facts You Should Know About Sephardic Jewry
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