This article is about Ashkenazi Jews. For people with Ashkenazi as a surname, see Ashkenazi (surname).

Ashkenazi Jews (יהודי אשכנז Yehudei Ashkenaz)
Isaac Asimov • Eliezer Ben-Yehuda • Albert Einstein • Sigmund Freud • George Gershwin • Emma Goldman • Karl Marx • Golda Meir • Felix Mendelssohn • Baal Shem Tov • Joseph Stiglitz • Leon Trotsky
Total population
8[1] - 11. Isaac Asimov (c January 2 1920 &ndash April 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as, was a Russian For the street named for Eliezer Ben Yehuda in Jerusalem, Israel, see Ben Yehuda Street. Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical Sigmund Freud (ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt born Sigismund Shlomo Freud (May 6 1856 &ndash September 23 1939 was an Austrian Psychiatrist who founded George Gershwin (September 26 1898 &ndash July 11 1937 was an American Composer. Emma Goldman (June 27 1869 – May 14 1940 was an anarchist known for her political activism writing and speeches Golda Meir ( גּוֹלְדָּה מֵאִיר جولدا مائير born Golda Mabovitch, 3 May 1898 - 8 December 1978 known as Golda Myerson from 1917-1956 Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3 1809 &ndash November 4 1847 was a German Composer Rabbi Yisroel (Israel ben Eliezer (רבי ישראל בן אליעזר August 27, 1698 (18 Elul &ndash May 22, 1760) often called Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (born February 9, 1943) is an American Economist and a professor at Columbia University. Leon Trotsky ( Russian:, Lev Davidovich Trotsky, also transliterated Leo, Lyev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij 2[2] million
Regions with significant populations
United States 5-6 million [3]  Israel 2. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. 8 million [3] Europe ~1,030,000  Russia 400,000  Canada ~ 240,000  Argentina 200,000  Germany 100,000  South Africa 80,000  Chile 18,500
Languages
English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian
Religions
Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and other Jewish ethnic divisions

Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, pronounced [ˌaʃkəˈnazim], sing. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, ( also referred to as Edot HaMizrach (Communities of the East are Jews descended See also Judaism by country Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population [ˌaʃkəˈnazi]; also יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכֲּנָז, Yehudei Ashkenaz, "the Jews of Ashkenaz"), are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ See also Judaism by country Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population The Rhineland ( Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for the region which in modern times encompasses the country of Germany and German-speaking borderland areas. Medieval Hebrew has many features that distinguish it from older forms of Hebrew. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Ashkenaz is also a Japhetic patriarch in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10). Ashkenaz is Gomer 's first son brother of Riphath, and Togarmah (Gen Japhetic is a term that refers to the supposed descendants of Japheth, one of the three Sons of Noah in the Bible. Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a Pater familias over an extended family The Table of Nations or Sons of Noah is an extensive list of descendants of Noah appearing within the Torah at Genesis 10 representing Thus, Ashkenazim or Ashkenazi Jews are literally "German Jews. " The word "Ashkenazi" is pronounced with a [z] sound, rather than with [ts] as in a few similar instances in the English language. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Many Ashkenazi Jews later migrated, largely eastward, forming communities in non German-speaking areas, including Hungary, Poland, Russia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere between the 10th and 19th centuries. Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. With them, they took and diversified Yiddish, a Germanic Jewish language that had since medieval times been the lingua franca among Ashkenazi Jews. Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. The Jewish languages are a set of Languages that developed in various Jewish communities around the world more notably in Europe, West Asia, and A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely To a much lesser extent, the Judæo-French language Zarphatic and the Slavic-based Knaanic (Judæo-Czech) were also spoken. Zarphatic or Judæo-French (Zarphatic Tsarfatit) is an extinct Jewish language, formerly spoken among the Jewish communities The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages Knaanic (also called Canaanic, Leshon Knaan or Judeo-Slavic) was a West Slavic Jewish language formerly spoken in the Czech lands The Ashkenazi Jews developed a distinct culture and liturgy influenced, to varying degrees, by interaction with surrounding peoples, predominantly Germans, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Kashubians, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Letts, Belarusians, and Russians. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as The Polish people, or Poles, (Polacy) are a Western Slavic Ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Czechs (Češi ˈt͡ʃɛʃɪ archaic Čechové) are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic } The Slovaks or Slovakians are a western Slavic People that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is Kashubians/Kashubs/Kaszubians (Kaszëbi Kaszubi also called Kassubians or Cassubians, are a West Slavic Ethnic group of north-central Hungarians (or Magyars, magyarok are an Ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. Ukrainians (Українці Ukrayintsi,) are an East Slavic Ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly— Citizens Lithuanians are the Baltic Ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number a little over 3 million Latvians or Letts (latvieši the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia, occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which Belarusians or Belorussians (Беларусы Biełarusy previously also spelled Belarussians, Byelorussians and Belorusians, also The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries

Although in the 11th century they comprised only 3% of the world's Jewish population, Ashkenazi Jews accounted for (at their highest) 92% of the world's Jews in 1931 and today make up approximately 80% of Jews worldwide. Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of " Who is a Jew " remains a PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ ^[4] Most Jewish communities with extended histories in Europe are Ashkenazim, with the exception of those associated with the Mediterranean region. The majority of the Jews who migrated from Europe to other continents in the past two centuries are Ashekenazim, Eastern Ashkenazim in particular. Yiddish dialects are subsets of the major regional branches of the Yiddish language Western Yiddish and Eastern Yiddish This is especially true in the United States, where 6 out of the 7 million strong American Jewish population — the largest Jewish population in the world when consistent statistical parameters are employed^[5] — is Ashkenazi, representing the world's single largest concentration of Ashkenazim. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the American Jews, or Jewish Americans Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of " Who is a Jew " remains a

Contents 1 Who is an Ashkenazi Jew? 1.1 Religious definition 1.2 Cultural definition 1.3 Ethnic definition 1.4 Realignment in Israel 2 Origins of Ashkenazim 2.1 Background in the Roman Empire 2.2 Rabbinic Judaism moves to Ashkenaz 2.3 DNA clues 3 Ashkenazi migrations throughout the High and Late Middle Ages 3.1 Usage of the name 3.2 Medieval references 4 Customs, laws and traditions 5 Relationship to other Jews 6 Population genetics 6.1 Specific diseases 7 Modern history 7.1 Ashkenazi Jews and the Holocaust 7.2 Ashkenazi Jews in Israel 7.3 Achievement 8 Ashkenazi Chief Rabbis in the Yishuv and Israel 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References for "Who is an Ashkenazi Jew?" 12 Other References 13 External links

Who is an Ashkenazi Jew?

The exact definition of Jewishness is not universally agreed upon -- neither by religious scholars (especially across different denominations), nor in the context of politics (as applied to those who wish to make Aliyah), nor even in the conventional, everyday sense (where 'Jewishness' may be loosely understood by the casual observer as encompassing both religious and secular Jews, or religious Jews alone). " Who is a Jew? " (Mihu Yehudi? ?מיהו יהודי is a basic question about Jewish identity. Aliyah ( refers to Jewish Immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948 the State of Israel) Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena above all it is the Culture of secular communities of Jewish people but it can also include This makes it especially difficult to define who is an Ashkenazi Jew, because Ashkenazi Jews have been defined by different people using religious, cultural, or ethnic perspectives. Since the overwhelming majority of Ashkenazi Jews no longer live in Eastern Europe, the isolation that once favored a distinct religious tradition and culture has vanished. Furthermore, the word Ashkenazi is being used in non-traditional ways, especially in Israel. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. By conservative and orthodox philosophies, a person can only be considered a jew if their mother was jewish, or they have undergone conversion. This means that a person can be Ashkenazi but not considered a jew by some of those within the jewish communities, making the term "Ashkenazi" more applicable as broad ethnicity which evolved from the practice of judaism in Europe.

Religious definition

Religious Jews have Minhagim, customs, in addition to Halakha, or religious law, and different interpretations of law. Minhag ( Hebrew: מנהג "custom" pl minhagim) is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law Different groups of religious Jews in different geographic areas historically adopted different customs and interpretations. On certain issues, Orthodox Jews are required to follow the customs of their ancestors, and do not regard themselves as having the option of picking and choosing. Therefore, observant Jews at times find it important for religious reasons to ascertain who their household's religious ancestors are in order to know what customs their household should follow. These times include, for example, when two Jews of different ethnic background marry, when a non-Jew converts to Judaism and determines what customs to follow for the first time, or when a lapsed or less observant Jew returns to traditional Judaism and must determine what was done in his or her family's past. In this sense, "Ashkenazic" refers both to a family ancestry and to a body of customs binding on Jews of that ancestry.

In a religious sense, an Ashkenazi Jew is any Jew whose family tradition and ritual follows Ashkenazi practice. When the Ashkenazi community first began to develop in the Early Middle Ages and until the 9th century, the centers of Jewish religious authority were in the Islamic world, at Baghdad and in Islamic Spain. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 The 9th century is the period from 801 to 900 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Baghdad (بغداد) is the Capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is also coterminous Ashkenaz (Germany) was so distant geographically that it developed a minhag of its own, and Ashkenazi Hebrew came to be pronounced in ways distinct from other forms of Hebrew. Minhag ( Hebrew: מנהג "custom" pl minhagim) is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism.

In this respect, the counterpart of Ashkenazi is Sephardic, since most non-Ashkenazi Orthodox Jews follow Sephardic rabbinical authorities, whether or not they are ethnically Sephardic. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural By tradition, a Sephardic or Mizrahi woman who marries into an Orthodox or Haredi Ashkenazi Jewish family raises her children to be Ashkenazi Jews, and a gentile who converts to Judaism and takes on Ashkenazi religious practices becomes an Ashkenazi Jew. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, ( also referred to as Edot HaMizrach (Communities of the East are Jews descended Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. The term Gentile (from Latin, gentilis, meaning of or belonging to a clan or tribe refers to non- Israelite tribes or nations in the Bible. A conversion to Judaism (גיור giyur) is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community

Traditional Jewish law or Halacha considers a person who has undergone a formal religious conversion to be a Jew, but it also defines who is a Jew by ancestry, following the maternal lineage, irrespective of belief. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law " Who is a Jew? " (Mihu Yehudi? ?מיהו יהודי is a basic question about Jewish identity. According to Halacha, membership in a synagogue or participation in a local Jewish community does not alone make one a Jew. A synagogue (from Greek: grc συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, "assembly" he בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of Likewise a person who disassociates themselves from the Jewish community is still considered to be Jewish by Halachic standards. Outside the State of Israel, no central authority or ruling body in Judaism determines who is a Jew. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. More religiously liberal and secular Jews have different approaches to accepting the Jewish heritage.

Since by tradition, Jewish status is inherited and follows the maternal lineage, someone who is maternally descended from a Jew, even if totally unaware of their Jewish heritage, or even if a practitioner of another religion, is from a traditional Jewish legal perspective still a Jew. Likewise, a person born of a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother is not considered Jewish by traditional Orthodox Jewish law, even if he was raised Jewish, unless he or she converts.

As a result of both difficulties caused applying of the traditional rules in the face of wide-spread intermarriage in less traditional Jewish circles and ideological perspectives (egalitarianism), Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism adopted an approach of single-parent descent irrespective of gender. Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan (1881 – 1983 Under this definition, someone born to one Jewish parent who is given a Jewish upbringing is considered Jewish, and conversely, someone born to one Jewish parent who is not given a Jewish upbringing is considered a non-Jew (regardless of whether it is the father or mother who is Jewish).

The following examples illustrate Jewish identity issues from the perspective of Halakha:

• Apostasy. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law This article is about the 19th century Russian pianist and composer A Jew who converts to another religion, though an apostate, is still considered a Jew. Anton Rubinstein, who converted to Eastern Christianity, was still considered an Ashkenazi Jew. This article is about the 19th century Russian pianist and composer Families of churches Eastern Christians have a shared tradition but they became divided ( Schism) during the early centuries of Christianity in disputes about In the state of Israel, however, an Israeli Jew who converts to a different religion is no longer considered to be Jewish. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics.

• Atheism. A Jew who becomes an atheist is still considered a Jew. Karl Marx, an atheist whose Jewish mother and father had converted to Christianity before he was born, would be considered an Ashkenazi Jew. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings

• Hidden Identity. A Jew whose identity was hidden, who was raised in another religion, is still considered a Jew. Madeleine Albright, the former US Secretary of State whose Jewish parents converted to Catholicism to escape persecution in the Holocaust and then hid their ancestry, is considered an Ashkenazi Jew, even though she did not know of her "identity" until she became an adult, and was a professing Catholic. Madeleine Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová on May 15, 1937) was the first woman to become United States Secretary of State. Secretary of State is a commonly used title for a Government Official. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as

• Renunciation. A Jew who renounces and even condemns Judaism is still considered a Jew. Bobby Fischer, the international chess star who claimed that the Holocaust was a Jewish invention and a lie, claimed to have only a Jewish mother, though evidence has shown to suggest that both his parents were Jewish. Robert James "Bobby" Fischer ( March 9 1943 – January 17 2008) was an American -born Chess Grandmaster The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as ^[6]

With the reintegration of Jews from around the world in Israel, North America, and other places, the religious definition of an Ashkenazi Jew is blurring, especially outside of Orthodox Judaism. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized Many Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews have joined liberal movements that originally developed within Ashkenazi Judaism. At least in recent decades, the congregations they have joined have often embraced them, and absorbed new traditions into their minhag. Rabbis and Cantors in all non-Orthodox movements study Hebrew in Israel, learning Sephardic rather than Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation. Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master "Hazan" and "Chazan" redirect here For people named Hazan or Chazan see Hazan (disambiguation Growing importance of the office For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Ashkenazi congregations are adopting Sephardic or modern Israeli melodies for many prayers and traditional songs. Since the middle of the 20th century there has been a gradual syncretism and fusion of traditions, and this is affecting the minhag of all but the most traditional congregations. Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought Minhag ( Hebrew: מנהג "custom" pl minhagim) is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism.

New developments in Judaism often transcend differences in religious practice between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. In North American cities, social trends such as the chavurah movement, and the emergence of post-denominational Judaism^{[7] [8]} often bring together younger Jews of diverse ethnic backgrounds. A chavurah or havurah (חבורה Hebrew: "fellowship" plural chavuroth) is a small group of like-minded Jews In recent years, there has been increased interest in Kabbalah, which many Ashkenazi Jews study outside of the Yeshiva framework. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Yeshiva or yeshivah (jəʃi'və ( Hebrew: ישיבה "sitting (n Another trend is the new popularity of ecstatic worship in the Jewish Renewal movement and the Carlebach style minyan, both of which are nominally of Ashkenazi origin. Religious ecstasy is an Altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness which is frequently Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, Musical and For the article on the Mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin located in Brooklyn, New York City, see Shlomo Carlebach (rabbi A minyan (מנין lit to count number; pl minyanim) in Judaism refers to the Quorum required for certain religious ^[9]

Cultural definition

In a cultural sense, an Ashkenazi Jew can be identified by the concept of Yiddishkeit, a word that literally means “Jewishness” in the Yiddish language. Yiddishkeit ( Yiddish: ייִדישקייט — yidishkeyt in standard transcription literally means "Jewishness" i Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Of course, there are other kinds of Jewishness. Yiddishkeit is simply the Jewishness of Ashkenazi Jews.

Before the Haskalah and the emancipation of Jews in Europe, this meant the study of Torah and Talmud for men, and a family and communal life governed by the observance of Jewish Law for men and women. Haskalah ( Hebrew: השכלה "enlightenment" "education" from sekhel " Intellect " "mind") the Jewish Enlightenment Jewish question Jewish emancipation was the abolition of discriminatory laws as applied especially to Jews in Europe in the nineteenth century the recognition of Jews term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history From the Rhineland to Riga to Romania, most Jews prayed in liturgical Ashkenazi Hebrew, and spoke Yiddish in their secular lives. The Rhineland ( Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania

But with modernization, Yiddishkeit now encompasses not just Orthodoxy and Hasidism, but a broad range of movements, ideologies, practices, and traditions in which Ashkenazi Jews have participated and somehow retained a sense of Jewishness. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Although a far smaller number of Jews still speak Yiddish, Yiddishkeit can be identified in manners of speech, in styles of humor, in patterns of association. Broadly speaking, a Jew is one who associates culturally with Jews, supports Jewish institutions, reads Jewish books and periodicals, attends Jewish movies and theater, travels to Israel, visits ancient synagogues in Prague, and so forth. Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. It is a definition that applies to Jewish culture in general, and to Ashkenazi Yiddishkeit in particular.

Contemporary population migrations have contributed to a reconfigured Jewishness among Jews of Ashkenazi descent that transcends Yiddishkeit and other traditional articulations of Ashkenazi Jewishness. As Ashkenazi Jews moved away from Eastern Europe, settling mostly in Israel, North America, and other English-speaking areas, the geographic isolation which gave rise to Ashkenazim has given way to mixing with other cultures, and with non-Ashkenazi Jews who, similarly, are no longer isolated in distinct geographic locales. For Ashkenazi Jews living in Eastern Europe, chopped liver and gefiltefish were archetypal Jewish foods. Gefilte fish (געפֿילטע פֿיש German Gefüllter Fisch, English filled fish) are poached fish patties or balls made from a mixture of ground To contemporary Ashkenazi Jews living both in Israel and in the diaspora, Middle Eastern foods such as hummus and falafel, neither traditional to the historic Ashkenazi experience, have become central to their lives as Ashkenazi Jews in the current era. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The Jewish diaspora ( Hebrew: Tefutzah, "scattered" or Galut גלות "exile" Yiddish: tfutses) the presence For the biological matter in soil see Humus; for the band see Humus (band. Falafel (فلافل; פלאפל also known in Egypt and Sudan as ta'meya Arabic طعمية is a fried ball or patty made from Spiced Fava Hebrew has replaced Yiddish as the primary Jewish language for some Ashkenazi Jews, except for many Hasidic and Hareidi sects which continue to use Yiddish. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. For example, in Borough Park, Williamsburg, and other cities where large ultra-Orthodox populations reside Yiddish still remains the language spoken by Jews. Borough Park (usually spelled by its residents Boro Park) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Bushwick Also, in many religious areas of Israel, including Bnai Brak and Meah Shearim, some conservative Hasidic groups continue using Yiddish, often refusing to use Hebrew entirely. Bnei Brak (or Bene Beraq) (בְּנֵי בְּרַק Bəne Bəraq) is a city located on Israel 's central Mediterranean coastal plain Meah Shearim, ( מאה שערים) is one of the oldest neighborhoods in west Jerusalem, Israel, built by the original settlers of Yishuv haYashan Given the phenomenal growth of Hasidic Jews all over the world, and in the United States in particular, the number of Yiddish speakers, many sociologists predict, will boom. The number of Yiddish speakers today may be stagnant, or growing slowly, because of so many elderly Jews dying, but when this older cohort of Yiddish speakers dies the language will experience tremendous growth. In many yeshivas all over the world, Yiddish is the primary language of instruction.

France's blended Jewish community is typical of the cultural recombination that is going on among Jews throughout the world. Although France expelled its original Jewish population in the Middle Ages, by the time of the French Revolution, there were two distinct Jewish populations. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an One consisted of Sephardic Jews, originally refugees from the Inquisition and concentrated in the southwest, while the other community was Ashkenazi, concentrated in Alsace, and speaking mainly Yiddish. The term Inquisition can refer to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Roman Catholic Church and Alsace (Alsace alzas Alsatian and Elsass pre-1996 German: Elsaß; Alsatia is one of the 26 Regions of France, located on the eastern The two communities were so separate and different that the National Assembly emancipated them separately in 1791. The National Assembly of France is the lower legislative house under the French Fifth Republic. But after emancipation, a sense of a unified French Jewry emerged, especially when France was wracked by the Dreyfuss affair in the 1890s. The Dreyfus Affair a Political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s In the 1920s and 1930s, Ashkenazi Jews arrived in large numbers as refugees from antisemitism, the Russian revolution, and the economic turmoil of the Great Depression. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility See also Russian Revolution (1905 The Russian Revolution of 1916 refers to a series of popular revolutions in Russia, and the events surrounding them By the 1930s, Paris had a vibrant Yiddish culture, and many Jews were involved in radical political movements. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city After the Vichy years and the Holocaust, the French Jewish population was augmented once again, first by refugees from Eastern Europe, and later by immigrants and refugees from North Africa, many of them francophone. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as The adjective francophone (alternately Francophone) means French -speaking typically as primary language whether referring to individuals groups or places Then, in the 1990s, yet another Ashkenazi Jewish wave began to arrive from countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The result is a pluralistic Jewish community that still has some distinct elements of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic culture. But in France, it is becoming much more difficult to sort out the two, and a distinctly French Jewishness has emerged. ^[10]

Ethnic definition

In an ethnic sense, an Ashkenazi Jew is one whose ancestry can be traced to the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. For roughly a thousand years, the Ashkenazim were a reproductively isolated population in Europe, despite living in many countries, with little inflow or outflow from migration, conversion, or intermarriage with other groups, including other Jews. Human geneticists have identified genetic variations that have high frequencies among Ashkenazi Jews, but not in the general European population. This is true for patrilineal markers (Y-chromosome haplotypes) as well as for matrilineal markers (mitochondrial haplotypes)^[11]. The Y chromosome is the sex-determining Chromosome in most Mammals including Humans In mammals it contains the gene SRY, which triggers The term haplotype is a contraction of the term " haploid Genotype. In Cell biology, a mitochondrion (plural mitochondria) is a membrane-enclosed Organelle found in most eukaryotic cells.

Since the middle of the 20th century, many Ashkenazi Jews have intermarried, both with members of other Jewish communities and with people of other nations and faiths, while some Jews have also adopted children from other ethnic groups or parts of the world and raised them as Jews. Conversion to Judaism, rare for nearly 2,000 years, has become more common. Jewish women and families who choose artificial insemination often choose a biological father who is not Jewish, to avoid common autosomal recessive genetic diseases. Orthodox religious authorities actually encourage this, because of the danger that a Jewish donor could be a mamzer. In Halakha ( Jewish religious law a Mamzer (ממזר is a person born of certain forbidden relationships between two Jews Thus, the concept of Ashkenazi Jews as a distinct ethnic people, especially in ways that can be defined ancestrally and therefore traced genetically, has also blurred considerably.

A study by Michael Seldin, a geneticist at the University of California Davis School of Medicine, found Ashkenazi Jews to be a clear, relatively homogenous genetic subgroup. Strikingly, regardless of the place of origin, Ashkenazi Jews can be grouped in the same genetic cohort — that is, regardless of whether an Ashkenazi Jew's ancestors came from Poland, Russia, Hungary, Lithuania, or any other place with a historical Jewish population, they belong to the same ethnic group. The research demonstrates the endogamy of the Jewish population in Europe and lends further credence to the idea of Ashkenazi Jews as an ethnic group. Moreover, though intermarriage among Jews of Ashkenazi descent has become increasingly more common, many Ultra-Orthodox Jews, particularly members Hasidic or Hareidi sects, continue to marry exclusively fellow Ashkenazi Jews. This trend keeps Ashkenazi genes prevalent and will also help researchers further study the genes of Ashkenazi Jews with relative ease. It is also noteworthy that these Ultra-Orthodox Jews often have extremely large families too. ^[12].

Realignment in Israel

In Israel the term Ashkenazi is now used in ways that have nothing to do with its original meaning. In practice, the label Ashkenazi is often applied to all Jews of European background living in Israel, including those whose ethnic background is actually Sephardic. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Jews of any non-Ashkenazi background, including Mizrahi, Yemenite, Kurdish, and others having no connection at all with the Iberian Peninsula, have similarly come to be lumped together as Sephardic. The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Jews of mixed background are increasingly common, partly because of intermarriage between Ashkenazi and non-Ashkenazi, and partly because some do not see such historic markers as relevant to their life experiences as Jews.

Religious Ashkenazi Jews living in Israel are obliged to follow the authority of the chief Ashkenazi rabbi in halakhic matters. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law In this respect, a religiously Ashkenazi Jew is an Israeli who is more likely to support certain religious interests in Israel, including certain political parties. These political parties result from the fact that a portion of the Israeli electorate votes for Jewish religious parties: although the electoral map changes from one election to another, there are generally several small parties associated with the interests of religious Ashkenazi Jews. The role of religious parties, including small religious parties which play important roles as coalition members, results in turn from Israel's composition as a complex society in which competing social, economic, and religious interests stand for election to the Knesset, a unicameral legislature with 120 seats. For Beit Knesset a Jewish Place of worship, see Synagogue. The Knesset (כנסת lit

Origins of Ashkenazim

Although the historical record itself is very limited, there is a consensus of cultural, linguistic, and genetic evidence that the Ashkenazi Jewish population originated in the Middle East. When they arrived in northern France and the Rhineland sometime around 800-1000 AD, the Ashkenazi Jews brought with them both Rabbinic Judaism and the Babylonian Talmudic culture that underlies it. Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism ( Hebrew: " Yehadut Rabanit " - יהדות רבנית is the mainstream religious system of post- diaspora Yiddish, once spoken by the vast majority of Ashkenazi Jewry, is a Jewish language which developed from the Middle High German vernacular, heavily influenced by Hebrew and Aramaic. Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High The Jewish languages are a set of Languages that developed in various Jewish communities around the world more notably in Europe, West Asia, and Middle High German (MHG German Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350 Aramaic is a Semitic language with (By comparison, the Greek or Latin influence on Yiddish was much less significant). Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome.

European Jews came to be called "Ashkenaz" because the main centers of Jewish learning were located in Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Ashkenaz is a Medieval Hebrew name for Germany. Medieval Hebrew has many features that distinguish it from older forms of Hebrew. (See Usage of the name for the term's etymology. Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim ( Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, ˌaʃkəˈnazim sing )

Background in the Roman Empire

After the forced Jewish exile from Jerusalem in 70 AD and the complete Roman takeover of Judea following the Bar Kochba rebellion of 132-135 AD, Jews continued to be a majority of the population in Palestine for several hundred years. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Background After the failed Great Jewish Revolt in the year 70 the Roman authorities took measures to suppress the rebellious province However, the Romans no longer recognized the authority of the Sanhedrin or any other Jewish body, and Jews were prohibited from living in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin (סנהדרין συνέδριον ''synedrion'', "sitting together" hence " assembly " or "council" was an assembly Outside the Roman Empire, a large Jewish community remained in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Other Jewish populations could be found dispersed around the Mediterranean region, with the largest concentrations in the Levant, Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy, including Rome itself. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Smaller communities are recorded in southern Gaul (France), Spain, and North Africa. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan ^[13]

Jews were denied full Roman citizenship until 212 AD, when Emperor Caracalla granted all free peoples this privilege. Caracalla ( April 4 188 &ndash April 8, 217) born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later However as a penalty for the first Jewish Revolt, Jews were still required to pay a poll tax until the reign of Emperor Julian in 363 AD. A poll tax, head tax, or capitation is a Tax of a uniform fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian or Julian the Apostate (331 or 332 to 26 June 363) was Roman Emperor (Caesar In the late Roman Empire, Jews were still free to form networks of cultural and religious ties and enter into various local occupations. But after Christianity became the official religion of Rome and Constantinople, Jews were increasingly marginalized, and brutally persecuted. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS

In Palestine and Mesopotamia, where Jewish religious scholarship was centered, the majority of Jews were still engaged in farming, as demonstrated by the preoccupation of early Talmudic writings with agriculture. In diaspora communities, trade was a common occupation, facilitated by the easy mobility of traders through the dispersed Jewish communities. The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic

Throughout this period and into the early Middle Ages, some Jews assimilated into the dominant Greek and Latin cultures, mostly through conversion to Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings ^[14] In Palestine and Mesopotamia, the spoken language of Jews continued to be Aramaic, but elsewhere in the diaspora, most Jews spoke Greek. Aramaic is a Semitic language with Conversion and assimilation were especially common within the Hellenized or Greek-speaking Jewish communities, amongst whom the Septuagint and Aquila of Sinope (Greek translations and adaptations of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible) were the source of scripture. The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the Aquila of Sinope was a 2nd Century AD native of Pontus in Anatolia known for producing an exceedingly literal translation of the Hebrew Bible into See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is A remnant of this Greek-speaking Jewish population (the Romaniotes) survives to this day. The Romaniotes ( Greek: Ρωμανιώτες, Rōmaniōtes are a Jewish population who have lived in the territory of today's Greece and

The Germanic invasions of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century by tribes such as the Visigoths, Franks, Lombards, and Vandals caused massive economic and social instability within the western Empire, contributing to its decline. The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285 the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from In the late Roman Empire, Jews are known to have lived in Cologne and Trier, as well as in what is now France. Trier (Trèves Luxembourgish: Tréier; Augusta Treverorum is a City in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. However, it is unclear whether there is any continuity between these late Roman communities and the distinct Ashkenazi Jewish culture that began to emerge about 500 years later. King Dagobert of the Franks expelled the Jews from his Merovingian kingdom in 629. Dagobert is a male given name from Gaulish dago "good" and Old Frankish berath "bright" The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group The Merovingians (also Merovings) were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region (known as Francia in Latin Jews in former Roman territories now faced new challenges as harsher anti-Jewish Church rulings were enforced.

Rabbinic Judaism moves to Ashkenaz

In Mesopotamia, and in Persian lands free of Roman imperial domination, Jewish life fared much better. Since the conquest of Judea by Nebuchadrezzar II, this community had always been the leading diaspora community, a rival to the leadership of Palestine. Judea or Judæa ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, "praised Nebuchadrezzar II, more often called Nebuchadnezzar (c 630-562 BC was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned c The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic After conditions for Jews began to deteriorate in Roman controlled lands, many of the religious leaders of Judea and the Galilee fled to the east. Judea or Judæa ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, "praised "Galil" redirects here For the weapon see IMI Galil. Galilee (הגליל ha-Galil, lit the province, At the academies of Pumbeditha and Sura near Babylon, Rabbinic Judaism based on Talmudic learning began to emerge and assert its authority over Jewish life throughout the diaspora. Pumbedita (sometimes Pumbeditha, Pumpedita, or Pumbedisa) was the name of a city in ancient Babylonia that was a major center of Talmud Sura was a city in the southern part of ancient Babylonia, located west of the Euphrates River. Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism ( Hebrew: " Yehadut Rabanit " - יהדות רבנית is the mainstream religious system of post- diaspora The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history Rabbinic Judaism created a religious mandate for literacy, requiring all Jewish males to learn Hebrew and read from the Torah. This emphasis on literacy and learning a second language would eventually be of great benefit to the Jews, allowing them to take on commercial and financial roles within Gentile societies where literacy was often quite low.

After the Islamic conquest of the Middle East and North Africa, new opportunities for trade and commerce opened between the Middle East and Western Europe. The vast majority of Jews in the world now lived in Islamic lands. Urbanization, trade, and commerce within the Islamic world allowed Jews, as a highly literate people, to abandon farming and live in cities, engaging in occupations where they could use their skills. ^[15] The influential, sophisticated, and well organized Jewish community of Mesopotamia, now centered in Baghdad, became the center of the Jewish world. In the Caliphate of Baghdad, Jews took on many of the financial occupations that they would later hold in the cities of Ashkenaz. Jewish traders from Baghdad began to travel to the west, renewing Jewish life in the western Mediterranean region. They brought with them Rabbinic Judaism and Babylonian Talmudic scholarship. The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history

After 800 AD, Charlemagne's unification of former Frankish lands with northern Italy and Rome brought on a brief period of stability and unity in Western Europe. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his This created opportunities for Jewish merchants to settle once again north of the Alps. Charlemagne granted the Jews in his lands freedoms similar to those once enjoyed under the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Returning once again to Frankish lands, many Jewish merchants took on occupations in finance and commerce, including moneylending or usury. Usury (ˈjuːʒəri comes from the Medieval Latin usuria, "interest" or "excessive interest" from the Latin usura "interest" (Church legislation banned Christians from lending money in exchange for interest. Interest is a fee paid on borrowed capital Assets lent include Money, Shares, Consumer goods through Hire purchase, major assets ) From Charlemagne's time on to the present, there is a well documented record of Jewish life in northern Europe, and by the 11th century, when Rashi of Troyes wrote his commentaries, Ashkenazi Jews had emerged also as interpreters and commentators on the Torah and Talmud. For the astrological concept see Rāshi (Jyotiṣa. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, (רבי שלמה יצחקי better known by the acronym Rashi Troyes (tʁwa is a commune, the préfecture (capital of the northeastern Aube département in France and is term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history

DNA clues

Efforts to identify the origins of Ashkenazi Jews through DNA analysis began in the 1990s. Like most DNA studies of human migration patterns, these studies have focused on two segments of the human genome, the Y chromosome (inherited only by males), and the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA, DNA which passes from mother to child). The Y chromosome is the sex-determining Chromosome in most Mammals including Humans In mammals it contains the gene SRY, which triggers Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) is the DNA located in Organelles called mitochondria. Both segments are unaffected by recombination. Thus, they provide an indicator of paternal and maternal origins, respectively.

A study of haplotypes of the Y chromosome, published in 2000, addressed the paternal origins of Ashkenazi Jews. The term haplotype is a contraction of the term " haploid Genotype. Hammer et al^[16] found that the Y chromosome of some Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews contained mutations that are also common among Middle Eastern peoples, but uncommon in the general European population. The Y chromosome is the sex-determining Chromosome in most Mammals including Humans In mammals it contains the gene SRY, which triggers Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural This suggested that the male ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews could be traced mostly to the Middle East. The proportion of male genetic admixture in Ashkenazi Jews amounts to less than 0. 5% per generation over an estimated 80 generations, with "relatively minor contribution of European Y chromosomes to the Ashkenazim," and a total admixture estimate "very similar to Motulsky's average estimate of 12. 5%. " This supported the finding that "Diaspora Jews from Europe, Northwest Africa, and the Near East resemble each other more closely than they resemble their non-Jewish neighbors. "

Until recently, geneticists had largely attributed the genesis of most of the world's Jewish populations, including the Ashkenazim of Northern and Central Europe, to have been founded by the males who migrated from the Middle East and "by the women from each local population whom they took as wives and converted to Judaism". See also Judaism by country Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population ^[17] But new studies suggest that in addition to the male founders, significant female founder ancestry may also derive from the Middle East. ^[17]

Recent research indicates that a significant portion of Ashkenazi maternal ancestry is also likely of Middle Eastern origin. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. A 2006 study by Behar et al^[1], based on haplotype analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), suggested that about 40% of the current Ashkenazi population is descended matrilineally from just four women, or "founder lineages", that were "likely from a Hebrew/Levantine mtDNA pool" originating in the Near East in the first and second centuries CE. The term haplotype is a contraction of the term " haploid Genotype. Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) is the DNA located in Organelles called mitochondria. Hebrews (or Hebertes, Eberites, Hebreians, " Habiru " or " Habiri " Hebrew: עברים See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the According to the authors, "the observed global pattern of distribution renders very unlikely the possibility that the four aforementioned founder lineages entered the Ashkenazi mtDNA pool via gene flow from a European host population. "

Both the extent and location of the maternal ancestral deme from which the Ashkenazi Jewry arose remain obscure. Here, using complete sequences of the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), we show that close to one-half of Ashkenazi Jews, estimated at 8,000,000 people, can be traced back to only four women carrying distinct mtDNAs that are virtually absent in other populations, with the important exception of low frequencies among non-Ashkenazi Jews. We conclude that four founding mtDNAs, likely of Near Eastern ancestry, underwent major expansion(s) in Europe within the past millennium. ^[1][18][19]

Ashkenazi migrations throughout the High and Late Middle Ages

Historical records show evidence of Jewish communities north of the Alps and Pyrenees as early as the 8th and 9th century. The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés By the early 900s, Jewish populations were well-established in Northern Europe, and later followed the Norman Conquest into England in 1066, also settling in the Rhineland. Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Rhineland ( Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. With the onset of the Crusades, and the expulsions from England (1290), France (1394), and parts of Germany (1400s), Jewish migration pushed eastward into Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Over this period of several hundred years, some have suggested, Jewish economic activity was focused on trade, business management, and financial services, due to Christian European prohibitions restricting certain activities by Jews, and preventing certain financial activities (such as "usurious" loans) between Christians. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Usury (ˈjuːʒəri comes from the Medieval Latin usuria, "interest" or "excessive interest" from the Latin usura "interest" ^[20]

By the 1400s, the Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Poland were the largest Jewish communities of the Diaspora. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic ^[21] Poland in this time was a decentralized medieval monarchy, incorporating lands from Latvia to Romania, including much of modern Lithuania and Ukraine. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. This area, which eventually fell under the domination of Russia, Austria, and Prussia (Germany), would remain the main center of Ashkenazi Jewry until the Holocaust. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as

Usage of the name

In reference to the Jewish peoples of Northern Europe and particularly the Rhineland, the word Ashkenazi is often found in medieval rabbinic literature. The Rhineland ( Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense can mean the entire spectrum of Rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history References to Ashkenaz in Yosippon and Hasdai ibn Shaprut's letter to the king of the Khazars would date the term as far back as the tenth century, as would also Saadia Gaon's commentary on Daniel 7:8. Josippon is the name usually given to a popular chronicle of Jewish history from Adam to the age of Titus, attributed to an author Josippon or Joseph Hasdai (Abu Yusuf ben Yitzhak ben Ezra ibn Shaprut ( Hebrew: חסדאי אבן שפרוט) born about 915 at Jaén; died 970 or 990 at Córdoba "Kazar" redirects here for the Marvel Comics character see Ka-Zar; for the village in Azerbaijan see Xəzər.

The word Ashkenaz first appears in the genealogy in the Tanakh (Genesis 10) as a son of Gomer and grandson of Japheth. See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is Gomer ( גֹּמֶר, Standard Hebrew Gómer, Tiberian Hebrew Gōmer, go'mer) is the eldest son of Japheth, and father Japheth (ˈdʒeɪfɪθ Hebrew. יפת Greek Ιάφεθ, Iapheth, Latin Iafeth or Iapetus Arabic يافث It is thought that the name originally applied to the Scythians (Ishkuz), who were called Ashkuza in Assyrian inscriptions, and lake Ascanius and the region Ascania in Anatolia derive their names from this group. In Classical Antiquity, Scythia ( Greek Skuthia) was the area in Eurasia inhabited by the Scythians, from the 8th In Greek and Roman mythology, Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Creusa. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black

Ashkenaz in later Hebrew tradition became identified with the peoples of Germany, and in particular to the area along the Rhine where the Alamanni tribe once lived (compare the French and Spanish words Allemagne and Alemania, respectively, for Germany). The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Main river ( Germany

The autonym was usually Yidn, however. The word Yid (ייִד jid is a Slang Jewish ethnonym. Its usage may be controversial in modern English language.

Ashkhenaz is also recorded as being an ancient Armenian kingdom, and Armenians speak of themselves in their literature as “the Ashkenazi nation” as putative descendants of Noah’s grandson Ashkenaz. Jewish literature, too, sometimes equates the geographic place Ashkenaz with Armenia. The "Ashkuza" have also been linked to the Oghuz branch of Turks including nearly all Turkic peoples today from Turkey to Turkmenistan. The Oghuz (variously known as Ghuzz, Guozz, Kuz, Oguz, Oğuz, Okuz, Oufoi, Ouz, Ouzoi,

Medieval references

In the first half of the 11th century, Hai Gaon refers to questions that had been addressed to him from Ashkenaz, by which he undoubtedly means Germany. Hai ben Sherira, better known as Hai Gaon, was a medieval Jewish theologian Rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Rashi in the latter half of the 11th century refers to both the language of Ashkenaz^[22] and the country of Ashkenaz. For the astrological concept see Rāshi (Jyotiṣa. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, (רבי שלמה יצחקי better known by the acronym Rashi ^[23] During the 12th century the word appears quite frequently. In the Mahzor Vitry, the kingdom of Ashkenaz is referred to chiefly in regard to the ritual of the synagogue there, but occasionally also with regard to certain other observances. Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry, (d 1105 ( Hebrew: שמחה בן שמואל מויטרי) was a French Talmudist of the 11th and 12th centuries pupil of ^[24]

In the literature of the 13th century references to the land and the language of Ashkenaz often occur. See especially Solomon ben Aderet's Responsa (vol. Shlomo ben Aderet ( Hebrew: שלמה בן אדרת) (or Solomon son of Aderet) (1235 — 1310 was a Medieval Rabbi, halakhist i. , No. 395); the Responsa of Asher ben Jehiel (pp. Asher ben Jehiel ( Hebrew, אשר בן יחיאל, or Asher ben Yechiel sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 &ndash 1328 was an eminent Rabbi and 4, 6); his Halakot (Berakot i. 12, ed. Wilna, p. 10); the work of his son Jacob ben Asher, Tur Orach Chayim (chapter 59); the Responsa of Isaac ben Sheshet (numbers 193, 268, 270). Jacob ben Asher, in Hebrew Ya'akov ben Asher, (1270-ca 1340 ( Toledo, Spain) was an influential Medieval rabbinic authority

In the Midrash compilation Genesis Rabbah, Rabbi Berechiah mentions Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah as German tribes or as German lands. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. It may correspond to a Greek word that may have existed in the Greek dialect of the Palestinian Jews, or the text is corrupted from "Germanica. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly " This view of Berechiah is based on the Talmud (Yoma 10a; Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 71b), where Gomer, the father of Ashkenaz, is translated by Germamia, which evidently stands for Germany, and which was suggested by the similarity of the sound.

In later times the word Ashkenaz is used to designate southern and Western Germany, the ritual of which sections differs somewhat from that of Eastern Germany and Poland. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Thus the prayer-book of Isaiah Horowitz, and many others, give the piyyutim according to the Minhag of Ashkenaz and Poland. Isaiah Horowitz ( Hebrew: ישעיה הלוי הורוביץ; c See also Religious Jewish music A piyyut (plural piyyutim, Hebrew פיוט pijút and) is a Jewish liturgical poem usually designated Minhag ( Hebrew: מנהג "custom" pl minhagim) is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism.

According to 16th century mystic Rabbi Elijah of Chelm, Ashkenazi Jews lived in Jerusalem during the 11th century. Elijah Ba'al Shem (d 1583 was a Polish Rabbi who studied under Rabbi Solomon Luria and later became the Chief Rabbi of Chełm. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The story is told that a German-speaking Palestinian Jew saved the life of a young German man surnamed Dolberger. Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. A surname is a name added to a Given name and is part of a Personal name. So when the knights of the First Crusade came to siege Jerusalem, one of Dolberger’s family members who was among them rescued Jews in Palestine and carried them back to Worms to repay the favor. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of conquering the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and freeing Worms (voɐms is a City in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River ^[25] Further evidence of German communities in the holy city comes in the form of halakic questions sent from Germany to Jerusalem during the second half of the eleventh century. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law ^[26]

Customs, laws and traditions

The Halakhic practices of Ashkenazi Jews may differ from those of Sephardi Jews, particularly in matters of custom. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Differences are noted in the Shulkhan Arukh itself, in the gloss of Moses Isserles. The Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך literally " Set Table " (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulchan Arukh) is a Codification Moses Isserles is commonly known as "the Rema" ( Hebrew: רמ"א Well known differences in practice include:

• Observance of Pesach (Passover): Ashkenazi Jews traditionally refrain from eating legumes, corn, millet, and rice (quinoa, however, has become accepted as foodgrain in the North American communities), whereas Sephardi Jews typically do not prohibit these foods. Passover ( Hebrew, Yiddish: פֶּסַח Pesach, Tiberian: pɛsaħ Israeli: Pesah, Pesakh, Yiddish A legume is a Plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae or a Fruit of these specific plants Maize (ˈmeɪz ( Zea mays L. ssp mays) known as corn in some countries is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica The millets are a group of small- Seeded Species of Cereal crops or grains widely grown around the world for Food and Fodder Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many For the town with a similar name see Quinua Peru. "Quinoa" is also a title of a 1992 music album by Tangerine Dream.
• Ashkenazi Jews freely mix and eat fish and milk products; some Sephardic Jews refrain from doing so.
• Ashkenazim are more permissive toward the usage of wigs as a hair covering for married and widowed women. A wig is a head of Hair made from horse-hair human hair wool feathers buffalo hair or synthetic worn on the head for fashion or various other aesthetic and stylistic
• In the case of kashrut for meat, conversely, Sephardi Jews have stricter requirements—this level is commonly referred to as Beth Yosef. Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus, he כַּשְׁרוּת refers to Jewish dietary laws. The Shulchan Aruch (שולחן ערוך literally " Set Table " (also Shulhan Aruch or Shulchan Arukh) is a Codification Meat products which are acceptable to Ashkenazi Jews as kosher may therefore be rejected by Sephardi Jews. Notwithstanding stricter requirements for the actual slaughter, Sephardi Jews permit the rear portions of an animal after proper Halakhic removal of the sciatic nerve, while many Ashkenazi Jews do not. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law The sciatic nerve (also known as the ischiatic nerve) is a large Nerve that starts in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down the Lower limb This is not because of different interpretations of the law; rather, slaughterhouses could not find adequate skills for correct removal of the sciatic nerve and found it more economical to separate the hindquarters and sell them as non-kosher meat.
• Ashkenazi Jews frequently name newborn children after deceased family members, but not after living relatives. Sephardi Jews, on the other hand, often name their children after the children's grandparents, even if those grandparents are still living (See Sephardi Names). Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural A notable exception to this generally reliable rule is among Dutch Jews, where Ashkenazim for centuries used the naming conventions otherwise attributed exclusively to Sephardim (See Chuts). Most history of the Jews in the Netherlands was generated between the end of the sixteenth century and World War II. Chuts (ˈxʊts is the name applied to Jews who immigrated to London from The Netherlands during the latter part of the 19th century
• Ashkenazi tefillin bear some differences from Sephardic tefillin. Tefillin, ( תפילין) also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with biblical verses Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Tefillin, ( תפילין) also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with biblical verses In the traditional Ashkenazic rite the tefillin are wound towards the body, not away from it. Ashkenazim traditionally don tefillin while standing whereas other Jews generally do so while sitting down. Tefillin, ( תפילין) also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with biblical verses
• Ashkenazic traditional pronunciations of Hebrew differ from those of other groups. The most prominent consonantal difference from Sephardic and Mizrahic Hebrew dialects is the pronunciation of the Hebrew letter tav in certain Hebrew words (historically, in postvocalic undoubled context) as an /s/ and not a /t/ or /θ/ sound. Taw or Tav is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tav
• The prayer shawl, or talit (or talis in ashkenazi Hebrew) is worn over the shoulders in Ashkenazi Judaism. In Sephardi or Mizrahi Judaism, the prayer shawl is commonly worn over the head.

Relationship to other Jews

Part of a series of articles on Jews and Judaism           Who is a Jew? · Etymology · Culture Judaism · Core principles God · Tanakh (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) · Mitzvot (613) · Talmud · Halakha · Holidays · Prayer · Tzedakah · Ethics · Kabbalah · Customs · Midrash Jewish ethnic diversity Ashkenazi · Sephardi · Mizrahi Population (historical) · By country Israel · USA · Russia/USSR · Iraq · Spain · Portugal · Poland · Germany · Bosnia · Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela)  · France · England · Canada · Australia · Hungary · India · Turkey · Greece · Africa · Iran · China Republic of Macedonia · Romania Lists of Jews · Crypto-Judaism Jewish denominations · Rabbis Orthodox · Conservative · Reform · Reconstructionist · Liberal · Karaite · Humanistic · Renewal  · Alternative Jewish languages Hebrew · Yiddish · Judeo-Persian · Ladino · Judeo-Aramaic · Judeo-Arabic History · Timeline · Leaders Ancient · Temple · Babylonian exile · Jerusalem (in Judaism · Timeline) · Hasmoneans · Sanhedrin · Schisms · Pharisees · Jewish-Roman wars · Relationship with Christianity; with Islam · Diaspora · Middle Ages · Sabbateans · Hasidism · Haskalah · Emancipation · Holocaust · Aliyah · Israel (History) · Arab conflict · Land of Israel · Baal teshuva Persecution · Antisemitism History of antisemitism · Political movements · Zionism Labor Zionism · Revisionist Zionism · Religious Zionism · General Zionism · The Bund · World Agudath Israel · Jewish feminism · Israeli politics v • d • e

The term Ashkenazi also refers to the nusach Ashkenaz (Hebrew, "liturgical tradition", or rite) used by Ashkenazi Jews in their Siddur (prayer book). PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut " Who is a Jew? " (Mihu Yehudi? ?מיהו יהודי is a basic question about Jewish identity. This article focuses on the Etymology of the word Jew. Biblical and Middle Eastern origins The Jews in their land The Jewish ethnonym in Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena above all it is the Culture of secular communities of Jewish people but it can also include Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Although Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a Creed or Catechism In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Nevi'im (נְבִיאִים "Prophets" is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, between the Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים "writings" is the third and final section of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) after Torah and Nevi'im This article is about commandments in Judaism For the Jewish rite of passage see Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah Mitzvah ( Hebrew: מצוה See also Mitzvah See also Biblical law in Christianity The 613 Mitzvot ("commandments" (also " 613 Mitzvos The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law For the Gregorian dates of Jewish Holidays see Jewish holidays 2000-2050. Jewish services ( Hebrew: תפלה, tefillah; plural תפלות, tefillos or tefillot; Yinglish: davening Tzedakah ( צדקה) is a Hebrew word commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning Justice Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of Ethics. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Minhag ( Hebrew: מנהג "custom" pl minhagim) is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic See also Judaism by country Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, ( also referred to as Edot HaMizrach (Communities of the East are Jews descended Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of " Who is a Jew " remains a Jewish population centers have shifted tremendously over time due to the constant streams of Jewish refugees created by expulsions persecution and officially sanctioned killing This article deals with the practice of Judaism and the living arrangement of Jewish people in the listed countries The History of the Jews in the Land of Israel begins with the ancient Israelites (also known as Hebrews) who settled in the Land of Israel. The history of the Jews in the United States has been influenced by waves of immigration primarily from Europe inspired by the social and economic opportunities of the United Iraqi Jews are Jews born in Iraq or of Iraqi heritage The history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before they The history of the Jews in Portugal is directly related to Sephardi history a Jewish ethnic division that represents communities who have originated The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a Millennium. Jews have lived in Germany, or " Ashkenaz " at least since the early 4th century, through both periods of tolerance and spasms of The Jewish community of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a rich and varied history surviving World War II and the Yugoslav Wars, after having The history of the Jews in the Americas dates back to Christopher Columbus and his first cross- Atlantic voyage on August 3, 1492 The history of the Jews of Argentina harks back to the days of the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition when Jews fleeing persecution settled in what A Brazilian Jew ( Portuguese: Judeu Brasileiro) is a Brazilian person of full partial or predominantly Jew ancestry or a Jew-born person residing in Brazil Jewish immigration to Latin America began with seven sailors arriving in Christopher Columbus 's crew Jewish Cubans, Cuban Jews, or Cubans of Jewish heritage, have lived on the island of Cuba for centuries Jews have been present in El Salvador since the early 19th Century. Jews have lived in Mexico since the times of the Inquisition. Jewish Nicaraguans or Nicaraguan Jews (Judío Nicaragüense are Nicaraguans of Jewish Ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to Nicaragua The History of the Jews in Venezuela dates to the middle of the 17th century when records suggest that groups of Marranos (Spanish and Portuguese descendants of baptized The Jewish community in France presently numbers around 600000 according to the World Jewish Congress and 500000 according to the Appel Unifié Juif de France and is The first written records of Jewish settlement in England date from the time of the Norman Conquest, mentioning Jews who arrived with William the Conqueror Canada has the world's fourth-largest Jewish population According to the Canada 2001 Census, there are an estimated 351000 Jews currently living in Canada The history of the Jews in Australia began with the transportation of a number of Jewish Convicts aboard the First Fleet in 1788 when History of the Jews in Hungary concerns the Jews of Hungary and of Hungarian origins Indian Jews are a religious minority of India. Judaism was one of the first non- Dharmic religions to arrive in India in recorded history Jews {ref|name|§}} have lived in the geographic area of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) for more than 2400 years There have been organized Jewish communities in Greece for more than two thousand years Since Biblical times the Jewish people have had close ties with Africa beginning with Abraham 's sojourns in Egypt, and later the Israelite captivity under The beginnings of Jewish history in Iran date back to late biblical times Jews and Judaism in China' have had a long history Jewish settlers are documented in China as early as the 7th or 8th century CE, but may The history of Jews in the territory of the present-day Republic of Macedonia began in Roman times when Jews first arrived in the region in the The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory By type List of Jewish historians List of Jewish scientists and philosophers List of Jewish nobility Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as "crypto-Jews" Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized Conservative Judaism (also known as Masorti Judaism in Israel and Europe) is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan (1881 – 1983 Karaite Judaism or Karaism (ˈkærəˌaɪt ˈkærəˌɪzəm) is a Jewish movement NOTE The word sect should not be used without defining it first and Humanistic Judaism is a movement within Judaism that emphasizes Jewish culture and history—rather than belief in God—as the sources of Jewish identity Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, Musical and Alternative Judaism or Agnostic Judaism refers to a variety of groups whose members while identifying as Jews in some fashion nevertheless do not practice Rabbinical The Jewish languages are a set of Languages that developed in various Jewish communities around the world more notably in Europe, West Asia, and Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Judæo-Persian dialects are a subgroup of Persian dialects spoken by the Jews of Iran Judæo-Aramaic is a collective term used to describe several Hebrew -influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic Languages History The Judæo-Arabic languages are a collection of Arabic dialects spoken by Jews living or formerly living in the Arab world; the term also refers to Jewish history is the History of the Jewish people, faith, and culture. This is a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. Jewish leadership has evolved over time Since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE there has been no single body that has a leadership The history of Ancient Israel and Judah is known to us from classical sources including Judaism 's Tanakh or Hebrew Bible (known Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the See also Religious significance of Jerusalem Since the 10th century BCE Jerusalem in Judaism has been the holiest city, focus and spiritual centre of This is a partial timeline of major events in the History of Jerusalem:; 1800 BCE: The Jebusites build the wall Jebus ( Jerusalem The Hasmoneans (/hæzməˡniən/ חשמונאים Hashmonaiym, Audio were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom ( 140 &ndash 37 BCE The Sanhedrin (סנהדרין συνέδριον ''synedrion'', "sitting together" hence " assembly " or "council" was an assembly Schisms among the Jews are cultural as well as religious They have happened as a product of historical accident geography and Theology. The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated" This article discusses the traditional views of the two religions and may not be applicable all adherents of each The historical interaction of Judaism and Islam started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. The Jewish diaspora ( Hebrew: Tefutzah, "scattered" or Galut גלות "exile" Yiddish: tfutses) the presence The History of Jews in the Middle Ages (approximately 500 CE to 1750 CE can be divided into two categories Also not to be confused with Subbotniks or Sabbatarians. Note Most Sabbateans during and after Sabbatai Zevi were Jews Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Haskalah ( Hebrew: השכלה "enlightenment" "education" from sekhel " Intellect " "mind") the Jewish Enlightenment Jewish question Jewish emancipation was the abolition of discriminatory laws as applied especially to Jews in Europe in the nineteenth century the recognition of Jews The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Aliyah ( refers to Jewish Immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948 the State of Israel) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The State of Israel (מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael) was established in 1948 after nearly two thousand For other uses see Israel (disambiguation The Land of Israel ( Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל Eretz Yisrael) is Note This article is about the movement See Orthodox outreach, Reform outreach, and Conservative outreach for more information about the rabbis See also Antisemitism, History of antisemitism, New antisemitism The persecution of Jews has occurred many times in Jewish history. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility The history of antisemitism, hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group goes back many centuries Jewish political movements refer to the organized efforts of Jews to build their own political parties or otherwise represent their interest in politics outside of History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the Labor Zionism ( Labour Zionism, ציונות סוציאליסטית tsionut sotsialistit) can be described as the major stream of the Left wing of the Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement Religious Zionism, or the Religious Zionist Movement (a branch of which is also called Mizrachi) is an ideology that combines Zionism and religious The General Zionists (ציונים כלליים Tzionim Klalim) were centrists within the Zionist movement and a political party in Israel World Agudath Israel (The World Jewish Union usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious legal and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is Nusach ( Hebrew: נוּסַח nosaħ, modern pronunciation nósakh or núsakh) is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ A siddur ( Hebrew: סידור plural siddurim) is a Jewish Prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. 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. Two other major forms of nusach among Ashkenazic Jews are Nusach Sphard (not to be confused with Sephardi), which is the same as the general Polish (Hasidic) Nusach; and Nusach Chabad, otherwise known as Lubavitch Chasidic, Nusach Arizal or Nusach ha'Ari. Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534 – July 25 1572) was a Jewish mystic in Safed.

This phrase is often used in contrast with Sephardi Jews, also called Sephardim, who are descendants of Jews from Spain and Portugal. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. There are some differences in how the two groups pronounce certain Hebrew letters and in points of ritual.

Several famous people have Ashkenazi as a surname, such as Vladimir Ashkenazi. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy ( Russian: Владимир Давидович Ironically, most people with this surname hail from within Sephardic communities, particularly from the Syrian Jewish community. Syrian Jews ( Arabic, يهود سوريون) derive their origin from two groups those who inhabited the region of today's Syria from the ancient times The Sephardic carriers of the surname would have some Ashkenazi ancestors since the surname was adopted by families who were initially of Ashkenazic origins who move to Sephardi countries and joined those communities. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Ashkenazi would be formally adopted as the family surname having started off as a nickname imposed by their adopted communities. Some have shortened the name to Ash. Other spellings exist, such as Eskenazi or Esquenazi by the Syrian Jews who relocated to Panama and other South-American Jewish communities. Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a

Literature about the alleged Turkic origin of the Ashkenazi population, as descendants of the Jewish population, converts or otherwise, appeared mainly after 1950. Although it has been speculated that the peaceful life lived by the Jews of Khazaria was contrived or exaggerated, and publicized primarily in an effort to shame European leaders into treating their Jewish populations better, the Jewish-Khazar thesis is used today primarily as a whipping horse for antisemites claiming that the Ashkenazim are actually not semites. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ This dubious theory holds that Ashkenazim should be hated for pretending to be "real" Jews, instead of because they are actually Jewish. In any case, most scholarship on the subject dismisses the Khazar-Ashkenazi relationship, if not rejecting the portrayed Jewish golden age of Khazaria altogether.

See also: Jew, Judaism, Rabbenu Gershom

Population genetics

There are many references to Ashkenazi Jews in the literature of medical and population genetics. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Gershom ben Judah, (c 960 -1040? -1028? best known as Rabbeinu Gershom ( Hebrew: רבנו גרשום, "Our teacher Gershom" and also commonly Indeed, much awareness of "Ashkenazi Jews" as an ethnic group or category stems from the large number of genetic studies of disease, including many that are well reported in the media, that have been conducted among Jews. According to Daphna Birenbaum Carmeli at the University of Haifa, Jewish populations have been studied more thoroughly than most other human populations, for a variety of reasons:

• Jewish populations, and particularly the large Ashkenazi Jewish population, are ideal for such research studies, because they exhibit a high degree of endogamy, yet they are sizable. The University of Haifa (אוניברסיטת חיפה is a University in Haifa, Israel. Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a social group. Cultures who practice endogamy require marriage between specified social groups classes or ethnicities
• Geneticists are intrinsically interested in Jewish populations, and a disproportionate percentage of genetics researchers are Jewish. Israel in particular has become an international center of such research.
• Jewish populations are overwhelmingly urban, and are concentrated near biomedical centers where such research has been carried out. Such research is especially easy to carry out in Israel, where cradle-to-grave medical insurance is available, together with universal screening for genetic disease.
• Jewish communities are comparatively well informed about genetics research, and have been supportive of community efforts to study and prevent genetic diseases.
• Participation of Jewish scientists and support from the Jewish community alleviates ethical concerns that sometimes hinder such genetic studies in other ethnic groups.

The result is a form of ascertainment bias. In scientific research ascertainment bias occurs when false results are produced by non-random sampling and conclusions made about an entire group are based on a distorted or This has sometimes created an impression that Jews are more susceptible to genetic disease than other populations. Carmeli writes, "Jews are over-represented in human genetic literature, particularly in mutation-related contexts. " ^[27]

Specific diseases

Diseases that are inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern often occur in endogamous populations. Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a social group. Cultures who practice endogamy require marriage between specified social groups classes or ethnicities Among Ashkenazi Jews, a higher incidence of specific hereditary diseases has been reported:

• Bloom syndrome
• Breast cancer and ovarian cancer (due to higher distribution of BRCA1 and BRCA2)
• Canavan disease
• Colorectal cancer due to hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC)
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (non-classical form)
• Crohn's disease (the NOD2/CARD15 locus appears to be implicated)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Familial dysautonomia (Riley-Day Syndrome)
• Fanconi anemia
• Gaucher's disease
• Hemophilia C
• Kaposi's sarcoma (chronic form)
• Mucolipidosis IV
• Niemann-Pick disease
• Pemphigus vulgaris
• Tay-Sachs disease. A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly Bloom syndrome (BLM is a rare Autosomal Recessive chromosomal disorder characterized by a high frequency of breaks and rearrangements in an affected person's Breast cancer is a Cancer that starts in the cells of the Breast in women and men Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from an Ovary. The cancer most commonly forms in the lining of the ovary (resulting in epithelial BRCA1 ( Breast cancer 1 early onset is a Human Gene, some mutations of which are associated with a significant increase in the risk of Breast cancer BRCA2 (Breast Cancer Type 2 susceptibility protein is a Human Gene that is involved in the repair of chromosomal Canavan disease, also called Canavan-Van Bogaert-Bertrand disease, aspartoacylase deficiency or aminoacylase 2 deficiency, is an autosomal Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes Cancerous growths in the colon, Rectum and Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC also known as Lynch syndrome, is characterised by a risk of Colorectal cancer and other cancers of the endometrium Congenital adrenal hyperplasia ( CAH) refers to any of several Autosomal Recessive Diseases resulting from Mutations Crohn's disease is a Disease of the Digestive system which may affect any part of the Gastrointestinal tract from Mouth to Anus Cystic fibrosis (also known as CF, mucoviscoidosis, or mucoviscidosis) is a hereditary disease affecting the exocrine (mucus glands of the lungs Familial dysautonomia, or FD, sometimes called Riley-Day syndrome is a disorder of the Autonomic nervous system which affects the development and survival Fanconi anemia (FA is a genetic disease that affects children and adults from all ethnic backgrounds Gaucher's disease ( is the most common of the Lysosomal storage diseases It is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme Glucocerebrosidase, leading to an accumulation Haemophilia C is a mild form of Haemophilia affecting both sexes Kaposi's sarcoma (KS is a tumor caused by Human herpesvirus 8 ( HHV8) also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV Mucolipidosis type IV ( ML IV) like other types of Mucolipidosis is an inherited neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder Niemann-Pick Disease is one of a group of Lysosome storage diseases that affect Metabolism and that are caused by genetic mutations Pemphigus (from the Greek pemphix: bubble or blister is an Autoimmune disease of the Skin and mucous membranes that causes vesicles Tay-Sachs disease (abbreviated TSD, also known as GM2 Gangliosidosis, Hexosaminidase A deficiency or Sphingolipidosis) is a Genetic ^[28]
• Torsion dystonia
• Von Gierke disease

Genetic counseling and genetic testing are recommended for couples where both partners are of Ashkenazi ancestry. Torsion dystonia is a disease characterized by painful Muscle contractions resulting in uncontrollable distortions Glycogen storage disease type I ( GSD I) or von Gierke's disease, is the most common of the Glycogen storage diseases This Genetic disease Genetic counseling is the process by which patients or relatives at risk of an inherited disorder are advised of the consequences and nature of the disorder the probability of developing Genetic testing allows the genetic Diagnosis of vulnerabilities to inherited Diseases, and can also be used to determine a person's Ancestry. Some organizations, most notably Dor Yeshorim, organize screening programs to prevent homozygosity for the genes that cause these diseases. Dor Yeshorim ( Hebrew: "upright generation" cf Psalms 1122 also called Committee for Prevention of Genetic Diseases, is an organization that Zygosity refers to the genetic condition of a Zygote. In genetics zygosity describes the similarity or dissimilarity of DNA between Homologous History See also History of genetics The existence of genes was first suggested by Gregor Mendel (1822-1884 who in the 1860s studied inheritance See Jewish Genetics Center for more information on testing programmes.

Modern history

In an essay on Sephardi Jewry, Daniel Elazar at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs^[4] summarized the demographic history of Ashkenazi Jews in the last thousand years, noting that at the end of the 11th century, 97% of world Jewry was Sephardic and 3% Ashkenazi; in the mid-17th century, "Sephardim still outnumbered Ashkenazim three to two", but by the end of the 18th century, "Ashkenazim outnumbered Sephardim three to two, the result of improved living conditions in Christian Europe versus the Ottoman Muslim world. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Daniel Judah Elazar (1934–1999 was a professor of Political science at Temple University, Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA was founded in 1976 by Professor Daniel J "^[4] By 1931, Ashkenazi Jews accounted for nearly 92% of world Jewry. ^[4]

Ashkenazi Jews developed the Hasidic movement as well as major Jewish academic centers across Poland, Russia, and Lithuania in the generations after emigration from the west. Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew After two centuries of comparative tolerance in the new nations, massive westward emigration occurred in the 1800s and 1900s in response to pogroms and the economic opportunities offered in other parts of the world. A pogrom is a form of Riot directed against a particular group whether ethnic religious or other and characterized by destruction of their Homes Businesses Ashkenazi Jews have made up the majority of the American Jewish community since 1750. American Jews, or Jewish Americans ^[21]

Ashkenazi cultural growth led to the Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment, and the development of Zionism in modern Europe. Haskalah ( Hebrew: השכלה "enlightenment" "education" from sekhel " Intellect " "mind") the Jewish Enlightenment History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the

Ashkenazi Jews and the Holocaust

Of the estimated 8. 8 million Jews living in Europe at the beginning of World War II, the majority of whom were Ashkenazi, about 6 million — more than two-thirds — were systematically slaughtered in the Holocaust. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as These included 3 million of 3. 3 million Polish Jews (91%); 900,000 of 1. 1 million in Ukraine (82%); and 50–90% of the Jews of other Slavic nations, Germany, France, Hungary, and the Baltic states. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Sephardi communities suffered similar depletions in a few countries, including Greece, the Netherlands and the former Yugoslavia. ^[29] Many of the surviving Ashkenazi Jews emigrated to countries such as Israel, Australia, and the United States after the war. Human migration denotes any movement by Humans from one locality to another sometimes over long distances or For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The history of the Jews in Australia began with the transportation of a number of Jewish Convicts aboard the First Fleet in 1788 when The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Ashkenazi Jews in Israel

Today, Ashkenazi Jews constitute the largest group among Jews,^[4] but probably about a half of Israeli Jews (see Demographics of Israel). This article discusses the Demographics of Israel. See also Israelis. However, they have played a prominent role in the economy, media, and politics of Israel since its founding. Tensions have sometimes arisen between the traditional Jews of the Middle East (the Sephardim and Mizrahim) and the mostly European Ashkenazim who founded Israel. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, ( also referred to as Edot HaMizrach (Communities of the East are Jews descended Later migrants hailing from the various non-Ashkenazi groups sometimes claim that they are discriminated against in terms of education, jobs/income, housing and in other areas. Aliyah ( refers to Jewish Immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948 the State of Israel) Unlike most discrimination policies discrimination between, which is the discernment of qualities and recognition of the differences focused here discrimination against is

Achievement

Ashkenazi Jews have a noted history of achievement in western societies. ^[30] They have won a disproportionate share of the Nobel awards. ^[31][32] In those societies where they have been free to enter any profession, they have a record of high occupational achievement, entering professions and fields of commerce where higher education is required. ^[33]

For more details on this topic, see Ashkenazi intelligence. Ashkenazi intelligence refers to a controversial theory asserting the higher general intelligence of Ashkenazi Jews, the Jews of Central and

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbis in the Yishuv and Israel

• Abraham Isaac Kook : (23 Feb 1921 - 1 Sep 1935)
• Isaac Halevi Herzog : (1937 - 25 Jul 1959)
• Isser Yehuda Unterman : (1964 - 1972)
• Shlomo Goren : (1972 - 1983)
• Avraham Shapira : (1983 - 1993)
• Israel Meir Lau : (1993 - 3 Apr 2003)
• She'ar-Yashuv Cohen (acting): (3 Apr 2003 - 14 Apr 2003)
• Yona Metzger : (14 Apr 2003 - present)

See also

• History of the Jews in Germany
• Jewish ethnic divisions
• List of Ashkenazi Jews
• Oberlander Jews

Notes

External links

• Ashkenazi history at the Jewish Virtual Library
• A Mosaic of a People: The Jewish Story and a Reassessment of the DNA Evidence by Ellen Levy-Coffman
• "The Matrilineal Ancestry of Ashkenazi Jewry: Portrait of a Recent Founder Event"PDF (2. 02 MiB)
• "Ashkenazi Jewish mtDNA haplogroup distribution varies among distinct subpopulations: lessons of population substructure in a closed group" (European Journal of Human Genetics - 2007)
• Genetics and the Jewish identity

A mebibyte (a contraction of me ga bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, abbreviated MiB.

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