Sephardic Jews
Definition
Sephardic Jews are those who originally resided in Spain or Portugal before being expelled in the late 15th century. They have their unique traditions and dialect known as Ladino.
Analogy
Imagine Sephardic Jews as an old book series that originated from one library (Spain/Portugal), but then got distributed to other libraries around the world due to circumstances beyond their control.
Related terms
Diaspora: Diaspora refers to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional homeland; it applies well with Sephardic Jews after their expulsion from Spain/Portugal.
Ladino: Ladino is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish. As Yiddish is to Ashkenazi Jews, Ladino is to Sephardic Jews.
Inquisition: The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy. It played a significant role in the expulsion of Jews from Spain.
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