A boy whose parents divorced and his mother who had 100% custody is Ashkenazic. Her mother remarries a Sephardic man and he is raised in a Sephardic household. To which Nusach is he responsible?

B"H

Avi, Shalom!

If the boy and his biological father, let's say, were from the tribe of Benjamin, and his new step-father who married his mother was from the tribe of Judah, would this mean that the boy now belongs to the tribe of Judah? Of course not! It is the same with the child's nusach. If he is of an age that he decides for himself, he should stick with his biological father's nusach.

David

quote:

with the child's nusach. If he is of an age that he decides for himself, he should stick with his biological father's nusach.

So in this case a Sephardi stepfather adopting his new wife's Ashkenaz son needs to learn Ashkenaz minhagim in order to raise his step son according to the boy's father's ways?

quote:

Originally posted by rob:
So in this case a Sephardi stepfather adopting his new wife's Ashkenaz son needs to learn Ashkenaz minhagim in order to raise his step son according to the boy's father's ways?

Rob,

No. Of course not! The question was about the boy, himself. He, alone, is required to continue with the nusach of his father.

I think, though, that it would be a good thing for a step-father to encourage his step-son in the continued practice of his father's nusach.

David

In your opinion, if the boy were so young, or not even yet born, when his Ashkenaz father passed away, and his Sephardi stepfather knows nothing of Ashkenaz ways, and for all other purposes is raising his son as his own, would you feel any differently?

In those apparent cases where a young Jewish maiden might have been raped by a cossack, and a Jewish man marries her, and raises a child as his own, surely you would not recommend that such a child take on customs of his biological father!

I have heard that such things have happened, but I have no idea of the statistics. I did raise this point in another thread regarding what might happen if the same cossack sired a Jewish boy and girl through two different victims who didn't even know their Jewish raising fathers were not their biological fathers, if they happened to get married, what would be the status of their children.

David,
Does the stepfather have the obligation to raise the stepson according to his biological nusach? Or that's simply the preferred way to go. If the stepfather has his own sons whom he is raising according ot Sephardic nusach, isn't it a bit too much to be switching all the time to accommodate the stepson?

B"H
Avi,

The step-father doesn't have to do much "switching" in order to accommodate for his step-son. Just give him his father's siddur, and let him be.

As for Rob's question, are Cossacks Jews? If they are non-Jews, the boy's step-father has every right to raise him as a Jew until he becomes of age, and he is able to decide for himself.

David

quote:

step-father has every right to raise him as a Jew until he becomes of age, and he is able to decide for himself.

Since in this case, the boy is the biological child of a Jewish woman!

Do you perhaps mean to suggest the step-father raising him need not be concerned with showing the boy anything other than his own family traditions of nusach?

And this Jewish boy later in life might be more free to choose a different nusach than others who are more bound to their father's customs?

...

I've heard it said that adopting any complete set of established customs is safe. Mixing and matching customs between established groups can lead to some trouble, such as spiritual lackings.

Particularly for a Jew who has lost contact with their authentic family traditions, it seems safe to take on the family traditions of their rabbi.

Perhaps this extends to local community standards and one's local shul's nusach as well?

Although technically speaking the son should always take on the custom of his biological father, however the Ari zal seems to have done otherwise. His last name was Luria and he was a close relative of the Maharshal (also a Luria), one of Gedolei Ashkenaz and a contemporary and relative of the Rema. According to the Artscroll book on the Ari zal his father passed away in his youth and his mother moved to Egypt where her brother raised the young orphan.
I believe that it is a documented fact that the Ari zal davened from a sefardic siddur. Also, I once read that the siddur that R Chaim Vital davened from and marked up with the Ari zal's comments is in existance today and is sefardi.