it is believed that Ashkenazi Jews migrated from the areas of mesopotamia and palestine. little is known about exact whereabouts because of antisemites destroying records.
Science: recently, worldwide DNA analyses have confirmed that today's Jews are related to each other and originated in the Middle East. A 2013 study of Ashkenazi mitochondrial DNA confirmed this.
In 2000, the analysis of a report by Nicholas Wade "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, showing relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition and refute theories which would allege that Jewish communities consist mostly of converts."
Eastern Europe and Russia, Austria and Germany, and (medieval) France and Italy. The Sephardic Jews, on the other hand, were in northern Africa, Iraq and Iran, Spain and Portugal, and Greece.
Rabbi Yitzchak HaLevy (in a book called Doroth HaRishonim), after intensive research, posits that the Ashkenazim spread from Israel (Palestine) in the early Middle Ages, while the Sephardim spread from Bavel (Iraq) at the same time. While this explanation may be hard to prove, it does answer a lot of questions and seems to have factual support.
It is interesting to note that after recent DNA studies, it has been conclusively shown that the claim that Ashkenazim are all (or mostly) from the Khazars is nothing but a canard.
Ashkenazim and Sephardim, even in regions separated for 1500 years, were found to be remarkably closely related by genes; and all Jews were found to have originally (2000+ years ago) come from the Middle East.
Ashkenazic Jews are those Jews who lived in Germany, France and surrounding countries in the past few centuries.
Yes, but Ashkenazi Jews are stricter than Sephardi Jews.
An Ashkenazi is an alternative term for an Ashkenazi Jew, a group of Jews of German and Eastern European origin.
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews are Jews from Europe. Over the centuries, many European pagans and Christians converted to Judaism, and their descendants are referred to as Ashkenazi Jews. Of course, there had always been some Jews in Europe who were descendants from the original immigrants from Judea. Apart from those who fled to Spain to avoid persecution, their descendants are also called Ashkenazi Jews.
Ashkenazi Jews
of course
Yes, they are.
Ashkenazi Jews are an ethnic group comprised of Jews who went to Europe after the expulsion. Ashkenaz was the word for Germany in the Middle Ages, but it generally applies to Jews with a European ancestry.
Reform Judaism had its origins in the Ashkenazi community, but there are plenty of Ashkenazi Orthodox Jews and plenty of Reform Jews with Sephardic backgrounds. In Europe, you can find Liberal synagogues (analogous to the Reform movement in the United States) that are dominated by Sephardic Jews, predominantly in French speaking countries that welcomed many Algerian Jews after the collapse of French North Africa.
Ashkenazi Jews live all over the world and speak the languages of their countries. The most common languages spoken by Ashkenazi Jews are:EnglishHebrewFrenchRussianSpanishYiddish**Yiddish was once the main daily language of Ashkenazi Jews, but today less than 1 million can speak it fluently, and most of these speakers are elderly. Fluent Yiddish speakers mainly live in Belarus, Israel, and Argentina.
Ashkenazi or Sephardic Jews
Rice (regardless of type) is classified as 'kitniyot'. This means that Ashkenazi Jews will not eat it during Passover but some Sephardi and Mizrachi groups will.