Although with regard to the versions of tefillah, a member of Edot HaMizrach (the Sephardic and Eastern communities) should not change the nusach of tefillah to Nusach Ashkenaz, and likewise an Ashkenazi should not change the nusach of his tefillah to the nusach of Edot HaMizrach, nevertheless with piyutim (liturgical poems) and the like there is no concern. However, regarding the pronunciation and enunciation of the reading, each community should hold to its custom, and the poskim disagree regarding an Ashkenazi who wishes to read with Sephardic pronunciation, whether he is permitted.
Sources and Explanations
Well known is the view of the poskim, cited by Hagaon Rabbi Ovadia Yosef zt”l (Yabia Omer vol. 6, Orach Chaim siman 10), concerning customs, that all of them have a root in Heaven, as written in Hagahot Maimoniyot (end of Seder Tefillot Kol HaShanah, ot 5): “It is stated in the Yerushalmi: Rabbi Yose sent to them: Although we have sent you the order of the festivals, meaning, in the prayers, do not change from the custom of your fathers, may they rest in peace.” These words are cited by the Magen Avraham (beginning of siman 68).
In the sefer Ma’avar Yabok (Siftei Tzedek, chapter 31) he writes: “Behold, each of the twelve tribes of Israel has one window in the firmament, according to the aspect of the soul of its tribe, etc. Therefore one should not change the formula of his prayer that his fathers taught him, for whoever changes is at a disadvantage. And they have already said in the Yerushalmi: Rabbi Yose sent to them: Although we have sent you the order of the festivals, meaning, in the prayers, do not change from the custom of your fathers, may they rest in peace. And one should not learn from some members of the latest generation who changed the order of their prayer from Lo’ez to Sefarad or the reverse, for we do not learn from an insignificant person, as we say in the Yerushalmi.”
The same is stated in Sha’ar HaKavanot (folio 50d): “However, regarding the fundamental customs, in which there are many differences and variations in the wording of the blessings and prayers themselves between the Sephardic custom, the Ashkenazi custom, the Catalonian custom, and the like, my teacher (the Arizal z”l) told me that there are twelve windows in the firmament corresponding to the twelve tribes, and the prayer of each and every tribe ascends through one gate designated for it; and this is the secret of the twelve gates mentioned at the end of Yechezkel. Now there is no doubt that if the prayers of all the tribes were identical, there would be no need for twelve windows and gates, with each gate having its own path. Rather, it is certainly necessary that since their prayers differ, a special gate is required for each and every tribe, for according to the root and source of the souls of that tribe, so must the order of its prayer be. Therefore it is proper for each and every person to hold to the custom of the order of his prayer according to the custom of his fathers, since it is not known who is from this tribe or another; and since his fathers held to that custom, if he now comes to abolish it, his prayer does not ascend above except by way of that order. All this is regarding changing the words in the prayers, and the like, etc.”
However, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (ibid., ot 2) wrote that with regard to ‘Kerovatz’ (poetic insertions in the tefillah) and piyutim there is no concern about changing from the custom of one’s fathers, since saying them is not indispensable; therefore one who chooses should choose a straight path, a pure and polished version that awakens hearts, etc.
Now regarding the pronunciations, see what Hagaon Rabbi Moshe Feinstein explained in Igrot Moshe (Orach Chaim vol. 3, siman 5): it is not reasonable that our forefathers, when they were all together, which was until they were exiled at the destruction of the First Temple, spoke with different pronunciations. If so, we are compelled to say that the change in pronunciations began after they were exiled; and if so, how is it possible to say that the changed pronunciations are considered Lashon HaKodesh? Rather, according to halacha, if there is a large community that reads those letters and words with the vowels of Lashon HaKodesh in a fixed pronunciation, this too is considered Lashon HaKodesh, even though it is a change from the pronunciation that was spoken in the time of the Temple and in which the Torah was given.
Regarding an Ashkenazi young man who grew up and was educated in Sephardic pronunciation and articulation, whether he may continue reading in this pronunciation, this was already disputed in earlier generations. Hagaon Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook forbade anyone to change from the custom of his fathers, because of “and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.” And Hagaon Rabbi Yitzchak Weiss, in Responsa Minchat Yitzchak (vol. 3, siman 9), wrote forcefully that Ashkenazim should not change the pronunciation customary among them, and that it is among the matters about which the Ya’avetz wrote (in Siddur Beit Yaakov, Sulam Beit El, ot 1) that they are among the details that invalidate the prayer.
In Yabia Omer (vol. 6, Orach Chaim siman 11) he wrote a lengthy responsum to prove contrary to his words, that an Ashkenazi who was educated according to the Sephardic pronunciation may continue in this custom of his, and there is no concern whatsoever of “do not forsake the teaching of your mother.” Likewise Hagaon Rabbi Ovadia Hedaya wrote in Responsa Yaskil Avdi (vol. 2, siman 3) that there is not even a trace of prohibition for one who changes his pronunciation for the better; on the contrary, he is performing a mitzvah. This is unlike Hagaon Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in Igrot Moshe (Orach Chaim vol. 3, siman 5), who wrote at length in a responsum and concluded that one should not change the pronunciation of the custom of our forefathers, in which they have been reading for thousands of years.
From the sefer “Shaf Veyativ – Laws of Saying Tehillim” by Rabbi Shay Tahan, Chapter 5: How to Say Tehillim and Precise Pronunciation, Halacha 8 (p. 65 in the print edition). Translated from the Hebrew original.
