Ascama

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ASCAMA

ASCAMA (pl. Ascamot ), the normal transliteration among the Sephardim of Northern Europe (London, Amsterdam, etc.) of the Hebrew haskamah. The term was applied especially to the laws governing the internal organization and administration of the communities. The Ascamot of the Sephardi communities of London were drawn up in Portuguese in 1664 and translated into English only in the 19th century. The Reform controversy in London in 1840 revolved around Ascama No.1 forbidding the establishment of a second synagogue. In the Ashkenazi communities the term *takkanot was used to denote similar internal laws.

bibliography:

A.M. Hyamson, Sephardim of England (19512), index; L.D. Barnett, El Livro de los Acuerdos (1931).