The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2189 page)

 
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(Jap., ‘unable to be told by a thousand of the wise’). Zen insistence that truth cannot be carried or conveyed by words, but has to be recognized by an individual awareness or enlightenment. See also
FUKASETSU
.

 
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see
AL-SAN
S
, S
D
MU
AMMAD
.

 
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Sephardim
.

Jews descended from those who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before 1492 (hence the name, Heb.,
Sefarad
, Spain). However, the term ‘Sephardim’ is often also used to indicate all non-Ashkenazi Jews. The Sephardi language is Ladino, a type of archaic Spanish; and Sephardic literature includes works in Hebrew and Spanish as well. The Sephardim, like the Ashkenazim, base their religious practice on the tenets of the
Talmud
. However, they follow Joseph
Caro's
Shul
n Arukh
without the amendments of Moses
Isserles
, and thus their interpretation of the law tends to be more liberal. As a result of worsening conditions, there have been large-scale emigrations from the communities in Muslim countries to
Israel
since 1948, where there is a dual
Chief Rabbinate
. In general, Sephardim have felt themselves to be put in second place by Ashkenazim, and only slowly have come to positions of authority in government. A Sephardi, Leon Tamman (1927–95) founded Ta‘ali, the World Movement for a United Israel, to reconcile the two communities, and progress was made as a result.