Introduction

I've decided to begin a series of that examines Shem Tob Gaguine's Keter Shem Tob. Shem Tob Gaguine served as a dayan to the Jewish Community of Egypt, Ab Beth Din of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in England, Rosh Yeshiva of Judith Montefiore Theological College. The text examines the taamei minhagim, the reasons for the customs, of the western Sephardic, eastern Sephardic, and Ashkenazi communities. It often serves as a critical reference for those interested in minhagim and those interested in western Sephardic traditions (e.g., Spanish-Portuguese Jews).