Answers to Questions by Yair Davidiy (7 September 2017, 16 Elul, 5777)
Are sephardic Jews the most noble linage of Jews?
https://www.quora.com/Are-sephardic-Jews-the-most-noble-linage-of-Jews/answer/Yair-Davidiy
All Jewish communities are a mixture of Jews who came from different places.
The Sephardim derive their name from Spain, i.e. "Sepharad" in Hebrew.
When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 many went to North Africa and the East.
They joined Jewish communities that already existed in those places.
Perhaps because they were more learned and culturally advanced the guest communities often adopted the customs the Spanish Jews brought with them.
For this reason all North African and Eastern Jews are often referred to as "Sephardim."
Don Isaac Abarbanel was a government minister to the King and Queen of Spain before the Expulsion.
He was also very learned and wrote a copious and thorough commentary on the Bible along with other works.
Abarbanel relates a tradition that after the Destruction of the Temple many descendants of King David came to Spain.
King David had had numerous descendants and was to have more.
Jeremiah [NASB] 33:
22 As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.
The present day Jews mainly descend from the Tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, with a minority representation of the other Tribes.
Despite the presence of aristocratic elements from Judah among the Sephardim they may be dominated more by Benjamin whereas the Ashkenazim incline more to Judah.
Sephardic Jewish society in some communities may emphasize more the importance of family affiliation.
Among the Ashklenazics family is also very important but someone who is very learned or has money or a combination of the two or something else can climb upwards more easily.