Aleppo community had its unique prayer rite. After Jews expelled from Spain arrived, they managed to convince the local community to adopt their practices, and the rite died out completely. The Jews of Catalonia had a Nusach distinct from the "standard" Spanish rite. This rite was preserved partially until the 20th century. The Urfalim Jews of south eastern Anatolia follow their own prayer rite, which differs from the Syrian, Kurdish and Iraqi Jewish rites. It is said among some mystics that an as-yet undisclosed nusach will be revealed after the coming of the Mashiach, the Jewish Messiah. Others say that the differences in nusach are derived from differences between the twelve tribes of Israel, and that in Messianic times each tribe will have its proper nusach. The concept of one nusach for each of the 12 tribes was formulated by R' Isaac Luria; at the time there were exactly 12 Jewish communities in Luria's city of Safed, and each community's nusach was meant to stand in place of that of one of the tribes. Halakhot Most halakhic authorities assume that one should follow the nusach of his family, or at the very least follow one nusach consistently. Rabbi David Bar-Hayim disputes this and permits a Jew to change his nusach at any time, even on a daily basis. See also Minhag Siddur References External links A Historical Map of Jewish Liturgical Influence and Variation Western Ashkenazi Nusach Audio and text from the traditional Siddur SiddurAudio.com Jewish music Yiddish words and phrases Yiddish words and phrases in Jewish law Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law