About a decade ago, I saw a friend at Bnai David-Judea. I shook his hand and he immediately kissed the hand that I had just shaken.
I was moved. Over the next few months, I saw some old Sephardi men following the custom.
I thought, this is a beautiful custom. It made me feel amazing to have someone kiss his hand after shaking mine.
So tentatively and awkwardly, I adopted this custom about three years ago.
I asked an Ashkenazi friend about it today. He keeps pointing out the damn foolish baal teshuva type things I do in shul, so I wanted his help. I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard to fit in. Where precisely on your hand do you kiss after you shake someone else’s hand?
He said it was the thumb. I’m not so sure.
Anyway, he told me it was a Sephardic practice and I should cut it out. It was stupid for me to do it.
I just Googled the topic and found this: “Today, it is mostly the practice of Sephardic Jews to kiss the hand upon meeting a Rabbi or Torah scholar, and it is considered a sign of great respect. Chassidic Jews sometimes kiss the hand of their Grand Rabbi.”
