Sephardim did not have the Ashkenazi system because they did not (yet) encounter haskala and threat of assimilation. They lives, like Ashkenazim lived before haskala, in communities that consisted of both learned and not-so-learned Jews, without separating in different groups (in the same place). They benefited from what Ashkenazim built when they came to Israel and to US, but you should not use this as a sign of inferiority. It is like a handicapped person who got crutches thinking that he is superior to the guy who walks with his own feet.
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