|
|
|
|
Syrian Jews
|
| |
|
| |
Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: those who inhabited the region of today's Syria from the ancient times and those Sephardim who fled to Syria after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492 CE). There were large communities in Aleppo and Damascus for centuries, and a smaller community in Qamishli.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Syrian Jews' Start a new discussion about 'Syrian Jews' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: those who inhabited the region of today's Syria from the ancient times and those Sephardim who fled to Syria after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492 CE). There were large communities in Aleppo and Damascus for centuries, and a smaller community in Qamishli. In the first half of the 20th century a large percentage of Syrian Jews emigrated to the U.S., Central and South America and Israel. Most of the remainining Jews left in the 28 years following 1973, due in part to the efforts of Judith Feld Carr who claims to have helped some 3,228 Jews escape; some emigration was officially allowed in 1992. Today there are about 25 Jews left in Syria, all of them living in Damascus. The largest Syrian-Jewish community is located in Brooklyn, New York and is estimated at 75,000 strong. There are smaller communities elsewhere in the United States and in Latin America.
History
There are three basic components of the Syrian Jewish community.
- There have been Jews in Syria since ancient times: according to legend, since the time of King David, and certainly since early Roman times. Jews from this ancient community were known as Musta'arabim (Arabized Jews) to themselves, or Moriscos to the Sephardim.
- Many Sephardim arrived following the expulsion from Spain in 1492, and quickly took a leading position in the community.
- Still later, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, some Jews from Italy and elsewhere, known as Señores Francos, settled in Syria for trading reasons, while retaining their European nationalities.
Today there is no clear distinction between these groups, as they have intermarried extensively, and all regard themselves as "Sephardim" in a broader sense. It is said that one can tell Aleppo families of Sephardic descent (in the narrow sense) by the fact that they light an extra Hanukkah candle: this custom was apparently established in gratitude for their acceptance by the older community.
In the nineteenth century, following the completion of the Suez Canal in Egypt in 1869, trade shifted to that route from the overland route through Syria, and the commercial importance of Aleppo and Damascus underwent a marked decline. Many families left Syria for Egypt (and a few for Lebanon) in the following decades, and with increasing frequency until the First World War, Jews left the near East for western countries, mainly Great Britain, the United States, Mexico and Argentina. This pattern of migration largely followed the fortunes of the cotton trade, in which many Syrian Jews were engaged.
Beginning on the Passover Holiday of 1992, the 4,000 remaining members of the Damascus Jewish community (Arabic Yehud ash-Sham) as well as the Aleppo community and the Jews of Qamishli, were permitted under the regime of Hafez al-Assad to leave Syria for the United States provided they did not emigrate to Israel. Within a few months, thousands of Syrian Jews made their way to Brooklyn with the help of philanthropic leaders of the Syrian Jewish community. The few remaining Jews in Syria mostly live in Damascus.
Present-day Syrian Jewish communities
Israel
There has been a Syrian presence in Jerusalem since before 1850, with many rabbinical families having members both there and in Damascus and Aleppo. These had some contact with their Ashkenazi opposite numbers of the Old Yishuv, leading to a tradition of strict orthodoxy: for example in the 1860s there was a successful campaign to prevent the establishment of a Reform synagogue in Aleppo. Some Syrian traditions, such as the singing of Baqashot, were accepted by the mainstream Jerusalem Sephardi community.
A further group immigrated to Palestine around 1900, and formed the Ades Synagogue in Nachlaot. This still exists, and is the main Aleppo rite synagogue in Israel, though its membership now includes Asiatic Jews of all groups, especially Kurdish. There is also a large Syrian community in Holon and Bat Yam.
Many Jews fled from Syria to Palestine during the anti-Jewish riots of 1947. After that, the Syrian government clamped down and allowed no emigration, though some Jews left illicitly. In the last two decades some emigration has been allowed, mostly to America, though some have since left America for Israel, under the leadership of Rabbi Albert Hamra.
The older generation from prior to the establishment of the state retains little or no Syrian ethnic identity of its own and is well integrated into mainstream Israeli society. The most recent wave is integrating at different levels, with some concentrating on integration in Israel and others retaining closer ties with their kin in New York and Mexico.
There is a Merkaz 'Olami le-Moreshet Yahadut Aram Tsoba (World Center for the Heritage of Aleppo Jewry) in Tel Aviv, which publishes books of Syrian Jewish interest.
Great Britain
The main settlement of Syrian Jews was in Manchester, where they joined the synagogues of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, which had a mixed community that included North African, Turkish, Egyptian and Iraqi Jews as well as Syrians. This community founded two synagogues: one in north/central Manchester, which has since moved to Salford, and the other in Queenston Road, West Didsbury in the southern suburbs. A breakaway synagogue was later formed in Old Lansdowne Road with a more Syrian flavor, but it and the Queenston Road congregation have since merged. Today, they are still known as the Lansdowne Road synagogue and Queen's Road synagogue, after the names those streets bore in the 1930s. While there are still several Sephardim in the Manchester area, a fair number have since left for the communities in the Americas. Despite their reduced numbers, there is currently an initiative to acquire a new site for a synagogue in Hale, to be closer to the current centers of the Sephardic and general Jewish populations.
United States
New York
Syrian Jews first immigrated to New York around 1908. Initially, they lived on the Lower East Side in Manhattan. Later settlements were in Bensonhurst, Midwood, Flatbush, and along Ocean Parkway in Gravesend, Brooklyn. The latter is considered to be the current center of the community, though the community was formerly centered around the Magen David Synagogue on 67th street in the Bensonhurst neighborhood. Today, there is an array of different synagogues that service the community's many different needs. As of 2009, there are no Conservative or Reform congregations affiliated with the Syrian community.
Brooklyn
- Congregation Shaare Zion, at 2030 Ocean Parkway between Avenue T and Avenue U, housing several synagogues in a single building along with a separate house as an additional annex structure. It is the largest, and is now considered the flagship synagogue of the community. The synagogue was constructed in 1960 in the Gravesend neighborhood, and the community soon followed it there throughout the rest of the 1960s and early 1970s. Currently, the synagogue holds the seat of Chief Rabbi Saul J. Kassin. The Rabbi's father Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin, along with the Rabbi's brother-in-law Rabbi Baruch Ben Haim; were the previous spiritual leaders of the Syrian community in New York respectively, until their passings in 1994 and 2005. Another important rabbinic figure for a number of years was Rabbi Abraham Hecht. But due to conflicting political interests during the 1990s, he submitted his resignation. Sharing in rabbinical duties are Rabbi Yaakov Ben Haim (son of Rabbi Baruch Ben Haim), Rabbi David Maslaton, Rabbi Meyer Yedid, Rabbi Raymond Haber, Rabbi Moshe Laniado and Rabbi Raymond Beyda. The synagogue's social hall is a popular venue for weddings.
- Magen David Congregation, at 2017 67th Street between 20th and 21st Avenues. This synagogue was the former flagship of the community, and was erected in 1921. The synagogue was at its height of popularity during the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. The synagogue is still in continual use for daily and Shabbat prayers. It is also very notable with the community at present for holding funeral services. In 2001, the building was declared a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. - Rabbi Eliahu Dweck
- , on Ocean Parkway between Kings Highway and Quentin Road, for Egyptian Jews. - Rabbi Shimon Alouf (Rosh Yeshivah of the ).
- Ahaba Ve Ahva Congregation and Yeshiva, at 2001 East 7th Street.
- Ahi Ezer Congregation, at 1885 Ocean Parkway, for Damascene Jews. - Rabbi Shaul Maslaton
- Ahi Ezer Torah Center, at 1950 East 7th Street.
- Ahi Ezer Yeshiva, a synagogue housed on the ground floor of the Ahi Ezer Elementary School, at 2433 Ocean Parkway. - Rabbi Hanania Elbaz
- Ateret Torah, at 901 Quentin Road, for Haredim. - Rabbi Harari Raful
- or Ohel Yeshua VeSarah, at 808 Avenue O. - Rabbi Shemuel Beyda
- Bet Shaul U'Miriam, at 2208 Avenue S (Madison Neighborhood). - Rabbi David Cohen
- , at 1061 Ocean Parkway (Midwood Neighborhood), founded by Albert Shalom. - Rabbi Yehuda A. Azancot
- , now situated in the former Ahaba Ve Ahva synagogue, at 1801 Ocean Parkway. - Rabbi Eli Mansour
- Congregation Beth Yosef, at 2108 Ocean Parkway (Gravesend Neighborhood).
- Congregation Bnai Yosef, the Sitt Shul, at 1616 Ocean Parkway. - Rabbi Haim Benoliel
- Bnei Binyamin Torah Center, at 727 Avenue O. - Rabbi Solomon Seruya
- Bnei Yitzhak, at Avenue S and East 8th Street. - Rabbi Harold Sutton and Rabbi Joseph Beyda
- Congregation Har Halebanon, at 820 Avenue S. - Rabbi David Jemal and Rabbi Clem Harari
- , at 1123 Avenue N (Midwood Neighborhood). - Rabbi Mordechai Maslaton
- Keter Sion, at 1914 East 8th Street. - Rabbi Max Maslaton (son of Rabbi Sion Maslaton)
- , at 3211 Bedford Avenue. - Rabbi Dr. Raymond Harari (Rosh Yeshivah of the Yeshivah of Flatbush).
- Kollel Ohel Moshe, also known as Rabbi Lankry's Synagogue, at 1848 East 7th Street between Avenue R and Kings Highway, for Moroccan Jews.
- Magen David Synagogue, housed in the Magen David Elementary School, at 2130 McDonald Avenue. - Rabbi Joey Haber and Rabbi Haim Shaul
- Netivot Israel, at 1617 Ocean Parkway, for Moroccan Jews. - Rabbi Gad Bouskila
- Congregation Ohel Moshe, at Avenue P and East 16th Street. - Rabbi Moshe Levy
- Rabbi Yehuda Ben Betera Congregation, at 2296 Coney Island Avenue, for Qamishli Jews. - Rabbi Marco Nakash
- Sephardic Center of Mill Basin, at 6208 Strickland Avenue (Mill Basin Neighborhood). - Rabbi Eli Nachmias
- Sephardic Lebanese Congregation, at 805 Avenue T. - Rabbi Eliyahu Elbaz
- Sephardic Synagogue, housed in the former , at 511 Avenue R. - Rabbi Moshe Shamah, Rabbi Ronald Barry
- Shaare Rahamim, at 1244 East 7th Street (Midwood Neighborhood). - Rabbi Shlomo Churba
- Shaare Shalom, at 2021 Avenue S (Madison Neighborhood). - Rabbi Joe Dweck
- Shaare Tefilah, at 1679 West 1st Street on the corner of Quentin Road. - Rabbi Cohen
- Shaare Torah, at 1680 Coney Island Avenue (Midwood Neighborhood).
- Shevet Achim Congregation, at 708 Avenue T, for Damascene Jews.
- Tiferet Torah Congregation, on East 3rd Street between Avenue P and Quentin Road. - Rabbi Michael Haber
- , at 710 Shore Boulevard (Manhattan Beach Neighborhood). - Rabbi Jacob Farhi
- Yad Shaul, at 1117 Avenue J, entrance on East 12th Street, a small synagogue for Yemenite Jews primarily used for Sabbath services. - Rabbi Ovadia Melamed
- Yad Yosef Torah Center, at 1032 Ocean Parkway (Midwood Neighborhood). - Rabbi David Ozeri
Within the community, there is also a fulfilling functions similar to the national JCC organization. The community is characterized by multi-generational businesses; often, children are encouraged to stay within the family business. Still, many families, recognizing the challenges to financial success posed by a lack of a university degree, have been encouraging undergraduate and graduate education, especially in the fields of business and finance. Those who pursue higher education are encouraged to remain within the familial structure.
Manhattan
- , in Midtown at 5th Avenue and 63rd Street. - Rabbi Elie Abadie
- , in Downtown at 5th Avenue and 16th Street.
- , on the Upper East Side at 325 East 75th Street. - Rabbi Raphael Benchimol
- Ohav Shalom, on the Upper West Side at 270 West 84th Street, 3rd Floor.
- Sephardic Synagogue of 5th Ave, in Midtown at 5 East 62nd Street. - Rabbi Abraham Priel
New Jersey
The New Jersey community is mainly based in Monmouth County, especially Deal, Elberon, Long Branch, Oakhurst and Bradley Beach. This largely consists of an abundance of people who come there during the summer months though some live there permanently, especially in the more inland regions of Eatontown, Oakhurst and West Deal. Hillel Yeshiva located in Ocean Township, is a notable private school that is popular among the youth of year round residents in the Deal area.
- Edmond J. Safra Synagogue of Deal or Zvi La Zadeek, but more commonly known as the Hathaway Avenue Synagogue, owing to its locaton at 75 Hathaway Avenue in Deal. - Rabbi Isaac Farhi
- , at 395 Deal Road. - Rabbi Ezra Labaton
- Synagogue of Deal, at 128 Norwood Ave. - Rabbi Isaac Dwek
- Synagogue of Oakhurst, at 280 South Lincoln Avenue.
- Ohel Simha, the Park Avenue Synagogue, at 295 Park Avenue in Long Branch. - Rabbi Shemuel Choueka
- , the Lawrence Avenue Synagogue, at 4 Lawrence Avenue. - Rabbi Eli Ben Haim
- Congregation Hechal Shaul or Ahabah Ve Ahva, the Egyptian Synagogue, on Norwood Avenue in Deal. - Rabbis Michael and Joey Haber
- Shaare Ezra, at 36 Cedar Ave in Long Branch. - Rabbi David Nahem
- Magen Avraham, at 479 Monmouth Road in West Long Branch. - Rabbi Reuven Semah
- , at 20 Whalepond Road in Eatontown. - Rabbi Moshe Douek
Florida
- Edmond J. Safra Synagogue of Turnberry, at 19275 Mystic Pointe Drive in Aventura (Turnberry Neighborhood). - Rabbi Galimidi
- , at 17100 NE 6th Avenue in North Miami Beach. - Rabbi Meir Eliyahu
Latin America
Argentina
The largest Jewish community in Argentina is in the capital Buenos Aires. The majority are Ashkenazim, but the Sephardim, and especially the Syrians, are a sizeable community. Despite the fact that the Sephardim are a minority in the Argentine Jewish community as a whole, a majority of Orthodox (as well as a noticeable minority of Lubavitch) rabbis in Buenos Aires are of Sephardic descent.
There are approximately 37,500 Sephardim in Buenos Aires.
Syrian Jews are most visible in the Once district, where there are many community schools and temples. For some decades there has been a good-natured rivalry between the Shami (Damascene) community of "Shaare Tefila (Pasito)" synagogue and the Halebi (Aleppan) community of "Sucat David" across the street. The most influential rabbinic authority was Rabbi Chehebar from the "Yessod Hadat" congregation on Lavalle street; he was consulted from all across the globe, and had an influential role in the recovery of parts of the Aleppo codex. There are many kosher butcher shops and restaurants catering to the community.
There were important communities in the Boca and Flores neighborhoods as well. Many Syrian Jews own clothing stores along Avellaneda avenue in Flores, and there is a community school on Felipe Vallese (formerly Canalejas) street. Some important clothing chains such as Chemea and Tawil, with tens of shops each, were started by Syrian Jews.
Brazil
The majority of the Syrian community of Brazil come from Beirut, Lebanon, where they had lived since their expulsion from Syria following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent violent anti-Jewish pogroms perpetrated by their Muslim neighbours. They left Beirut in wake of the first Lebanese Civil War.
Most Syrian Jews established themselves in the industrial city of São Paulo, being attracted there by the many commercial opportunities it offered. The community became very prosperous, and several of its members are among the wealthiest and the politically and economically most influential families in São Paulo.
The community first attended Egyptian synagogues, but later founded their own synagogues, most notably the Beit Yaakov synagogues in the neighbourhoods of Jardins and Higienopolis.
The community has its own school and youth movement, and claims a strong Jewish identity and low assimilation rate. The majority of the community affiliates itself with Jewish Orthodoxy, though few could be described as fully Orthodox.
There are approximately 7,000 Syrian Jews in Brazil.
Chile
In Chile, many Syrian Jews escaped from Syria and Palestine, provinces of the Ottoman Empire during the World War I. At present there are 2,300 Syrian Jews in Chile.
Mexico
There have been Jews from Damascus and Aleppo in Mexico City since the early years of the twentieth century. Originally they worshipped in a private house transformed in a synagogue - Sinagoga Ketana (Bet Haknesset HaKatan) located in Calles de Jesús María.
The first organized Jewish community in Mexico was Alianza Monte Sinai founded in 1912, mainly by Damascene families (together with a few Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews) and led by Isaac Capon. They later founded the first synagogue, Monte Sinaí, on Justo Sierra street in downtown Mexico City, originally led by Rabbi Laniado, which still holds a daily service of Minha. The Damascene community also bought the first Jewish burial place in Tacuba street in 1916, which is in use to this day and has been expanded by the recent purchase of the adjacent land.
The Rodfe Sedek synagogue, for Aleppan Jews, was established in 1931, largely through the efforts of Rabbi Mordejay Attie. This synagogue, known also as Knis de Cordoba, is situated at 238 Cordoba Street in the Colonia Roma quarter of Mexico City. At the time this neighborhood was home to the largest concentration of Jews from Aleppo in Mexico City. The first mikveh (ritual bath) in Mexico was established within the Rodfe Sedek synagogue. In 1982 a funeral house was built in the courtyard of the synagogue.
Also in the 1930s the members of Monte Sinaí established a large synagogue for Damascene Jews in the Colonia Roma area.
In 1938 Jewish immigrants from Aleppo set up Sociedad de Beneficencia Sedaká u Marpé, which evolved into a separate Jewish community: since 1984 it has been known as Comunidad Maguen David.
Monte Sinai and Maguen David are now the largest Jewish communities in Mexico, having more than four synagogues, a community center and a school each.
Some Lebanese Jews settled in Mexico during the 1980s, having escaped civil war at home.
Panama
Panama also received a large number of Syrian Jewish immigrants, mostly from Halab (Aleppo), where they constitute a largest group in Panama's 8,000 strong Jewish community. (There are also some Sephardim from Ladino-speaking Turkish backgrounds.) The Panamanian Jews are among the most united Jewish communities in the world - most attend the same synagogues irrespective of ancestry, intermarriage is extremely low and scholarship in Torah is growing quickly. This community is also known for the redistribution of its wealth among its own and needy around the world.
Traditions and Customs
Liturgy
There exists a fragment of the old Aleppo prayer book for the High Holy Days, published in Venice in 1560. This represents the liturgy of the Musta'arabim (native Arabic-speaking Jews) as distinct from that of the Sephardim proper (immigrants from Spain and Portugal): it recognizably belongs to the "Sephardic" family of rites in the widest sense, but is different from any liturgy used today.
Following the immigration of Jews from Spain following the expulsion, a compromise liturgy evolved containing elements from the customs of both communities, but with the Sephardic element taking an ever larger share. In Syria, as in North African countries; there was no attempt to print a Siddur containing the actual usages of the community, as this would not generally be commercially viable. Major publishing centres, principally Livorno, and later Vienna, would produce standard "Sephardic" prayer books suitable for use in all communities, and particular communities such as the Syrians would order these in bulk, preserving any special usages by oral tradition. (For example, ?acham Abraham ?amwi of Aleppo commissioned a series of prayer-books from Livorno, which were printed in 1878, but even these were "pan-Sephardic" in character, though they contained some notes about the specific "minhag Aram Tsoba".) As details of the oral tradition faded from memory, the liturgy in use came ever nearer to the "Livorno" standard. In the early years of the twentieth century, this "Sephardic" rite was almost universal in Syria. The only exception (in Aleppo) was a "Musta'arabi" minyan at the Central Synagogue of Aleppo, but even their liturgy differed from the standard in only a few details such as the order of the hymns on Rosh Hashanah.
The liturgy of Damascus differed from that of Aleppo in some details, mostly because of its greater proximity to the Holy Land. Some of the laws specific to Eretz Yisrael are regarded as extending to Damascus, and the city had ties both to the Safed Kabbalists and to the Jerusalem Sephardic community.
The liturgy now used in Syrian communities round the world is textually speaking Oriental-Sephardic. That is to say, it is based on the Spanish rite as varied by the customs of Isaac Luria, and resembles those in use in Greek, Turkish and North African Jewish communities. In earlier decades some communities and individuals used "Edot ha-Mizra?" prayer-books which contained a slightly different text, based on the Baghdadi rite, as these were more commonly available, leaving any specifically Syrian usages to be perpetuated by oral tradition. The nearest approach to a current official prayer book is Kol Ya'akob, but other editions exist and there is still disagreement on some textual variants.
The musical customs of Syrian communities are very distinctive, as many of the prayers are chanted to the melodies of the pizmonim, according to a complicated annual rota designed to ensure that the maqam (musical mode) used suits the mood of the festival or of the Torah reading for the week. See Syrian Cantors and The Weekly Maqam.
Pizmonim
Syrian Jews have a large repertoire of hymns, sung on social and ceremonial occasions such as weddings and bar mitzvahs. Pizmonim are also used in the prayers of Sabbath and holidays. Some of these are ancient and others were composed more recently as adaptations of popular Arabic songs; sometimes they are written or commissioned for particular occasions, and contain coded allusions to the name of the person honoured. There is a standard Pizmonim book called "Shir uShbaha Hallel veZimrah", edited by Cantor Gabriel A. Shrem under the supervision of the Sephardic Heritage Foundation, in which the hymns are classified according to the musical mode (maqam) to which the melody belongs. As time passes, more and more pizmonim are getting lost, and therefore efforts are being made by the Sephardic Pizmonim Project, under the leadership of Mr. David M. Betesh, to preserve as many pizmonim as possible. A website to facilitate its preservation, was set up at www.pizmonim.com.
Baqashot
It was a custom in Syrian Jewish communities (and some others) to sing Baqashot (petitionary hymns) before the morning service on Shabbat. In the winter months the full corpus of 66 hymns is sung, finishing with Adon Olam and Kaddish: this service generally lasts about four hours, from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m..
This tradition still obtains in full force in the Ades Synagogue in Jerusalem. In other communities such as New York, it is less widespread; though the hymns are sung on other occasions.
Pronunciation of Hebrew
The Syrian pronunciation of Hebrew is similar to that of other Mizrahi communities, and is influenced both by Sephardi Hebrew and by the Syrian dialect of Arabic. It does not reflect the formal rules for the pronunciation of Classical Arabic (tajwid) to the same extent as the pronunciation of Iraqi Jews. Particular features are as follows:
Beth without dagesh) is traditionally //, but in Israel is often now [] under the influence of Israeli Hebrew? (Gimel without dagesh) is often pronounced [], like Arabic ? (voiced velar fricative)? (He with mappiq) is often pronounced with a very short postpended schwa []? (Vav) is pronounced [], not []? (Heth) is pronounced [], like Arabic ? (voiceless pharyngeal fricative)? (Teth) is pronounced [], like Arabic ? (voiceless pharyngealized alveolar plosive)? (Ayin) is pronounced [] (this sound is sometimes described as "the sound of swallowing a grape, backwards"), like Arabic ? (voiced pharyngeal fricative), but this is less emphatic than in some other dialects? (Tsadi) is pronounced [], like Arabic ? (voiceless pharyngealized alveolar fricative); that is, like English voiceless "s" but with the tongue a little retracted? (Qof) is "supposed" to be [], like Classical Arabic ? (voiceless uvular plosive) but sometimes slips: historically, into [], a glottal stop as in colloquial Syrian Arabic, and today, into [] in conformity with English or with Israeli Hebrew? (Tav without dagesh) is pronounced [] as in Israeli Hebrew, not [] as in Yemenite and Iraqi pronunciation.
The retention of distinct emphatic sounds such as [] and [] differentiates Syrian pronunciation from many other Sephardic/Mizrahi pronunciations which have failed to maintain these phonemic or phonological distinctions, for example between [] and [].
Vowels are pronounced as in most other Sephardi and Mizrahi traditions: for example there is no distinction between patach and qamats gadol ([]), or between segol, tsere and vocal sheva ([]). Hiriq is sometimes reduced to [] or [] in an unstressed closed syllable, or in the neighbourhood of an emphatic or guttural consonant.
A semivocalic sound is heard before patah ganuv (patah coming between a long vowel and a final guttural): thus ruah (spirit) is pronounced ['ru?wah] and siah (speech) is pronounced ['si?jah].
Aleppo Codex
The Aleppo Codex, now known in Hebrew as Keter Aram Tsoba, is the oldest and most famous manuscript of the Bible. Written in Tiberias in the year 920, and annotated by Aaron ben Asher, it has become the most authoritative Biblical text in Jewish culture. The most famous halachic authority to rely on it was Maimonides, in his exposition of the laws governing the writing of Torah scrolls in his codification of Jewish law (Mishneh Torah). After its completion, the Codex was brought to Jerusalem. Toward the end of the 11th century, it was stolen and taken to Egypt, where it was redeemed by the Jewish community of Cairo. At the end of the 14th century the Codex was taken to Aleppo, Syria (called by the Jews Aram Zobah, the biblical name of part of Syria)—this is the origin of the manuscript's modern name.
For the next five centuries, it was kept closely guarded in the basement of the Central Synagogue of Aleppo, and was considered the community's greatest treasure. Scholars from round the world would consult it to check the accuracy of their Torah scrolls. In the modern era the community would occasionally allow academics, such as Umberto Cassuto, access to the Codex, but would not permit it to be reproduced photographically or otherwise.
The Codex remained in the keeping of the Aleppo Jewish community until the anti-Jewish riots of December 1947, during which the ancient synagogue where it was kept was broken into and burned. The Codex itself disappeared. In 1958, the Keter was smuggled into Israel by Murad Faham and wife Sarina, and presented to the President of the State, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. Upon its arrival, it was found that parts of the Codex including most of the Torah, had been lost. The Codex was entrusted to the keeping of the Ben-Zvi Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, though the Porat Yosef Yeshivah has argued that, as the spiritual heir of the Aleppo community, it was the legitimate guardian. Some time after the arrival of the Codex, Mordechai Breuer began the monumental work of reconstructing the lost sections, on the basis of other well-known ancient manuscripts. Since then a few other leaves have been found.
Modern editions of the Bible, such as the Hebrew University's "Jerusalem Crown" and Bar-Ilan University's "Mikraot Gedolot ha-Keter", have been based on the Codex. The missing sections have been reconstructed on the basis of cross-references in the Masoretic Text of surviving sections, and of the notes of scholars who have consulted the Codex and of other manuscripts.
The codex is now kept in the Israel Museum, in the building known as "The Shrine of The Book." It lies there along with the Dead Sea Scrolls and many other ancient Jewish relics.
Attitudes to conversion
In the early twentieth century the Syrian Jewish communities of New York and Buenos Aires adopted rulings designed to discourage intermarriage. The communities would not carry out conversions to Judaism, particularly where the conversion is suspected of being for the sake of marriage, or (normally) accept such converts from other communities, or the children of mixed marriages or marriages involving such converts. However, in some instances communal rabbis (such as the late Chief Rabbi Jacob S. Kassin) have recognized conversions carried out by certain rabbis, such as members of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. These rulings heavily discourage people from converting as they might have to travel to Israel and back in order to convert as well as requiring them to show commitment toward Judaism above and beyond what is required by the normative rabbinical laws of conversion.
Hacham Uzziel, then Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, was asked to rule on the validity of this ban. He acknowledged the right of the community to refuse to carry out conversions and to regard as invalid conversions carried out by other communities in which marriage is a factor. At the same time, he cautioned that persons converted out of genuine conviction and recognized by established rabbinic authorities should not be regarded as non-Jews, even if they were not allowed to join the Syrian community.
The ban is popularly known within the Syrian community as the "edict" or "proclamation" (in Hebrew, takkanah). Every twenty years or so, the edict is reaffirmed by all leaders and rabbis of the community, often with extra clauses. A full list is as follows:
- Buenos Aires, 1927 (R. David Setton)
- New York, 1935 (Hacham Hayim Tawil)
- New York, 1946 "Clarification"
- New York, 1972 "Affirmation"
- New York, 1984 "Reaffirmation"
- New York, 2006 "Reaffirmation"
There has been some argument as to whether the ruling amounts to a blanket ban on all converts or whether sincere converts from other communities, not motivated by marriage, may be accepted. The relevant sentence in the English language summary is "no male or female member of our community has the right to intermarry with non-Jews; this law covers conversions which we consider to be fictitious and valueless". In the 1946 "Clarification" a comma appears after the word "conversions", which makes it appear that all conversions are "fictitious and valueless", though this understanding is not uncontested, and there is no equivalent change in the Hebrew text.
Supporters of the edict argue that it has been demographically successful, in that the rate of intermarriage with non-Jews in the Syrian community is believed to be less than 3%, as opposed to anything up to 50% in the general American Jewish population. Opponents argue that this fact is not a result of the edict, but of widespread attendance at Orthodox day schools, and that a similarly low rate of intermarriage is found among other Orthodox day-schooled Jews despite the absence of any equivalent of the edict.
Cuisine
As in most Arab and Mediterranean countries, Syrian Jewish food is fairly similar to Syrian food generally. This is partly because of the eastern Mediterranean origins of Judaism as such and partly because the similarity of the Islamic dietary laws to the Jewish Kashrut laws. Syrian (and Egyptian) recipes remain popular in Syrian Jewish communities round the world. There are traditions linking different dishes to the Jewish festivals.
Popular dishes are as follows:
Kibbeh: minced meat with burghul, often in the form of stuffed frittersKibbeh hamda: meat balls in chicken soup made with lemon juice and vegetables (eaten before Yom Kippur fast)Ijjeh or eggah: egg dish, similar to a Spanish omeletteIjjeh blahme: fried meat burgers with eggsMuhshi Badinjan: Stuffed eggplant with rice & meat and chick peasMuhshi Kousa: Stuffed zucchini with rice & meat, nana mint and lemonYaprak: Stuffed vine leaves with rice and meatKebab: Meat balls (sometimes with cherries or pomegranate paste)Chicken sofrito (Ed-Djaj Sofreeto): chicken sautéed with lemon juice, turmeric and cardamomChicken beida bi-lemoune: chicken soup served with egg and lemon sauceDfeena: Sabbath meat and bean stew equivalent to cholentHammin eggs: hard-boiled eggs stained brown by being baked with dfeena or boiled with onion skins, sometimes adding tea leaves or coffee groundsLahmajeen (or Lahmabajeen): meat (sometimes with pomegranate paste or prune juice) on small round pastry baseMatahamre: boiled squash, cheese, eggs and pieces of pita breadMefarka: cold minced beef with broad beans and egg (for Shabbat)Meat balls with chick peas and spinachSambousak: small half-moon pasty filled with cheese or meatKousa b'jibn: Squash baked with cheeseM'jadra: rice and lentil or burghul and lentil kedgereeTabbouleh: burghul salad with vine leavesBazirjan or Mhammara: burghul, crushed wheat with pomegranate paste or prune juiceShakshuka or Beid bifranji: boiled tomato puree with onion and eggsBeid blaban: boiled yogurt with garlic, nana mint and eggsKa'ak: aniseed-flavoured bracelets with sesame seedsGhreibe: shortbread biscuits, often in bracelet formMa'amoul: shortbread pastries with date or nut fillings (the Jewish version differs from the Arab in not using semolina flour)Orange Passover cakes (derived from Spanish recipes through Sephardic immigration)Coconut jam (used at Passover)Sharab al-loz (iced drink made from almond syrup; generally a summer drink, but also used before Yom Kippur)
Surnames
- Abadi, Abady, Abadie or Ebadi
- Abboud or Aboud, Aboudi
- Aboutboul, Aboutbul or Teboul
- Abulafia
- Ades
- Adjmi
- Akiva or Akivah
- Alfieh or Alfie
- Altaras
- Amash
- Amkieh, Ancona
- Antaki or Antoky
- Antar
- Antebi or Anteby
- Anzarut, Anzaroot or Anzarouth
- Araman, Arazi
- Ariel, Arje
- Arking, Arakanchi or Arakanji, Arkulji
- Armut
- Ashear or Ashqar
- Ashkenazi, Askenazi, Ashkenazy, Ash
- Assa (Minfakh)
- Assoulin
- Attar
- Attiah, Atiyyah or Atieh
- Ayash or Yaish
- Azar, Azizo
- Azrak
- Badra
- Baghdadi or Albaghdadi
- Bailey or Balleh
- Balanka or Blanga, Blanco
- Ballas or Blas, Belilios
- Banbahji
- Baruch (Abadi)
- Bassul or Bassoul
- Battat
- Bawabeh, Wahba
- Behar or Bechar
- Benun
- Braha, Beracha or Braka
- Betesh or Btesh
- Beyda or Beda
- Biba, Bibi, Bobo, Yabo
- Bijou, Bissou, Bozo
- Bitton, Bittan or Bettan
- Breska
- Bukai, Boukai, Bukkei, Cain
- Bouzali
- Cabasso
- Calvo, Cario, Castro
- Castika
- Cattan or Catton
- Cayre or Kairey
- Chalouh or Shalouh
- Chappan
- Chcoury or Shkuri
- Chemtob or Shemtob, Semantob
- Chera or Chira, Chirro or Shiro
- Chouchani
- Churba
- Cohen
- Dabbah, Dabba or Debbah
- Dahab
- Dana, Daniel
- Darbakli or Derli
- Dayan (Davidic descent)
- Dayeh (Mishan)
- Deiri or Dery, Duer
- Dibbo
- Dichy or Dishi, Dushey
- Didya or Didia
- Drejo (Tawil), Durzieh
- Dweck, Dwek, Doueck or Douek
- Eida, Elbaz
- Erani
- Erfeli, Orfali or Urfali
- Esses or Assis
- Faham
- Falack, Fallah or Flah, Fallas
- Fannan
- Faour
- Faqs, Faks or Alfaks
- Farah, Farca, Farrashe
- Farhi
- Fattal
- Fayena or Faena
- Fouerte or Fuerte (Khaleh)
- Franco
- Freiwa or Frewa (Khalife), Frija
- Frestaki
- Fteiha or Ftiha
- Gadeh, Elgadeh or Kada, Jaddaa
- Galapo, Gateno
- Ghazaleh
- Gilla or Gil
- Gindi or Guindi (Zaknish)
- Goldman, Green
- Grazi
- Haber, Habet, Habert
- Haddad
- Hadriye, Hidary, Khidrieh, Khodari
- Haim, Himy
- Hakim, Elyakim
- Halabi, Halabieh, Alhalabi
- Hamoui, Hamway, Hamui or Hamwy
- Hamra, Hara
- Hanan, Hanon, Hanono, Chanano
- Harari (Raful) or Harary (Naem)
- Hasbani or Hasbany
- Hassan, Hasson
- Hazan
- Hebb
- Hedaya
- Hefetz
- Helwani, Halawani or Hilweni, Hilou
- Hlaleh
- Homsani or Hemsani
- Horn or Hwerin
- Husni or Husney
- Indibo
- Ini, Aini or Heiney
- Jaamour, Jamous
- Jajati, Jajeh, Jouejati
- Janani
- Jemal, Gemal, Gammal, Jammal, Jamal
- Jradeh, Jrada or Jarade
- Kabariti or Kbariti
- Kadshe or Kadosh
- Kameo or Cameo
- Kamishli
- Kamkhaji
- Kassab, Kassar, Khalusi (Dwek)
- Kassin or Cassin
- Katash
- Katri
- Kbabieh or Kababieh
- Khabbaz, Chabaz or Alchabaz
- Khafif
- Khamri
- Khaski or Chasky
- Khouli or Kholi
- Kilzi or Kelsi
- Kishk
- Kochab
- Kos
- Kredi, Kurdi
- Kuan
- Kubbeni, Kabbani or Ebani
- Labaton
- Ladkani
- Laham or Alaham
- Lala, Lolo, Lalo, Elo
- Laniado
- Laoui or Lawi
- Lati or Laty, Kalati
- Levi or Levy
- Lisbona
- Lopez or Lofes
- Loz, Lozeh, Lozieh
- Mahanna, Mehanna or Mehani
- Malach or Malakh
- Maleh
- Mamiye or Mamille
- Mamrud, Mamrout or Nimrod
- Mandalawi, Mandil or Mandel
- Mann or Elmann
- Manopla
- Mansour
- Marashli
- Marcus
- Maslaton (Tarrab)
- Massry, Massre, Missry, Mesrie
- Matalon
- Mattut
- Mawas
- Menaged
- Menashe, Menashe-Setton
- Metta or Mitta (Shaya)
- Mineh, Mnefikhi, Minfakh, Minyan
- Mishan or Mishaan, Mishanieh
- Mismar, Miro
- Mizrahi or Mizrachi
- Mizreb or Mizrab
- Mlabasati
- Mochon or Moshon
- Monsa, Musan
- Mograbi or Mograby
- Mosseri, Mossery, Mosseiry or Musseiri
- Mouadeb, Mouhadeb or Madeb
- Mustaki
- Naftali
- Nahum or Nahoum
- Najjar or Nadjar, Nadjari, Nigri
- Nakkash or Nakash
- Nardea
- Nasser, Nseiri or Nusseiri
- Nassi, Natkin
- Nawama
- Nawlo
- Nehmad, Nahmod or Nahmoud
- Newah or Noah
- Nissim
- Paredes, Pardo
- Penhos or Pinhas
- Peretz
- Picciotto
- Pinto
- Qubursi
- Rabi
- Rahmey
- Reuben
- Rishty
- Rofé (Khallouf)
- Romano
- Rudy
- Saad, Saada, Saadia, Said, Saideh
- Saba or Sabbagh, Scaba or Escava
- Sacal or Sakkal
- Sadok
- Safdieh, Safadi, Savdie or Saff
- Safra
- Sakka or Saka
- Saleh, Salem, Salama or Salameh
- Sankari, Ankari
- Sannado
- Sardar or Sardel
- Sarwa or Sarway, Sarfati
- Sasson or Sassoon
- Sayegh or Sayyagh
- Semah or Sameh
- Serouya (Taraman), Seruya, Serieh
- Shaab
- Shaalo, Shacalo or Shakkalo
- Shabbe, Shabi, Shabbo
- Shabbot (Rofé) or Chabbott
- Shahino
- Shakruka
- Shalam, Shalme or Chalme
- Shalom
- Shamah, Shammah, Shami or Chami
- Shammosh
- Shamrikha
- Sharabati
- Shasho
- Shattah
- Shawafan
- Shaya, Chaya, Shayo or Chayo
- Shbeen
- Shehebar or Chehebar, Shibr
- Shomer
- Shrem or Chrem
- Shweke, Schweky or Chwecky
- Silvera (Senior)
- Sitt
- Skef, Shkefati or Chkifati
- Slelat (Cohen)
- Smeke
- Solomon, Salomon, Salman, Salmoun
- Srour, Serour, Serure, Zarur, Zarura
- Srugo
- Stambouli or Stanbuli
- Suli
- Sultan
- Sutton, Sethon, Setton or Sittehon
- Swed, Sweid, Sued or Soued
- Tabbush (Ades-Antebi)
- Tache, Yatshe
- Tahhan or Tahan
- Tarzi or Terzi
- Tawil
- Tebele or Tbeile, Teubal or Tobal
- Tobias or Tabbash
- Tosoun
- Totah
- Tourjman or Tourgeman
- Toussieh or Toussie
- Tuachi or Tawashi
- Turkieh or Turkiyeh
- Uziel, Uzun
- Wayya or Alwaya
- Yabra
- Yakar, Yashar
- Yazdi
- Yedid or Yadid, Aideed
- Zacharia or Zekaria, Zikri
- Zafrani or Zafarani (Salem)
- Zagha
- Zalta, Zlekta, Zleta
- Zarif
- Zayyat, Zeitoune
- Zeibak or Zibak, Zirdok
- Zephaniah
- Zonana
Endnotes
Bibliography
A Fistful of Lentils: Syrian-Jewish Recipes from Grandma Fritzie's Kitchen: Harvard 2002. Hardback: ISBN 1-55832-218-3Ades, Abraham, Derech Ere"tz: Bene Berak 1990Collins, Lydia, The Sephardim of Manchester: Pedigrees and Pioneers: Manchester 2006 ISBN 0-9552980-0-8Dobrinsky, Herbert C.: A treasury of Sephardic laws and customs: the ritual practices of Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese Jews of North America. Revised ed. Hoboken, N.J. : KTAV; New York, N.Y. : Yeshiva Univ. Press, 1988. ISBN 0-88125-031-7Dweck, Poopa and Michael J. Cohen, Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews: HarperCollins 2007, ISBN-10: 0060888180, ISBN-13: 9780060888183Harel, Yaron, Sifre Ere"tz: ha-Sifrut ha-Toranit shel ?Hachme Aram Tsoba (The Books of Aleppo: Torah Literature of the Rabbis of Aleppo): Jerusalem 1996 Idelsohn, A.Z., Phonographierte Gesänge und Aussprachsproben des Hebräischen der jemenitischen, persischen und syrischen Juden: Vienna 1917*Laniado, David Tsion, La-Qedoshim asher ba-are"ts: Jerusalem 1935 repr. 1980Laniado, Samuel, Debash ve-?HALAB al-leshonech: Jerusalem 1998/9 (Hebrew)Roden, Claudia, A New Book of Middle Eastern Food: London 1986 ISBN 0-14-046588-XRoden, Claudia, The Book of Jewish Food: New York 1997, London 1999 ISBN 0-14-046609-6Shelemay, Kay Kaufman, Let Jasmine Rain Down, Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology: 1998. Hardback: ISBN 0-226-75211-9, Paperback: ISBN 0-226-75212-7.Sutton, David, Aleppo: City of Scholars: Artscroll 2005 ISBN 1-57819-056-8 (partly based on Laniado, La-Qedoshim asher ba-are"ts)Sutton, Joseph, Aleppo Chronicles: the Story of the Unique Sepharadeem of the Ancient Near East – in their Own Words: Brooklyn 1988Sutton, Joseph, Magic Carpet: Aleppo in Flatbush: Brooklyn 1979Zenner, Walter P., A Global Community: The Jews from Aleppo, Syria: Wayne State University Press 2000 ISBN 0-8143-2791-5 _______."The Ethnography of Diaspora: Studying Syrian Jewry," Marshall Sklare Award address, 1997
Prayer books
Historic
Ma?hzor Aram Tsoba (fragment): Venice 1560Bet El (seli?hot and morning service), Abraham ?Hamwi: Livorno 1878 (repr. New York 1982)Bet Din (Rosh Hashanah), Abraham ?Hamwi: Livorno 1878 (repr. Jerusalem 1986)Bet ha-Kapporet (Kippur), Abraham ?Hamwi: Livorno 1879Bet Sim?hah (Sukkot), Abraham ?Hamwi: Livorno 1879 (repr. Jerusalem 1970)Bet ha-Be?hirah (Pesa?h), Abraham ?Hamwi: Livorno 1880 (repr. Jerusalem 1985)Seder Olat Tamid (min?hah and arbit only): Aleppo 1907Olat ha-Sha?har: Aleppo 1915
Modern
Seder Seli?hot, ed. Shehebar: Jerusalem 1973Bet Yosef ve-Ohel Abraham: Jerusalem, Man?sur (Hebrew only, based on Baghdadi text) 1974–1980Siddur le-Tish'ah be-Ab, ed. Shehebar: Jerusalem 1976Mahzor Shelom Yerushalayim, ed. Albeg: New York, Sephardic Heritage Foundation 1982Siddur Kol Mordechai, ed. Faham bros: Jerusalem 1984 (min?hah and arbit only)Sha'are Ratson, ed. Moshe Cohen: Tel Aviv 1988, repr. 2003 (High Holy Days only)Kol Yaakob, ed. Alouf: New York, Sephardic Heritage Foundation 1990 (Hebrew only; revised edition 1996, Hebrew and English; a new edition is in preparation)The Aram Soba Siddur: According to the Sephardic Custom of Aleppo Syria, Moshe Antebi: Jerusalem, Aram Soba Foundation 1993 (min?hah and arbit only)Or?hot ?Hayim, ed. Yedid: Jerusalem 1995 (Hebrew only)Orot Sephardic Siddur, Eliezer Toledano: Lakewood, NJ, Orot Inc. (Hebrew and English: Baghdadi text, Syrian variants shown in square brackets)Siddur Abodat Haleb / Prayers from the Heart, Moshe Antebi, Lakewood, NJ: Israel Book Shop, 2002Abir Yaakob, ed. Haber: Sephardic Press (Hebrew and English, Shabbat only)Siddur Ve-ha'arev Na, ed. Isaac S.D. Sassoon, 2007
See also
External links
- History:
- Pizmonim:
- Aleppo Codex:
- Religion:
- Cuisine:
- Genealogy:
- Community website: , home of the "Charlie in the Morning" online daily talk show, featuring host Charlie Anteby
- Publications:
- Social:
- Anniversary:
- Notable Article: Article in NY Times Magazine
|
| |
|
|
