Yemenite Jew or Jewish Yemen or Teimanim (from Hebrew: ???????? ? Yehudey Friends ; Arabic: ????????????? ? ) are living Jews, or have lived, in Yemen. The term can also refer to the descendants of the Yemeni Jewish community. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation of the Magic Carpet. After several waves of persecution throughout Yemen, most Yemenite Jews now live in Israel, while small communities are found in the United States and elsewhere. Only a few are left in Yemen. Some of the remaining Jews underwent intense, and sometimes violent, anti-Semitism every day.
Yemenite Jews have a unique religious tradition that marks them as separate from Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and other Jewish groups. Yemen's Jews are generally described as belonging to the "Mizrahite Jews", although they differ from the general tendency of the Mizrahi group in Israel, which has undergone a process of total or partial assimilation to the Sephardic culture and Sephardic liturgy. (While the Shami sub-group of Yemenite Jews adopted Sephardic-influenced rites, this is not small because it is essentially imposed on them, and does not reflect a demographic or cultural shift).
Video Yemenite Jews
Family pedigrees
Some Jewish families have preserved traditions relating to their tribal affiliations, based on partial genealogical records passed down from generation to generation. In Yemen, for example, some Jews trace their lineage to Judah, others to Benjamin, while others to Levi and Reuben. Interestingly, a famous Yemeni Jewish family traces their lineage to Bani, one of Peretz's sons, the son of Judah.
Maps Yemenite Jews
Initial history
There are many records and traditions concerning the arrival of Jews in different regions of South Arabia. One tradition shows that King Solomon sent a marine Jewish merchant to Yemen to seek gold and silver that would decorate his Temple in Jerusalem. In 1881, the French consulate representative in Yemen wrote to the leaders of the Alliance (Israel Universe Nation Universelle) in France, which he read in a book by Arab historian Abu-Alfada that the Yemeni Jews settled in the area in 1451 BC.. Another legend says that Yemeni tribes converted to Judaism after the visit of Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. Sanaite Jews have a tradition that their ancestors settled in Yemen forty-two years before the destruction of the First Temple. It is said that under the prophet Jeremiah about 75,000 Jews, including priests and Levites, traveled to Yemen. Another legend states that when Ezra commanded the Jews to return to Jerusalem, they were disobedient, in which he proclaimed the ban on them. According to this legend, as a punishment for this hasty act, Ezra was denied burial in Israel. As a result of this local tradition, which can not be historically validated, it is said that no Yemeni Jew gave Ezra's name to a child, although all other biblical uses were used. Yemenite Jews claim that Ezra cursed them for being poor because they did not pay attention to his calling. This seems to be true in the eyes of some Yemenis, because Yemen is very poor. However, some Yemeni sages in Israel today strongly reject this story as a myth, if not direct blasphemy.
Archaeological records referring to Judaism in Yemen began to emerge during the reign of Himyarite Kingdom, founded in Yemen in 110 BC. The various inscriptions in the Musnad script in the second century AD refer to the construction of a synagogue approved by Himyarite Kings. According to local legend, the royal aristocracy was transformed into Judaism in the sixth century. The Christian missionary Theophilos, who came to Yemen in the middle of the fourth century, complained that he had found many Jews. At 380 CE, Himyarites religious practices have undergone a fundamental change. The inscription is no longer addressed to El Maqah or 'Athtar, but to a single god called Rahman. Debates among scholars continue as to whether Himyarite monotheism is influenced by Judaism or Christianity. The Jews became very numerous and powerful in the south of Arabia, rich and fertile land of incense and spices and road stations on routes to Africa, India and East Asia. The Yemeni tribes are not opposed to the Jewish presence in their country. In 516, tribal riots broke out, and some tribal elite fought to seize power. One of the elites is Joseph Dhu Nuwas or "YÃÆ'» suf 'As'ar Ya?' Ar "as mentioned in the ancient inscriptions of southern Arabia. Joseph's real story is murky. The Greek and Ethiopian accounts, describes him as a fanatical Jew. Some scholars argue that he was a converted Jew. The Nestorian account claims that his mother was a Jew who was taken captive from Nisibis and bought by a king in Yemen, whose ancestors used to turn to Judaism. Syrians and Byzantine sources maintain that YÆ'Â »suf 'As'ar sought to convert other Yemeni Christians, but they refused to renounce Christianity. However, the actual image is still unclear.
Some scholars believe that Syriac sources reflect much hatred against Jews. In 2009, the BBC broadcast defended claims that YÃÆ' Â »suf 'As'ar offered the villagers the choice between conversion to Judaism or death and then massacre 20,000 Christians. The producer of the program stated that, "The production team speaks to many historians for 18 months, among them Nigel Groom, who is our consultant, and Professor Abdul Rahman Al-Ansary [former archaeological professor at King Saud University in Riyadh]." The inscriptions linked to YÆ'Â »suf 'As'ar themselves show the great pride which he claimed after killing more than 22,000 Christians in Ê» ir and Najran. According to Jamme, the Sabae inscription reveals that the combined spoils of war (not counting the deaths) of the campaign waged against Abyssinia in? Af? R, the fighters in 'A'ar? N, Rakb? N, Faras? N, Mu? W? n (Mocha), and the fighters and military units in Najran, numbered 12,500 war trophies, 11,000 prisoners and 290,000 camels and cattle and sheep.
Historian Glen Bowersock describes this as "a fierce pogrom perpetrated by the Jewish king of the Arabs against Christians in the city of Najran.The king himself reported in great detail to the Arab and Persian allies of the massacre he inflicted on all Christians who refused to move religion to Judaism. "There are also reports of massacres and destruction of places of worship by Christians as well. Francis Edward Peters writes that while there is no doubt that this is religious persecution, it is equally clear that a political struggle is also in progress. It is likely that Dhu Nuwas was the leader of the liberation movement that sought to free Yemen from increasing foreign interference in state affairs, and Judaism became an essential element in the resistance.
According to 'Irfan Shahid's
There are two dates mentioned in "Simeon's letter from Beit Ar? Am." One date shows the letter written in Tammuz in the year 830 Alexander (518/519 CE), from the camp of GBALA (Jebala), king of 'SNYA (Ghassanids or' donkey 'clan). In it, he told of the events that occurred in Najran, while the other dates placed the composition of the letter in 835 of Alexander (523/524 CE). The second letter, however, is actually a copy of the original Syrian, copied in 1490 from the Seleucid Era (= 1178/79 CE). Today, it is strongly agreed that the final date is accurate, as confirmed by Martyrium Arethae, as well as by the epigraphic record, the Saba inscription found in the Saudi Arabian Assassins (Bi'r? ImÃÆ'Â ¢), photographed by J. Ryckmans in Ry 507, 8 ~ 9, and by A. Jamme in Ja 1028, which gives Saba 633 years for this operation (said to correspond to CE 523).
Jacques Ryckmans, who outlined these inscriptions, wrote in his book La Perse Cale des ChrÃÆ'Â © tiens Himyarites, that Sarah'il Yaqbul-Yaz'an was the tribal chief and lieutenant YÃÆ'Â »suf ' As'ar (king) during a military campaign, and that he was sent by the king to take the city of Najran, while the king witnessed the possibility of a Abyssinian/Ethiopian attack along the Yemeni coastal plain near Mokh? (al-Mo? ÃÆ' Â ¢) and the strait known as B? b al-Mandab. Please note that the Ethiopian church is in? AfÃÆ'Â ¢ r, which had been built by the king of Yemen a few years earlier, and another church he built in Aden (see: Ecclesiastical of Philostorgius, Epitome of Book III, chapter 4), was seen by Konstantius II during the deployment to the land of the immiites (ie Yemen) at around 340 CE. The church was burned and flattened with soil, and the Abyssinian population was killed. Later, strangers (probably Christians) who lived in Ha'ramawt were also sentenced to death before the king's forces advanced to Najran at the northern end and took it.
The Byzantine Emperor Justin I sent a fleet to Yemen and Joseph Dhu Nuwas was killed in a battle in 525 CE. The persecution stopped, and Yemen's west coast became state until Himyarite nobility (as well as Jews) managed to regain power.
There are also several historical works which show that a Jewish kingdom existed in Yemen during pre-Islamic pre-Islamic times. In Yemen, several inscriptions dating from the 4th and 5th centuries have been found in Hebrew and Sabaean praised the ruling house in Jewish terms for "helping and empowering the People of Israel". At Bayt al - ??? ir, a village near Tan'im, Professor Walter MÃÆ'¼ller also found in the village center mosque an important Jewish-Jewish inscription showing a partial list of the 24 nobles depicted in I Ã, Chronicles 24 , which says that the inscription was engraved on a column previously believed to belong to the synagogue. However, even here, part of the inscription is embedded in the land belonging to the mosque. Inscriptions are believed to date back to the 4th century, and prove the beauty of the Jews in the area. In the same period it included another Sabaean-Hebrew inscription, which is Professor Giov? Nn? Garbin? Naples was discovered in 1970. The paper is found on a column in Bayt al-A? w? l close? af? r [Dhof? r) (c) 17 km from the city of Yarim) and performances, interrupted in the preceding Text, the words, "The text of Judah, the blessed memory, Amin shalom amin," is engraved in the ancient Assyrian (Hebrew) script among the more Saba texts large and sculpted.
Jewish-Muslim relations in Yemen
Medieval
As the Ahl al-Kitab, protecting the Bible Society, Jews are guaranteed freedom of religion only in exchange for jizyah, the tax payment of the population imposed on monotheistic Muslims (the people of the Book). In return for jizyah, non-Muslims are then given security, and are also exempt from paying zakat to be paid by Muslims after their remaining wealth reaches certain limits. Active persecution against the Jews did not gain full force until the Zaydi clan seized power, from a more tolerant Sunni Muslim, in the early 10th century. The Jewish legal status in Yemen began to detoriate around the time Tahiris took Sana'a from Zaidis, mainly because of the new discrimination set by the Muslim rulers. Such a law is not included in the writings of the law of Zaidi until relatively late with the Kitab al-Azhar of Imam al-Murtada in the first half of the fifteenth century. This also led to the deterioration of the economic and social situation of the Jews.
The Jewish intellectuals wrote in Hebrew and Arabic and were involved in the same literary effort with the majority of Muslims. In the final document of the 9th century, Zaydi's first imam al-Hadi has imposed special restrictions and taxes on land held by the Jewish and Christian Najran. In the middle of the 11th century, Jews from several communities in the Yemeni plateau including Sana'a seem to have been drawn to the capital Sulayhids, Dhu Jibla. The city was founded by Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Sulaihi in the middle of the 11th century and according to al-Yamman's date of the famous Yemen writer Umara al-Yamani (1121-74), was named after the Jewish merchant pottery.
During the 12th century, Aden was first ruled by the Fatimids and then Ayyubids. The city forms a large port on the sea route to India. The documents of the Cairo Geniza associated with Aden reflect the growing Jewish community led by a prominent Round family. Abu Ali Hasan ibn Bundar (Heb.Japheth) served as head of the Jewish community of Aden and Yemen as well as representatives of merchants in Aden. His son, Madmun was a central figure in Jewish Yemen during a growing trade with India. The Round Family produces several celebrated states that use authority over Yemenite Jews as well as Jewish merchants in India and Ceylon. The community develops communal and spiritual relationships alongside businesses and families tied up with other Jewish communities in the Islamic world. They also built relationships with and funded Jewish centers and academies in Babylon, Palestine and Egypt. Due to trade, the Jews also emigrated to Aden due to trade and personal considerations.
The Yemeni Jews also sometimes suffer from cruel torture. By the end of the 1160s, the Yemeni rulers' Abd-al-Nab? ibn Mahdi left the Jew with a choice between conversion to Islam or martyrdom. Mahdi also imposed his faith on Muslims other than Jews. This led to the rise of Jewish mesianism, but also led to mass conversion. While a popular local Jewish Yemeni preacher called the Jew to choose martyrdom, Maimonides sent what Iggeret Friend called ( Letters to Yemen) asking them to remain faithful to their religion, but if circumstances permitted , not to insult anyone else before their antagonist. The persecution ended in 1173 with the defeat of Ibn Mahdi and the conquest of Yemen by Saladin's brothers and they were allowed to return to their religion. According to two Genizah documents, Yemen's Ayyubi ruler, al-Malik al-Mu'izz al-Ismail (ruled from 1197-1202) has sought to force the Jews from Aden to move to religion. The second document details the help of the Jewish community after his assassination and those who have been forced to move back to Judaism.
The rules of the Shafi'i Apostles that lasted from 1229 to 1474 brought stability to the region. During this period, Jews enjoyed social and economic prosperity. This changed with the appearance of the Tahiri dynasty that ruled until the conquest by the Ottoman Empire of Yemen in 1517. A record written in the Jewish text mentions the destruction of the old synagogue in Sana'a in 1457 under the rule of the founder of the Ahmad dynasty. 'Amir. An important note about the treatment of Jews by Tahirid is found in the colloon of Jewish manuscripts from Yemen in 1505 when the last Sultan Tahirid took Sana'a from Zaydis. This document describes one kingdom as exploitative and the other as repressive.
The Jewish communities experienced a messianic episode with the appearance of another Messiah claimant in Bayhan District, mentioned by Hayim bin Yahya Habhush in the History of the Jews in Yemen written in 1893 and Ba'faqia al -Shihri > Chronicle was written in the 16th century. The Messiah was recognized as a political figure and gathered many people around him in what appeared to be an organized military force. Tahirid Sultan Amir ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab attacked the messiah, killing many Jews and destroying the movement. He sees it as a breach of the treaty and dissolves Jewish settlements in Hadhramaut as collective punishment. It seems that some of them were killed, many who converted to Islam or migrated to Aden and the main Yemeni mainland. It seems, however, that indirect liquidation. The Jews of that place were recorded in 1527, but not in the 1660s. After the fifteenth century, the Jewish community existed only on the western outskirts of Hadhramaut. The oppression at the hands of devout Muslim rulers and endangering societies due to several Jewish messianic plots, is a common theme in Jewish Yemeni history. Ottoman conquests enabled Yemeni Jews to have an opportunity to connect with other Jewish communities; contact was established with the Kabbalah in Safed, the main Jewish center, as well as with the Jewish community throughout the Ottoman Empire.
Early modern period
Zaydi enacted a law known as the Orphan's Decree, anchored in the interpretation of the 18th century law and imposed at the end of the century. He obliged Zaydi to take under his protection and to educate in Islam every dhimmi (ie non-Muslim) child whose parents had died when he was a minor. The Orphan's decision was ignored during the Ottoman rule (1872-1918), but was updated during the Imam Yahya period (1918-1948).
Under Zaydi's rule, the Jews are considered unholy, and therefore it is forbidden to touch Muslim or Muslim food. They are required to humble themselves before a Muslim, to walk to the left side, and greet him first. They can not build a house higher than Muslims or ride a camel or a horse, and when riding a donkey or donkey, they should sit sideways. After entering Muslim territory, a Jew had to take off his shoes and walk barefoot. If it is attacked with stone or fist by the youth, a Jew is not allowed to fight them. In such situations he has the option of escaping or seeking intervention by a benevolent Muslim walker.
The Ottoman Empire ended in 1630, when the Zaydis took over Yemen. The Jews were once again persecuted. In 1679, under the rule of Al Mahdi Ahmad, the Jews were expelled massively from all parts of Yemen to the remote Mawza province, and many Jews died there because of starvation and disease as a result. Two-thirds of the exiled Jews did not survive. Their homes and properties were confiscated, and many synagogues were destroyed or converted into mosques. This event came to be known as Mawza's exile, and is remembered in many of the writings of the Yemenite Jewish rabbis and poet Shalom Shabazi, who experienced it himself. About a year after expulsion, survivors were allowed to return for economic reasons; Jews are the majority of artisans and craftsmen, and thus an important asset in the country's economy. However, they are not allowed to return to their former homes, and find that most of their religious articles have been destroyed. Instead they settled in special Jewish settlements outside the city.
The Jewish community recovered partly because Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, also called "Sahib al-Mawahib", who protected them and allowed them to return to their previous status. He rejected a request for Jewish deportation by clerics and maintained ties with a Jewish Iraqi family accused of mint homes. From the end of the 17th century, the Jews run the mint house of the priests. In 1725, Imam Al-Mutawakkil ordered the closing of the synagogue because the Jews were selling wine to the Muslims. However, their closure was rejected by the religious law's decision that these synagogues were allowed by their predecessors.
Jews in Yemen have expertise in various trades normally avoided by Zaydi Muslims. Trading such as silver-smithing, smith, fixing weapons and equipment, weaving, pottery, masonry, carpentry, shoe-making, and sewing are jobs exclusively taken by Jews. The division of labor creates a kind of agreement, based on shared economic and social dependence, between the Muslim population of Zaydi and Yemenite Jews. Muslims produce and provide food, and the Jews supply all products and services produced that are needed by Yemeni farmers.
The Jewish community led by Shalom 'Iraq recovers from this affair and the position of' Iraq is strengthened under Imam Al-Mansur. The Jewish community thrives on it because of the role it plays in trading with India through Mocha. German researcher Carsten Niebuhr, who visited Yemen in 1763, reported that two years before he arrived, Shalom 'Iraq was imprisoned and fined, while twelve of the fourteen synagogues in a village near Sana'a were closed. 'Iraq was released two weeks before his arrival. Jewish sources link this with regime change. Imam Al-Mahdi Abbas is very religious and his ideological closeness to the ulama creates an atmosphere of extreme repression. But he refused their insistence to drive out the Jews. The synagogues were reopened by Ali al-Mansur after heavy fee payments.
During the 18th century, Yemeni Jews obtained a brief respite from their status as second-class citizens when the Imagination came to power. Yemen is experiencing a revival of Jewish life. The synagogue was rebuilt, and some Jews reached high office. One of them was Rabbi Shalom ben Aharon, who became responsible for scoring and for the royal coffers. When the Imitation lost power in the nineteenth century, the Jews were again subjected to persecution. In 1872, the Ottoman Empire again took power, and Ottoman rule would survive until Yemen's independence in 1918. Jewish life again increased during Ottoman rule; Jewish freedom is widely respected, and Yemeni Jews are allowed to have more contact with other Jewish communities.
Event chronology
Settlement Place in Yemen
In the early nineteenth century, Yemenite Jews lived mainly in Sana'a (7,000), with the largest Jewish population and twenty-eight synagogues, followed by Rada'a, with the second largest Jewish population and nine synagogues, Sa' dah (1,000) , Dhamar (1,000), Aden (200), Desert Beda (2,000), Manakhah (3,000), among others. Almost all live in the interior of the plateau. Carl Rathjens who visited Yemen in 1927 and 1931 put the total number of Jewish communities in Yemen in 371. Another important Jewish community in Yemen is headquartered in the southern highlands of the cities: Taiz (the birthplace of one of Jewish spiritual leaders famous, Mori Salem Al-Shabazzi Mashta), Ba'dan, and other cities in the Shar'ab region. Many other Jewish communities in Yemen have long been abandoned by their Jewish inhabitants. Yemen Jews are mainly craftsmen, including gold, silver, and blacksmiths in the San'a area, and coffee traders in the southern highlands.
Yemenian messianic movement of the 19th century
During this period the messianic hope was very strong among the Yemeni Jews (and among many Arabs as well). Three pseudo-mesias from this period, and their years of activity, are:
- Shukr Kuhayl I (1861-65)
- Shukr Kuhayl II (1868-75)
- Joseph Abdallah (1888-93)
According to the Jewish traveler Jacob Saphir, the majority of Yemeni Jews during his 1862 visit entertained the belief in the messianic proclamation Shukr Kuhayl I. The Yemen's previous poet was an anonymous 12th century messenger who was the subject of the famous Iggeret Maimonides Friend, or Epistle to Yemen , the Bayani messenger (about 1495), and Sulaiman Jamal (c. 1667), in the case of Lenowitz regarded as an integrated mesenic history covering 600 years.
Religious traditions
The Yemenite Jews and the Aramaic Kurdish-speaking Jews are the only communities that maintain the tradition of reading Torah in the synagogue in both Hebrew and Aramaic Targum ("translation"). Most non-Yaman synagogues have a certain person called Baal Koreh, who read from the scroll of the Torah when the congregation is summoned to the scroll of the Torah for an aliyah. In Yemeni tradition, everyone who is summoned to the scroll of the Torah to read aliyah for himself. Children under the age of Bar Mitzvah are often given the sixth aliyah. Every verse of the Torah that is read in Hebrew is followed by an Aramaic translation, usually sung by a child. Both the sixth aliyah and the Targum have simplified melodies, distinct from common melodic melodies used for other aliyots.
Like most Jewish communities, the Yemeni Jews call different melodies for the Torah, the Prophet (Haftara), Megillat Aicha (The Book of Lamentations), Kohelet (Preacher, Read during Sukkot), and Megillat Esther (The Esther Scrolls are read in Purim). Unlike the Ashkenazic community, there is a melody to Mishle (Proverbs) and Psalms.
- Every Yemenite Jew knows how to read from Scroll Torah with correct pronunciation and tone, right in every detail. Everyone who is called to the Torah reads his own part. All this is possible because children from the beginning learn to read without any vowel. Their predictions are much more precise than the Sephardic and Ashkenazic dialects. The results of their education are remarkable, for example if a person talks with his neighbors and needs to quote one verse from the Bible, he speaks with the heart, without pause or effort, with the melody.
In larger Jewish communities, such as Sana'a and Sad'a, boys were sent to melamed at the age of three to begin their religious studies. They attend melamed from dawn to sunset on Sunday through Thursday and until noon on Friday. Jewish women are required to have an in-depth knowledge of laws relating to Kashrut and Mishpachah (family purity) namely Niddah. Some women even master Shechita's laws, thus acting as ritual slaughterers.
People also sit on the floor of the synagogue instead of sitting in chairs, similar to the way many other non-Ashkenazi Jews sit in the synagogue. This corresponds to what Rambam (Maimonides) wrote in his Mishneh Torah:
- - Hilchot Tefila 11: 5
The lack of seats may also provide more room for prostration, another ancient Jewish obedience that Jews in Yemen continue to practice until a very new time. There are still some Yemenite Jews who prostrate during a part of daily Jewish prayer called Tachanun (Plea), although such people usually do so in privacy. In the small Jewish community that existed today at Bet Harash, prostration is still practiced during the tachanun prayer. European Jews generally prostrate only during certain passages of special prayers during the Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Prostration is a common practice among all Jews to a certain point during the late Middle Ages or Renaissance period.
Like the Yemeni Jewish house, the synagogue in Yemen must be lower than the lowest mosque in the area. To accommodate this, the synagogue is built into the ground to give them more space without being visible from the outside. In some parts of Yemen, minyanim often only meet in Jewish homes, not communities that have separate buildings for a synagogue. The beauty and artwork is kept for ritual objects in the synagogue and at home.
Yemenite Jews are also wearing the typical height that is often found to this day. The Yaman tallit has an area of ​​ and large angular patches, adorned with silver or gold threads, and edges along the tallit's netted sides. According to Baladi custom, tzitzit is tied with seven chulyot (hitches), based on the teachings of Maimonides.
Wedding and wedding traditions
During the Jewish Yemeni wedding, the bride decorated jewelry and dressed in traditional wedding costumes, including elaborate headdresses adorned with flowers and rue leaves, which are believed to ward off evil. The golden thread is woven into the fabric of his clothes. Songs are sung as part of a seven-day wedding celebration, with lyrics about friendship and love in alternating Hebrew and Arabic verses.
In Yemen, the practice of the Jews is not for the bridegroom and the bride to be exiled in the canopy ( chuppah ) depending on the four pillars, as much practiced today at the Jewish marriage, but more precisely in the bridal chamber, in essence, a highly decorated room in the groom's house. This room is traditionally decorated with large colored rags, patterned fabrics, filled with wall pillows and a short mattress for lying down. Their marriage is perfect when they are left alone in this room. This ancient practice finds expression in the writings of Isaac ben Abba Mari (c 1122-c-1193), author of Sefer ha-'Ittur , of Benedict the Bridegroom: "Now chuppah is when his father gave it to her husband, bringing it to the house where there are some new innovations, such as the sheets... around the walls, etc. For us to read in the Jerusalem Talmud, Sotah 46a (< i> Sotah 9:15), 'The bridal chamber, ( chuppoth hathanim ), they hang in their patterned slabs and embroidered gold ribbons,' etc. '
After immigration to Israel, the regional varieties of Yemeni bride jewelry were replaced by uniform items that became synonymous with the community: beautiful wedding dress from Sana'a.
Before the wedding, Yemen and other East Jewish communities performed a henna ceremony, an ancient ritual with the origin of the Bronze Age. The bridal family of pasta mixes comes from the henna plant placed on the bridal palms and guests, and their guests. After the pasta is washed, dark orange stain spots gradually fade over the next week.
Yemenis have a special interest for Henna because of biblical references and the Talmud. Henna, in the Bible, is Camphire, and is mentioned in the Song of Solomon, as well as in the Talmud. This tradition is also practiced by Pashtuns and Afghan Jews.
- "My Beloved is to me as a Camphire group in the vineyards of En-Gedi" The Song of Solomon, 1:14
A customary Jewish Yemeni adat only for the Aden community is Talbis, revolving around the groom. A number of special songs were sung by the men holding candles, and the groom wore gold clothing.
Religious group
The three main groups of Yemeni Jews are Baladi, Shami, and Maimonidea or "Rambamists".
The differences between these groups are largely related to the influence of each of the original Yemeni traditions, largely based on the works of Maimonides, and in the Kabbalistic tradition embodied in Zohar and in the school of Isaac Luria, which has been increasingly influential from the 17th century. century.
- Baladi Jews (from Arabic ballad , country) generally follow the rule of law Rambam (Maimonides) as codified in his Mishneh Torah . Their liturgy was developed by a rabbi known as Maharitz, in an effort to break the deadlock between the existing Maimonides and the new follower of mystic, Isaac Luria. This substantially follows the older Yemen tradition, with only some concessions to Ari's use. A Baladi Jews may or may not accept the Kabbalah theologically: if he does, he considers himself to follow Luria's own advice that every Jew must follow his ancestral tradition.
- The Shami Jews (from the Arabic ash-Sham , north, referring to Palestine or Damascus) represent those who accept the Sephardic/Palestinian rite and rabbinic line of authority, after being exposed to the new low cost , set up the siddur (prayer books) brought from Israel and the Sephardic diaspora by messengers and traders in the late 17th and 18th centuries. "Local rabbinical leadership rejects new versions.... However, new prayer books are widely accepted." As part of the process, Shami accepted Zohar and modified their rites to accommodate the use of Ari to the maximum. The Shami siddur text now largely follows the Sephardic tradition, though pronunciation, singing and customs still smell Yemen. They generally base their legal decisions on Rambam (Maimonides) and on Shulchan Aruch (Jewish Law Code). In their interpretation of Jewish law, the Yemeni Jews of Shami were heavily influenced by Syrian Sephardian Jews, despite some problems, they rejected European Jewish law code in the future, and instead followed the previous decision of Maimonides. Most Yemeni Jews living today follow the custom of Shami. Ritual Shami is always more common, even 50 years ago.
- "Rambamists" are followers, or to some extent influenced by the Dor Daim movement, and strict Talmud followers as compiled by Maimonides, alias "Rambam". They are considered part of the Baladi Jews, and claim to preserve the Baladi tradition in its pure form. They generally reject the Zohar and Lurianic News altogether. Many of them object to terms such as "Rambamist". In their eyes they are only following the most ancient of the Torah preservation, which (according to their research) is recorded in the Mishneh Torah.
Dor Daim and Iqshim dispute
By the end of the 19th century, new ideas began to reach Yemen Jews from abroad. The Hebrew papers began to arrive, and relations developed with Sephardic Jews, who came to Yemen from various provinces of Usmani to trade with army and government officials.
Two Jewish travelers, Joseph Halà © Ã… © vy, a French-trained Jewish orientalist, and Eduard Glaser, a Jewish-Austrian and Arabic astronomer, have particularly strong influence on a group of young Yemeni Jews, the most prominent of whom is Rabbi Yi? well Qafi ?. As a result of his contact with HalÃÆ' © vy and Glaser, Qafi? introducing modern content into the education system. Qafi? opened a new school and, in addition to traditional subjects, introduced arithmetic, Hebrew and Arabic languages, with a grammar of both languages. The curriculum also includes subjects such as natural sciences, history, geography, astronomy, sports and Turkey.
The debate of Dor Daim and Iqshim on Zohar literature broke out in 1912, poisoning the Sana'a Jewish community, and dividing it into two rival groups that maintained separate communal institutions until the late 1940s. Rabbi Qafi? and his friends are leaders of the Maimonideans group called Dor Daim ("knowledge generation"). Their aim was to bring Yemeni Jews back to the original method of understanding Maimonidea Judaism that existed in the pre-17th century Yemen.
Similar to certain Spanish and Portuguese Jews (Western Sephardi Jews), Dor Daim rejects Zohar, a book of esoteric mysticism. They felt that the Kabbalah based on the Zohar was absurd, unfamiliar, and inconsistent with the reasonable nature of Judaism. In 1913, when it appeared that Rabbi Qafi, then headmaster of a new Jewish school and working closely with the Ottoman authorities, enjoyed considerable political support, Dor Daim made his views public, and tried to convince the whole community to accept them. Many non-Dor Deah elements of the community reject the concept of Dor Deah. Opposition, Iqshim, led by Rabbi Yi? Ya Yi ?? aq, Hakham Bashi, refused to deviate from the accepted custom and from the study of the Zohar. One of the Iqshim targets in the war against the Rabbi Qafi? is a modern Jewish-Jewish school. Due to the dispute between Dor Daim and Iqshim, the school closed 5 years after it was opened, before the education system could develop a youth reserve exposed to its ideas.
Hebrew Yemen
The Hebrew language of Yemen has been studied by scholars, many of whom believe it contains the most ancient phonetic and grammatical features. Ã, There are two major pronunciations of Hebrew Yemen, considered by many scholars to be the most accurate modern day Hebrew form of the Bible, although technically there are a total of five related to the Yemeni region. In the Yemeni dialect, all Hebrew letters have different sounds, except for s? Me? (Hebrew: ? ?) And ? ÃÆ'®n (Hebrew: ?? ?), Both of which are pronounced /s/. The pronunciation of the Hebrew Sanaani language (used by the majority) has been indirectly criticized by Saadia Gaon because it contains the Hebrew letters jimmel and guf , which he thinks is incorrect. There are Yemeni scholars, such as Rabbi Ratzon Arusi, who say that such a perspective is a misunderstanding of Saadia Gaon's words.
Rabbi Mazuz postulated this hypothesis through the use of Djerban (Tunisia) Jewish dialect from gimmel and quf , turning to jimmel and guf
Yiddish Jewish Literature
The oldest Yemeni text is from the Hebrew Bible, which the Yemeni Jews called the "Taj" ("crown"). The oldest texts dating from the 9th century, and each have a short Masoretic introduction, while many contain Arabic commentary.
The Yemeni Jews get acquainted with the works of Saadia Gaon, Rashi, Kimhi, Nahmanides, Judah of Levy and Isaac Arama, in addition to producing a number of exegetes from among themselves. In the 14th century, Nathanael ben Isaiah wrote an Arabic commentary on the Bible; in the second half of the 15th century, Saadia ben David al-Adeni is a commentary on Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Abraham Ben Solomon wrote about the Prophets.
Among the midrash collections of Yemen mention must be made from Midrash ha-Gadol from David bar Amram al-Adeni. Between 1413 and 1430 doctors Yes? Yes Zechariah b. Solomon wrote a compilation entitled "Midrash hâ Efe ?," which included the Pentateuch, Lamentations, Book of Esther, and other parts of the Hebrew Bible. Between 1484 and 1493 David al-Lawani composed "Midrash al-Wajiz al-Mughni." The earliest full Judeo-Arabic copy of Maimonides' Guide to the Bewildered, copied in Yemen in 1380, was found in the Indian Office Library and added to the British Library's collection in 1992.
Among the Yemeni poet who wrote the Hebrew and Arabic hymns that imitate Spanish schools, the mention may be made of Zechariah (Ya Ya) of al-Dhahiri and members of the Shabazite family. The work of Al-Dhahiri, which utilizes the poetry genre known as maq? Mah , an ariri-inspired style, was written in 1573 under the title Sefer ha-Musar . Here, the author explains in its 45 chapters throughout India, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, the Land of Israel and Egypt, including a description of the study of Rabbi Yosef Karo in Safed. The philosophical writers include: Saadia b. Jabe? and Saadia b. Mas'ud, both at the beginning of the 14th century; Ibn al-? Beware, the author of the treatise in the form of a dialogue written in rhythmic prose, and termed by the author "Yemeni Flower"; asan al-Dhamari; and Joseph ha-Levi b. Jefes, who wrote the philosophical treatise "Ner Yisrael" (1420) and "Kitab al-Masa? Ah."
Traditional Jewish dress
Men's wear
The tunic is worn by men and boys; custom (Hebrew: ????? ?) and the central cap (Hebrew: ? ??? ?) worn by married men according to the teachings of the Babylonian Talmud. Usually, Jews do not wear Gentile clothes, see that there are different styles of clothing for Jews, and other styles for Arabs or other Gentiles. However, these limits are drawn to extend only to certain pieces of clothing, but not to all all clothing pieces. Some pieces of clothing are similar to those worn by non-Jews. German ethnographer Erich Brauer (1895-1942) describes the clothing worn by Yemeni Jews in the following way:
Instead of trousers, the Yemeni Jews (as well as Yemen Arabs) carry a piece of cloth worn around the hips, called maizar . The expression f ?? a , quoted by Sapir (Jacob Saphir), was used [for the same clothes] by Jews in Aden and some also by Arabs from Yemen. The maizar consists of one piece of dark blue cotton wrap around several times around the waist and which is held by a belt made of fabric or leather. The maizar is allowed to reach the knee only. Today, the Yemans will wear panties made like shorts, which are called sirw? L , [instead of traditional wreaths underneath their tunics].
A blue shirt that has a split extending to the waist and which is closed at the neck level is worn over maizar . If the shirt is colorful and striped, it is called tah ?? ni , which means, 'lower.' If it's a monochrome, it's called interstitial . Finally, the outer layer of clothing, worn over maizar and antari , is a dark blue cotton tunic (Arabic: guf n or < i> kuf ?? n ). The tunic is a winter-like outfit that extends down to the fully open knee in front and is covered with a button on the neck. Above the tunic, the Jews were not allowed to wear a belt.
As noted, some dress code men are imposed on them by the laws of the State. For example, previously in Yemen, Jews were not allowed to wear any colored clothing other than blue. Previously, in the time of Jacob Saphir (1859), they wore "really black" outfits. When the German-Danish explorer, Carsten Niebuhr, visited Yemen in 1763, the only person he saw wearing a blue robe was a Jewish retainer, Minister and Prince, S? Lim b. Aharon Ir? Qi Ha-Kohen, who served under two kings during a period of not less than twenty-eight years.
The traditional Yamanite high? T is full length high? T is made of fine wool or goat hair of a single black or brown color, called ? ÃÆ'¤ mlÃÆ'¤h , but that is not unique only to Jews only. Muslims will also wear similar cover items, to protect them from heat or rain. Jewish apparel, however, bears the periphery of the ritual prescribed for such clothing. Wearing such clothing is not unique just for the time of prayer, but it is worn throughout the day. Later, black and white striped scarves were imported into the country from Europe, and were greatly appreciated by Jews in Yemen who wore them on special occasions and on the Sabbath. Small ones tall? T was introduced to Yemen through Aden from European centers, and was mainly used by rabbis and educated people.
Women's clothing
Jewish women in Yemen traditionally wear trousers forked under their long black tunics. Pantalons are usually made of solid black, tapered near their ankles, and adorned with bottom stitching with fine silk stitching. The tunic works as a good, long-sleeved dress and blouse, all in one piece. In addition, all the young girls wore black conical hat over their heads, which took the place of scarves. These hats are referred to in the local language, gargoush , and are also adorned with embroidered sling about its borders, besides being equipped with tapered flaps that extend to the ears and to the nape of the neck. Older women in Sana'a will wear a veil like a headscarf above their head, called a maswan, especially when going out in public places, and that are traditionally worn over a closer shawl that covers the hair they.. All women are decorated in black sandals when walking in public places, and only very small girls will walk barefoot.
Jewish women and girls in Haydan a-sham (in the far north of Yemen) do not use gargoush , but will wear a black scarf fastened to their foreheads, resembling a black band, along with a cover made by an additional scarf that covers the hair.
DNA Test
DNA tests between Yemenite Jews and other members of the Jewish community in the world show the same relationship, with most communities sharing the same genetic profile of the father. Furthermore, Y chromosome signals from Yemen's Jews are also similar to other Middle Eastern populations.
Despite their long-term residence in different countries and their isolation from each other, most Jewish populations do not differ significantly from one another at the genetic level. The results support the hypothesis that the genes of Jewish community pools from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are descended from the general Middle Eastern ancestral population, and they show that most Jewish communities remain relatively isolated from neighboring Gentile communities during and after the Diaspora.
The great majority of the Middle Eastern Jewish community descended from the earliest Assyrians (late 8th century BC) and Babylonian (6th century BC) Hebrew exiles, whose mtDNA pools almost lacked sub-Sahara L and variants of M1 and U6 mtDNA specifically North and East Africa. Secondly, Ashkenazi and Jewish North Africans with low L genetics but still detectable with very low diversity. This low diversity is most easily explained by the small number of unique Hg L (xM, N) founders. The third example brings together the Ethiopian and Yemeni Jews, rich Hg L (xM, N) and Hg M1 (especially on Ethiopian Jews) (Table S1 and Table S3). As far as the Ethiopian Jews and Yemen are concerned, the main observations here are not in the absolute frequency of Hg L (xM, N) between them, but rather high diversity, especially among the Israeli Beta (Table S1 and Table S3). In addition, the Ethiopian Jewish and Yemeni pools of mtDNA pools differ considerably in the relative abundance of the West Asian mtDNA lineages such as the derivatives of HV1, JT and others (Table S1 and Table S3), almost none in... Mother DNA from Mizrachi Jews vary, even slightly from other Mizrachim, suggesting that the majority of Israelis and some non-Israelites are from among the women of each population of the Near East; such as Yemen, Mesopotamian, and other local Near Eastern women. However, the DNA markings are irrelevant when considering that, in Jewish law, the proselytes who may have joined the Israeli religion and married Israeli families would still continue reading their DNA to their children.
Y chromosome data on Yemenite Jews shows greater evidence of the same Jewish ancestors. In particular, four haplogroups Y (A3b2, E3b3a, E3b1, and J2e) are divided between Yemen and Ethiopia Jewish populations, whereas no mitochondrial haplotype is properly shared between these two populations. In addition, the four Yap Y-haplogroups of Yemen (E3b1, E3b1b, J1, and R1b10) are also shared with other Jewish populations (including Ashkenazi, Iraq, Libya, and Moroccan Jews), as well as Druze and Palestine. The paternal similarity throughout the Jewish population is consistent with the theory that most Diaspora Jewish populations have more ancestors than fathers of maternal ancestors (Thomas et al., 2002). In short, the Jewish Yemeni mtDNA as well as the Y (chromosome) data do not support the theory of the origin of large-scale Arab conversions of Yemen to Judaism during the 5th to 6th centuries, based on the minimal contribution of adjacent non-Jewish Yemeni populations. In contrast, molecular genetic data support the decline of the ancient Israelites who were exiled because of the haplotype shared with other Jewish populations (as seen on Y chromosomes) in addition to sharing East African ancestry and more general Middle East (supported by mtDNA and Y).
Immigration to Israel
The three main population centers for Jews in southern Arabia are Aden, Habban and Hadhramaut. The Jews of Aden lived in and around the city, and developed during the British Protectorate Aden.
First emigration wave: 1881 to 1914
Emigration from Yemen to the area now known as Israel began in 1881, and continued almost without interruption until 1914. At that time about 10% of Yemeni Jews left. Due to changes in the Ottoman Empire, citizens were able to move more freely, and in 1869, the journey was enhanced by the opening of the Suez Canal, which reduced travel time from Yemen to Palestine. Certain Yemeni Jews interpret these changes and new developments in the "Holy Land" as celestial signs that the time of redemption is at hand. By settling in the Holy Land, they will play a part in what they believe can precipitate the anticipated messianic era.
From 1881 to 1882, about 30 Jewish families left Sana'a and some nearby settlements, and made long journeys on foot and sea to Jerusalem, where most settled in Silwan. This wave was followed by other Jews from central Yemen, who continued to move to Palestine until 1914. The majority of these groups would then move to Jerusalem and Jaffa. Rabbi Avraham Al-Naddaf, who immigrated to Jerusalem in 1891, described in his autobiography the difficulties facing Yemenite Jewish communities in their new country, where there is no lodging to accommodate new travelers and immigrants. On the other hand, he writes that Sephardi
Before World War I, there was another wave that began in 1906 and continued until 1914. Hundreds of Yemeni Jews went to the Holy Land, and chose to settle in agricultural settlements. It was after these movements that the World Zionist Organization sent Shmuel Yavne'eli to Yemen to encourage Jews to emigrate to Palestine. Yavne'eli reached Yemen in early 1911, and returned in April 1912. Due to Yavne'eli's efforts, some 1,000 Jews left central and southern Yemen, with several hundred arriving before 1914.
Second emigration wave: 1920 to 1950
During the Mandatory Palestine, the total number of people enrolled as immigrants from Yemen, between April 1939 and December 1945, was placed at 4,554. The majority of Yemeni immigrants have settled in the country before this time. During the period of the Ottoman Palestine and Mandatory Palestine, Jews from Yemen have settled mainly in agricultural settlements in the country: Petach Tikvah (Machaneh Yehuda), Rishon Lezion (Shivat Zion), Rehovot (Sha'arayim and Marmorek), Wadi Chanin (later called Ness Ziona), Beer Yaakov, Hadera (Nachliel), Zichron Yaakov, Yavne'el, Gedera, Ben Shemen, Kinneret, Degania and Milhamia. Others chose to live in the urban areas of Jerusalem (Silwan and Nachalat Zvi), Jaffa, Tel Aviv (Kerem Hateimanim), and later, Netanya (Shekhunat Zvi). In 1947, there were about 35,000 Yemeni Jews living in Israel. Most of the immigration to Israel, however, came after the declaration of the state. Israel began Operation of the Magic Carpet in June 1949 and flew most of the Yemenite Jews to Israel in September 1950.
In 1947, after the voting of the Palestinian British Mandate partition, Arab Muslim rioters, assisted by local police forces, were involved in a pogrom in Aden that killed 82 Jews and destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes. The Jewish community of Aden was economically crippled, as most Jewish shops and businesses were destroyed. In early 1948, unfounded rumors about the ritual murder of two girls led to looting.
This increasingly dangerous situation led to the emigration of almost the entire Jewish community of Yemen between June 1949 and September 1950 in Operation of the Magic Carpet. During this period, more than 50,000 Jews immigrated to Israel.
Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen) began in June 1949 and ended in September 1950. Part of the operation occurred during the 1947-1948 Civil War in Compulsory Palestine and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (May 15, 1948 - March 10, 1949). The operation was planned by the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee of America. The plan is for Jews from all over Yemen to make their way to the Aden region. In particular, the Jews will arrive at Hashed Camp and stay there until they can be flown to Israel. Hashed is an old British military camp in the desert, about a mile away from the city of Sheikh Othman. The operation takes longer than originally planned. During the operation, hundreds of migrants were killed in the Hashed Camp, as well as on the plane ascending to Israel. In September 1950, nearly 50,000 Jews had been successfully flown to the newly formed state of Israel.
A smaller, continuous migration was allowed to continue until 1962, when the civil war stopped abruptly the next Jewish exodus.
According to an official statement by Alaska Airlines:
When Alaska Airlines sent them to the "Magic Carpet Operation" 50 years ago, Warren and Marian Metzger did not realize they were embarking on a lifelong adventure. Warren Metzger, the DC-4 captain, and Marian Metzger, a flight attendant, are part of what turned out to be one of the greatest achievements in Alaska Airlines's 67-year history: transporting thousands of Yemeni Jews into the newly-created state of Israel. The logistics of all that makes the task daunting. Fuel is hard to come by. Flight crew and maintenance should be positioned through the Middle East. And desert sand screwed up the engine.
It took a lot of resources in all the better parts of 1949 to do it. But in the end, despite being shot and even bombed, the mission was completed - and without a single casualty. "One of the things I really got was when we pulled down the plane in Tel Aviv," said Marian, who helps Israeli nurses on a number of flights. "A little old lady came up to me and took the edge of my jacket and kissed her.He gave me a blessing to take them home.We are the wings of a hawk."
For both Marian and Warren, the assignment came on the heels to fly another great airline adventure in the late 1940s: Berlin Airlift. "I do not know what I was dealing with, absolutely nothing," recalls Warren, who retired in 1979 as Alaska's chief pilot and vice president for flight operations. "It's pretty much a seat-fly in those days." Navigation was done with dead calculations and sightings, the planes fired at the airport in Tel Aviv were bombed all the time We had to install an extra fuel tank on the plane so we had the range to avoid the landing in the Arab region. "
Many Yemeni Jews became religious through the re-education program of Jewish Agents.
Orphan Decision
In 1922, the Yemeni government, under Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din, reintroduced the ancient Islamic law entitled "the orphan's decision". The law dictates that if Jewish boys or girls under the age of 12 are orphaned, they will be forced to convert to Islam, their connections to their families and communities must be cut off, and they must be handed over to Muslim adoptive families. The rule is based on the law that the prophet Muhammad is "the father of the orphan", and to the fact that Jews in Yemen are considered "under protection", and the ruler is obliged to care for them. The Jews tried to prevent orphan conversions in two main ways, by marrying them so that authorities would regard them as adults, or by smuggling them out of the country.
A prominent example is Abdul Rahman al-Iryani, the former president of the Yemeni Arab Republic, suspected of Jewish descent by Dorit Mizrahi, a writer in the Israeli ultra-Orthodox weekly Mishpaha , who claimed he was a mother's uncle. According to his memories of the event, he was born Zekharia Hadad in 1910 to a Jewish Yemeni family in Ibb. He lost his parents in a major disease outbreak at the age of 8 and with his 5 year old sister, he was forced into Islam and they were treated by a separate host family. He was raised in the strong al-Iryani family and adopted the name of Islam. al-Iryani will later serve as a minister of religious blessing under Yemen's first national government and he is the only civilian who leads northern Yemen.
Missing Yemeni Children
There are stories that, between 1949 and 1951, up to 1,033 children from Yemeni immigrant families may have disappeared from immigrant camps. It is said that parents are told that their children are sick and require hospitalization. After a visit to the hospital, it was said that the parents were told that their children had died even though no bodies were presented and the grave which later proved empty in many cases was shown to the parents. Those who believe the theory argue that the Israeli government as well as other organizations in Israel kidnap children and give them for adoption to other non-Yemeni families.
In 2001 a seven-year public investigation commission concluded that allegations that Yemeni children were kidnapped by the government were not true. The commission firmly rejected claims of a plot to take children from Yemeni immigrants. The report stipulates that the documentation exists for 972 of the 1,033 missing children. Five other lost babies are found alive. The commission could not find what happened in 56 other cases. With regard to these 56 unresolved cases, the commission considers "possible" that children are submitted for adoption following decisions made by local social workers, but not as part of official policy.
Current situation
Today, the majority of Yemenite Jews live in Israel.
Some Yemenite Jews stayed behind during the Carpet Carpet Operation, and were abandoned, many of whom did not want to leave their sick or old relatives behind. Another emigration wave occurred in 1959, with about 3,000 Yemeni Jews moving to Israel, and several others moving to the United States and Britain. The Jews living behind are forbidden to emigrate, and are prohibited from contacting relatives abroad. They are isolated and scattered throughout the mountainous areas of northern Yemen, and suffer from a lack of food, clothing, and medicine, and have no religious articles. As a result, some convert to Islam. Their existence was not known until 1976, when an American diplomat found a small Jewish community in a remote area of ​​northern Yemen. For a short time thereafter
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments