Turkey is a country of crisscrossing rivers and wide stone bridges and barren hills. Its mists and drizzles, fertile, luxuriant fruit trees and flowers are found no where else. It is the country of the Black Sea, the "Good Sea" that affects the climate of its capital Istanbul and a Sultan who issued his famous decree stating that "we cannot permit the Jewish nation to be tormented as a consequence of accusations which do not have the least foundation of truth," and with that opening the doors of his empire.
It's also a country with a Bima of a 15th century synagogue, in the shape of ships from the Ottoman Empire that transported the hapless Jews from Spain to Turkey. It's a country which became the principal land of refuge following the edict from the king and queen of Spain which said, "After much thought it is decided to throw all of Jews out of our kingdom without appeal; that is why we order all Jews from all walks of life throughout the country to leave by July of this year, signed March 1492."
Two-hundred and fifty thousand Jews were expelled from Spain and welcomed by Sultan Bayezid II. The Sultan, it is said, sent his own ships in order to speed up the rescue operations. Thus Istanbul soon harbored the largest Jewish community in the whole of Europe and the Turkish Empire was to become the principal land of refuge for the Jews.
Turkey was a country where a rabbi who heard of the "affliction, more bitter than death, that had befallen our brethren in Germany, anguish of soul and torment of body and of merciless oppression" in the year 1454 invited them to come to the country, to dwell "under the vine and fig tree" and to become a part of the Jewish community of Turkey.
The Ottoman Turks provided a principle refuge for the Jews driven out of Western Europe by massacres and persecution between the 14th and 20th centuries, particularly from blood libels, massacres, and pogroms. Their reception was congenial and long lasting. In addition, the Ottoman Empire incorporated Romaniote, Jews who spoke Greek that had survived persecution in late Roman and Byzantine times, and Sephardic Jews driven from the Iberian Peninsula by the Spanish reconquest and the Inquisition, as well as those who remained in the Middle East following the dispersion from the Holy Land in Roman times.
For two centuries the Jews of Turkey constituted the largest and most prosperous Jewish community in the world and a major center of Jewish religious, cultural and intellectual life.
The Jewish community concentrated in Istanbul nourished many of the greatest Jewish intellectuals and religious thinkers of their time. The Sultan's Jewish subjects remained content under his rule, contributing significantly to the Empire's economic development and benefiting from toleration and protection in return.
Sultan Bayezid II (1482-1512) who ruled at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain made a great effort to attract the Jews to his empire. He wrote letters and sent emissaries throughout his kingdom to give the Jews a gracious welcome. Tens of thousands of the deported Jews came to the land of Turkey.
Spain had been the most advanced center of Jewish life and in the famous passage in Elijah Capsali's Seder, "Eliyahu-Zvta," it is stated that the king of Spain was considered in the Istanbul court circles to be a fool for having enriched an enemy with productive citizens at the expense of his own kingdom. Indeed, Baziad II was known to have made the following statement: "you call Ferdinand a wise king, he who impoverished his country and enriches our own, by expelling the Jews?"
Jews also came from Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, and Portugal. It is estimated that about 250,000 Jews came to the Ottoman Empire, most of whom settled in Istanbul. The famous Ottoman traveler, Evilya Celbi, stated in 1638 that the Jewish population of Istanbul settled mostly in the Haskoy quarter of the city numbering about 11,000 families (77,000 people).
Balat was the largest and most prosperous of the Jewish communities in Istanbul. Like all the urban quarters in the Middle East, the Jewish quarters were veritable labyrinths of narrow streets and alleyways, with buildings of widely varying sizes and levels forming seemingly endless mazes.
In the Balat Afuera (external Balat) stood the Karabas quarter which was occupied by the poorest element of Balat's Jewish population. They were street sellers and boatmen. The main commercial sector was called Kavafhane by the Turks, and it was the street of shoemakers. In Judeo-Spanish it was called "Kanfafanani."
There were also Eski Kasap Caddesi, the 'old butcher street,' Leblebiciler the 'street of chicken pea sellers' and Lapcinciler 'sandal-makers' street in the area.
There were two major synagogues of Balat, the Yanbol founded in the Byzantine time by emigrants from Yanbolu, Bulgaria and further south, the Ahrida, founded by Jewish immigrants from Ohrid, Macedonia. Next to the Yanbol synagogue was the principal bath of Balat, el banyo de Balat, now called Ferruh Kahya Hamami.
In Istanbul the residential quarter was the Cortijo. Over the outside streets, balconies and terraces hung precariously as if they were ready to fall onto the people passing below. The residences themselves, regardless of shape or size, were intensely crowded, except for those of the most wealthy, as constant shortage of housing in the face of continued immigration of refugees from elsewhere in Europe led families to crowd on top of one another with one or even two or three families crowded into each room until there was little space left to breathe.
Most daily activities were therefore carried out in the open, on the terraces, or in the courtyard and streets beyond. In homes there was little personal furniture, not more than the barest utensils needed for meals. Food was scarce even in times of prosperity and meat and oil were consumed only on special occasions.
In most of these buildings there was no running water and no ready drinking water, the latter being supplied by nearby public fountains. There was moreover, little sanitation and no heat, and individual illnesses could develop into epidemics.
Every Kahal (community) had its own synagogue, rabbi, teachers, elementary schools called Talmud torahs, cemeteries, a hospital, and a social and welfare institution. In most cases, it also had a Bet Din (religious court) composed of dayanim (judges) chosen from the most learned of the community.
The members of the Kahal elected its Rabbi (Haham) who, in the absence of any state municipal authority, was the major political as well as spiritual leader of the quarter; members of the community were obligated to listen only to him for any instruction in the Torah and to obey his orders in all matters, both secular and religious.
The Rabbi had to be learned, dignified, and expert in all aspects of religious law. He had to be married. He conducted marriages, funerals and circumcision ceremonies. He was also chief educator of the community schools, marbit torah (Talmud Torah and Yeshiva). The Rabbi was the head of the Bet Din. He not only interpreted responsa written to settle legal questions but also exercised legislative power, issuing ordinances (Takanot).
The Rabbi administered the inheritances of widows and orphans. He signed marriage contracts and divorce papers. He could inflict various degrees of punishments, including fines. The greatest punishment which the Rabbi could inflict was ex-communication (Herem). This punishment was so extreme that it was rarely applied. The punishments were that the communicant could no longer enter the temple or be counted as part of the quorum (minyan). No one could receive alms from him, he could not be consoled by the members of the community, he had to dress entirely in black and live like a hermit, and only his family and servants were allowed to contact him. Normally, however, things never went that far, and after 30 days the ex-communicant could come before the Rabbi and confess his sins.
The synagogues were mostly named after the places from where the founders originally came, particularly during Byzantine and early Ottoman times. The synagogues in Balat was founded by immigrants from Bulgaria included the Yanbol were from Yanbolu and Nikopol, were from Nicoplis while those from Serbia founded the Belgrad synagogue. The Spanish immigrants established the Katalan and Aragon synagogues at Haskoy and Edirne, and the Toledo synagogue of Edirne. In the 1520's, refugees from Portugal formed separate communities in Istanbul and founded the Portugal synagogue in Edirne.
Some used the occupation of the principal founders, for example, the "Tofre Begadim," or the Tailors' Synagogue, or "Schneidertempel" in Yiddish, established in Galata by Ashkenazi Jews from Germany. One Ashkenazi, Solomon Weiner, ended up serving as a tailor to an Ottoman Sultan; another worked as a hat maker for Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish republic, the Cakaci (Turkish Cuhaci), or clothiers' synagogue of Balat, and the Kal de los Kasapes (Synagogue of Butchers), Kal de los Kufecis (Synagogue of the basket makers), and the Kal de los Hammales (Synagogue of the Porters) of Edirne. There were some synagogues which were founded by wealthy individuals which usually bore the names of their donors, such as the Hamon synagogue in Haskoy, bearing the name of the famous doctors who served in the courts. The Sonsino Algazi was named after the seventeenth- century Rabbi Salamon Algazi. All aspects of Jewish community and individual life in each quarter were reflected in its Synagogues (Havra).
The structures of the synagogues were often very small and unpretentious. In many cases the smaller congregations simply rented rooms. The synagogues were usually rectangular buildings, constructed of stone, brick or wood, with wooden ceilings, and were usually situated in the heart of the Jewish quarter surrounded by houses and twisting streets, thus hidden away from the world.
Most were hidden by high walls or shops, but all had interior courtyards with fountains and basis for the ritual washing of hands before prayers. There were open skylights in the sanctuaries so that they could be lit naturally. The sanctuaries were relatively simple, and were covered with thick Turkish carpets. External decorations were avoided so as not to attract attention and the interiors were also decorated in simplistic style, particularly in the Ashkenazi synagogues. However, in earlier times, the Gerush Catalan and Lisbon congregations built magnificent architectural structures that they had copied from their houses of worship in Toledo, Cordova and Lisbon.
The Holy Ark (Hekhal, Sephardic), called the Aron Kodesh (Ashkenazic ) usually was slightly elevated on the side that faced Jerusalem. The pulpit (Bima) from which the Torah was read was located in the center, so that all who worshipped could see and hear. Women prayed in separate adjacent quarters, a room in the rear of the sanctuary which had access to the main room through small windows or slits in the walls; alternatively, they prayed in the galleries above the male congregants.
It was considered a great honor to sit near the Holy Ark and this was normally reserved for men who were particularly distinguished by learning, were wealthy, made contributions to the community or were senior in age. Pews were sold to families, and handed down, inherited by the eldest son.
The Talmud Torahs and Yeshivas of Istanbul replaced those of Barcelona, Cordova and Toledo. Scholars called Istanbul a city of scholars and scribes. Refugees who had arrived from Italy brought bags of books and manuscripts. There were many Jewish scholars, such as Elijah ben Abraham Nizrahi (1437-1526), also known as the Re'em, and Ribi Eliah ha-Parnass, was born in Istanbul. He produced a substantial body of works on medicine, mathematics, the Talmud and Jewish law, and became the head of a Romaniote synagogue in Istanbul in 1475. He later was appointed as the second Cheif Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire in 1495. Mordehai ben Eliezer Comtino (1429-87) wrote many commentaries on the Ibn Ezra's works. Ya'akov ben David Tam ibn Yaha (1475-1640) deep religious learning soon brought him to the attention of Grand Rabbi Mizrahi who made him a member of the Istanbul Bet Din and became later the spiritual leader of Istanbul's Jews. Most of his works were destroyed in a great fire in Istanbul in1541, but his Responsa were published as Oholei Tam by his daughter in 1642.
The Golden Age of the Jews lasted for about two hundred years until about 1700, and then almost overnight, it was gone. Jews were driven out of privileged positions, the powerful Jewish banks and international trades were replaced. Anti-Semitic groups supported by European diplomats and merchants were key in the changes.
In the sixteenth century, there were a series of ritual murder accusations and persecutions by Christians who dragged Muslims along, albeit not with the same vigor and effect as in Europe; the ruling Ottomans suppressed them as quickly and completely as possible.
No more were there influential Jews in the court. The mass of Jews, who were never as prosperous as the leaders of the community, now settled into poverty which lasted well into the nineteenth century. All the prosperity, power and influence disappeared; much of these changes resulting from the disintegration of the Empire.
Large areas inhabited by Jews were destroyed by fire. In Istanbul alone, there were 26 major fires. The ancient Jewish center was largely destroyed. The Giveret Yeshiva was destroyed along with thousands of Jewish homes and shops.
In 1876, the Turkish Parliament was opened and a constitution was written in which the rights of full equality for minority groups were affirmed. Jew served in the Parliament. Still, the Jews were considered a foreign element by much of the population. However, except for a few minor incidents of conflict between Jews and Moslems, the Turkish Jews enjoyed good relations with their neighbors during the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the 20th century.
During World War I, the Jews of Istanbul prospered greatly. This fact encouraged a mass influx of Jews from other parts of the country seeking to reestablish themselves in the country's capital. Yet, after the Turkish defeat in World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Greeks occupied much of Turkey proper (1918-22). Under Greek rule, the Jews suffered from repeated outbreaks of anti-Semitism. Finally the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 established the present border of Turkey.
The Jews of Thrace (European Turkey) suffered when in 1934, Moslem masses pillaged Jewish homes and shops, and within a few days 3,000 out of 13,000 Jews fled to Istanbul. These were the worst anti-Semitic attacks the Jews of Turkey had experienced in over a hundred years.
The Turkish government was not fundamentally hostile to the Jews, thus with the rise of Nazism, permission was granted to Jews of non-Turkish nationality living in Turkey to remain and even to bring their families into the country to join them.
During World War II the government took a tolerant and even helpful attitude toward its Jewish citizens and foreign Jews as well, allowing the Jewish Agency to operate in Turkey together with the local Jewish community, to aid in the illegal immigration of European Jewish refugees to Palestine by way of Turkey.
No one seems to realize that during the years in question Turkey itself was in imminent danger of invasion by the Nazis armies that had already overrun Yugoslavia and Greece and were camped at its borders, and at the same time making substantial demands of all sorts, including ending Turkey's role as a base to help the Jews of Nazi occupied Europe, and sending those Jewish refugees to Germany for extermination, demands which the Turkish government ignored and rejected.
Turkey managed to remain neutral during World War II. The sympathies of President Ismet Inonu and most other Turkish leaders were clearly with the western allies. Turkish diplomats stationed throughout Nazi occupied Western Europe did all they could, both at an official level and even more behind the scenes. The purpose of large-scale rescue activities was to try to save Jews by removing them from occupied territories.
The Jewish community in Turkey numbered some 147,000 in 1904, by 1917 that number had dropped to 100,000 and by 1932-1933 it dwindled to 93,000. In 1945, 77,000 Jews lived in the country of which 45,000 lived in Istanbul. At the end of the 19th century largely due to economic conditions, Jews began to emigrate to Egypt, the Americas and, in small numbers, to Israel.
Immediately after the establishment of the State of Israel, the flow of emigration increased so greatly as to radically change the face of the community remaining in Turkey. The first large wave of Jewish Turkish immigrants to Israel were from the working class, or those on welfare. Since 1967, immigrants to Israel had been of the quite well-to-do class, many being professionals. During 1949-50 a total of 26,295 Jews immigrated to Israel.
Today, over 96% of the Turkish Jewish population is Sephardic, with the Ashkenazis accounting for the rest. Most of the Jews live in Istanbul, with a community of about 2,500 in Izmir and other smaller groups located in Adana, Ankara, Antakya, Bursa, Canakkale, and Kirklareli. The Jews in Turkey are active in almost all spheres of the Turkish economy.
In 1951, the government granted permission to construct a synagogue in Heybeli Ada, one the islands of Istanbul. Permission was granted in that case because one of the influential members of the Jewish community, Solomon Adato, was also a member of Parliament and was able to influence the government to grant the charter.
Today, the only legally recognized countrywide Jewish community structure there is the Chief Rabbinate. Synagogues are kept in excellent condition even after being closed down for lack of worshippers who have moved to other centers. The Ashkenazi congregation in Istanbul is very small and must pay its members in order to maintain a minyan. The situation is better in the city's Sephardi synagogues, where most Jews attend services on the holidays. It is reported that in Istanbul alone there are fifty synagogues with about seventeen synagogues holding services on the Sabbath and holidays. Some are very old, especially Ahrida Synagogue in the Balat area. Synagogues also exist in Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Edirne (Adrianople) and Izmir.
The Ahrida Synagogue a glorious example of the rich cultural life of Turkish Jewry, is located in the neighborhood of Balat (Istanbul) dating back to the early 15th century and has its place among the major synagogues of the world. A remarkable feature of the Ahrida is its Bima which is in the shape of the prow of a ship. The tradition says that it symbolizes either Noah's Ark or the Ottoman ships which transported the Sephardim from Spain to Turkey after their expulsion. Its design is impressive and memorable. The Ahrida was badly damaged by a fire in the late 17th century, which may even have destroyed it completely. An imperial ferman dated 1694 called for the rebuilding of the synagogue, which was done at the time in the Baroque style of the Tulip Period. The restoration project realized in 1992, revealed various styles of architecture layered one on top of the other, and today is complete.
The Neve Shalom Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Istanbul. It is open to the public for morning visits during the weekdays and for Shabbat prayers. The Ashkenazi Synagogue is the only active one of its kind open to visits and prayers. Founded by Ashkenazim of Austrian origin in 1900, it is the last remaining synagogue among a total of three built by Ashkenazim. This 103-year-old synagogue is located on a steeply pitched street in one of Istanbul's old Jewish neighborhoods serving a dwindling community of some 800 people.
The Ma'alem Synagogue is located in the northern slopes of the Golden Horn, and it is the only remaining one of the many synagogues of the area. The Bet Israel Synagogue is located in Sisli and was initially built in the 1920's and enlarged to its present size in the early 1950's due to the majority of the Jewish population moving to that area. The Etz Ahayim Synagogue is located in Ortakoy near the European leg of the Bosphorous Bridge. When the previous synagogue burned down in 1941 with only the marble Aron Kodesh remaining, the new synagogue was rebuilt on the spot of were it had stood. The Yenikoy Synagogue is located in the north of the Bosphorous in the area called Yenikoy. This synagogue was built in the late 1800's. The Zulfaris Synagogue dating from the 17th century has been converted to a Turkish Jewish Museum.
There is supervised ritual slaughtering in Turkey, however there is a shortage of qualified Shochtim (ritual slaughterers) who are willing to live in communities other than Istanbul.
A wealth of material on the Turkish Jewish community throughout its history is available in the archives of the Chief Rabbinate. The students of all Jewish schools receive five hours of Hebrew instruction a week, taught by the community Rabbis.
Turkish Jews are legally represented, as they have been for many centuries, by the Hahambasi, the Chief Rabbi, who is assisted by a Religious Council made up of a Rosh Bet Din and five Hahamim. The present size of the Jewish community is estimated at around 25,000.
Istanbul is a city of dreams. It's also a city of piers, market places and the waters of the Bosporus, with ferries that crossed the straits between Europe and Asia from time immemorial. Perhaps, while taking a walk there, you will find a fig tree, perhaps the very one that was offered to the Jews as refuge in 1454, and being tired you decide to sit and rest there for a while. And, closing your eyes, you see a boat, with letters painted on it, reading "Ottoman Empire." You may then want to move over, make room, let its passengers sit, dwell in peace, as the Jews once did on that very day when they became the new Jewish community of Turkey.
Copyright © Stanley Mann
Michlalah Jerusalem College All Rights Reserved