The recent earthquake in Turkey brought the country's Jewish
community to the attention of world Jewry. Turkey, the center
of the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years, was also once a
large hub of Jewish life. During the periods in which the
Jews of Spain and Europe were persecuted by Christian
fanatics and the Inquisition, Turkey was a land of refuge. It
enabled Jews to prosper economically. A number of well-known
Jewish sages lived in Turkey, or Turgema, as it was called by
the Jews. Many Jewish seforim were printed in printing
houses in Izmir and Constantinople, otherwise known as Costa
(Kushta) or Istanbul.
The Turkish Jewish community dwindled slowly. Today, there
are 23,000 Jews in Turkey, most of whom live in Istanbul; but
some in Ismir. There are 17 synagogues in Turkey -- quite a
small figure for so many Jews -- and only one Jewish school.
Nonetheless, the Jewish community has two hospitals and a
number of welfare institutions.
Every now and then, as if in a strange reminder of Turkey's
illustrious Jewish past, people claiming they are Sabbatean
Jews, followers of the notorious false Messiah of the 17th
century, are discovered. Last year, one of them broke his
silence, and the book which he published aroused the anger of
his fellow Sabbateans, who are still pledged to deep
secrecy.
An Israeli journalist who recently visited Turkey met with
the author of the book and with additional Sabbateans. He
learned that they are followers of the Doenmeh Sect ("the
agnostics," as the Turks call them) and they have been
preserving their various customs for almost three hundred
years.
Shabtai Tzvi was born in Izmir in 1626. After the Chmielnicki
pogroms of 1648-49 (Gezeiros Tach Vetat 5408-9), he
began to reflect on messianic ideas. Later on, he declared
himself messiah. He wandered through many lands. Due to his
charismatic personality, he succeeded in exploiting the
yearning of the downcast communities for Moshiach and
convincing them that he was the messiah. In the end, the
Sultan grew suspicious of him, and summoned him to Istanbul
where he converted to Islam in order to prove that he was not
fomenting a rebellion and thus to save himself from the death
sentence.
Despite this, many of his followers continued to believe in
him and, like he, they converted to Islam. Many continued to
observe various Jewish customs in private, along with the
customs he passed down to them. They remained very small and
very closed to the outside world.
Sabbateans was presumed to have disappeared from the world.
However, in recent years, it has become clear that there are
still people who believe in it in secret. The religious
identity of those people, many of whom are educated and hold
high-ranking positions, is unclear. Outwardly, they are
Moslems, and therefore manage to be appointed to high
positions not open to Jews. However in secret, they continue
to maintain close contact with other Sabbateans and to uphold
some of their customs.
The Sabbateans have a special plot in the cemetery, as well
as their own very secret houses of worship. They change the
locations of these houses of worship -- generally situated in
houses or cellars -- frequently, so that they won't be
discovered.
Over the years, a number of them have asked the rabbinical
establishment to recognize them as Jews, but they were
totally rejected. Among the reasons for this refusal is that
it is certain that they have assimilated with Moslems
throughout the generations.
