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13 Teves 5760 - December 22, 1999 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Remnants of Sabbateans in Turkey

by S. Fried

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.


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