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IN-DEPTH FEATURES
Part I: The Torah World of 90 Years Ago
"Exile is not good for exiles," says 95-year-old Shulamit
Tilayov. "Yet leafing through the annals of the Jews of
Bukhara can be a heartbreaking experience. Splendor alongside
the great suffering and hardships that would strike
mercilessly. Sometimes tranquility would descend upon our
lives, then once again the storm waves would come sweeping
through, leaving us vulnerable to the blows of a foreign
country.
"But like a scarlet thread we passed on our Jewish roots of
faith and our yearning for the Land of Glory from one
generation to the next. There were always rabbonim who girded
their strength and restored the ruchniyus for us in
the Diaspora, planting new sprouts and cultivating the young
generation on eternal values preserved throughout the years."
In this multi- part series, C. Ofek writes Mrs. Tilayov's
story of the past glory of Jewish Bukhara and the many
tribulations the community faced, particularly following the
Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.
In 1905 my parents came from Bukhara to Eretz Yisroel to pray
at the holy sites and to spend time with my grandfather, Rav
Shimon Chacham, who was among the founders of Shechunat
HaBucharim in Jerusalem. The Jews of Bukhara had a custom of
coming for an extended "holy visit" to pray at sacred sites
and to stay in Eretz Yisroel for an extended period, but
since subsistence was difficult in Eretz Yisroel some had to
return home ahead of schedule.
I was born in 1907 in Nachalat Shiva in Jerusalem, but when I
was four years old my parents were forced to return to
Bukhara to earn a living and to take part in my sister's
wedding. She had remained in Bukhara, preparing to marry a
young man from the city of Samarkand.
Upon their arrival they found Bukhara controlled by a cruel
dictator. Soon after their departure six years earlier
General Samsonov rose to power in Turkestan and, due to the
fomenting revolt, decided to "reorganize" the population. As
part of this plan a harsh expulsion order was proclaimed in
all Jewish settlements, only permitting them to live in the
capital city. (The capital of Bukhara is also called
Bukhara.)
Only the rich and the most distinguished members of the
community, who had commercial ties with other countries near
and far and held key positions in local industry, managed to
secure licenses to live in Samarkand and other cities through
persistent efforts to exert their influence. My parents
planned to return to Eretz Yisroel but were forced to stay in
Bukhara longer than they originally anticipated, so they
decided to enroll me in school in the meantime.
The Jewish community of Bukhara, with roots stretching
perhaps as far back as the First Exile, had been large and
flourishing for many generations. Its leaders were considered
men of high standing and its rabbonim and chachomim
were active in community life. In fact the Bukharan Jewish
community served as the center of Jewish life for all of
Central Asia. It was very careful to ensure that its children
received a proper Jewish education. The talmud Torah
was one of the most important learning institutions in the
city. There were no schools for Jewish girls, however, for
formal education was considered superfluous for girls.
My uncle, Rav Chizkiyah Hacohen Rabin ("Mullah Chizkiyah"),
was the rov of the community. The central meeting of the Jews
of Bukhara was held in his home, just as before it had been
held in his father's home and before that in his
grandfather's home. The local chachomim and the
rabbinical emissaries (shadarim) who came from Eretz
Yisroel would study there. The rabbonim of Jewish communities
in other large cities--Samarkand, Tashkent and Kokand-- came
to consult with Mullah Chizkiyah's beis din, for it
was considered the highest spiritual institution in Jewish
Central Asia.
Kehillos in Bukhara remained in contact with one
another and maintained a high spiritual level due in part to
the rabbinical emissaries who arrived from Eretz Yisroel
regularly, helping disseminate Torah learning to the
masses.
During this period the Jews of Bukhara were divided into two
groups--outstanding talmidei chachomim associated with
the famous yeshivas and large Jewish communities, and the
masses that constituted the majority. The latter were people
of deep and simple faith, but due to a lack of knowledge they
were not always aware of certain mitzvos or the details of
keeping them.
My parents belonged to a famous family of rabbonim and had a
firmly established Torah worldview. My mother was unwilling
to see me fritter away my days without learning how to pray
and read kisvei kodesh. Because I was only four years
old they decided to place me in a cheder where I would
be able to hear the sounds of the boys learning. That was how
my mother had been educated by her father, the renowned Rav
Shimon Chacham, as well as my mother's grandmother, the
granddaughter of the great Rav Yosef Mammon Maaravi, who was
related to the Rambam.
Every day my mother would bring me to the talmud Torah
headed by Rav Eliezer Kikov where I would sit off to the side
and thirstily imbibe the sounds of Torah learning until I was
about six-years-old.
Jerusalem was frequently mentioned during the course of the
studies. For every Bukharan child, Jerusalem and Eretz
Yisroel were shining, distant dreams, but I had come from
Jerusalem and still had memories from a four- year-old's
perspective of the wide, cobbled streets of Shechunat
HaBucharim and the large stone houses. My parents also spoke
often of Jerusalem and the cities of Israel we had left
behind.
I read many books over the next few years and hungrily
consumed all of the writings my grandfather, Rav Shimon
Chacham, had translated into the local language -- Megillas
Esther, Chochmas Shlomo and more.
Generally, Bukharan girls were educated at home by their
parents or sisters. Emphasis was placed on cooking, sewing,
embroidery, etiquette, hospitality, respecting parents and of
course observing the mitzvos that apply to women. Girls were
trained to be diligent housewives.
To this day I can recall how my mother would receive guests.
As the rov of the kehilloh, my father would bring home
unexpected guests every day and my mother always received
them graciously, as if she had known of their arrival in
advance and had been awaiting their arrival. She would set a
lavish table right away, serve refreshments and then go into
the kitchen to cook choice dishes in their honor.
My mother, like most Bukharan women, was also skilled at
cutting meat. In other locales this task was generally placed
upon the men, but in Bukhara the men would buy meat without
asking the butcher to remove the internal organs. Women were
highly proficient in the art of cutting, knew all of cuts of
meat and organs well, and transmitted this expertise from
mother to daughter.
The Jewish neighborhood of Bukhara was densely constructed
and known as "Jewish Machala." High walls were built on both
sides of the street and the two- story homes were hidden
behind them. They were large houses with spacious yards where
many activities took place--smachos, seudos, chagim
and Shabbosos. The seudas held for simchos were
a central and important part of communal life and even
distant relatives attended. Every simcha lasted
several days and was accompanied by large and lavish
seudas that took much time and energy to prepare.
Observing hazkaros, lehavdil, was also a major
affair. We even commemorated the memory of great- great-
grandfathers on the day of their petiroh with a large
meat meal at which all of the brochos were recited for
the elevation of his neshomoh.
The goal of these meetings was to strengthen the bonds of
unity and to infuse ruchniyus among the Jews in
Golus. Back then there were no sifrei halocho
with sheilos vetshuvos and only a small percentage of
the Jews had the merit of learning in a yeshiva. Although the
community members' faith in chachomim was deeply
entrenched and everyone obeyed the rov without a second
thought, these family gatherings were used to increase
knowledge of halocho. At every large seuda the
rov would sit with the guests and teach halocho in a
question-and-answer format. This helped preserve and provide
the foundations of Jewish life.
We would accord elderly members of the family great honor,
consulting with them and seeking their advice on which course
of action to take in various situations. At simchos we
seated them at the head of the table, and a brochoh
from the grandfather was considered a tried-and-true
segulo for yeshuos. Younger family members
would compete for the honor of serving the elders in order to
receive their brochoh.
Like all Bukharan Jews we were very tightly bound to the
beis knesses. The sight of the embellished walls and
unique sifrei kodesh provided through donations,
pointed to the deep and meaningful ties the Jews of the
kehilloh felt towards the beis knesses. The
walls of the botei knesses in Bukhara were adorned
with colorful pictures depicting holy sites or the grave
sites of the ovos in Eretz Yisroel.
Among the drawings hung were pictures brought from Jerusalem,
a menorah or a poster of the text of Modim Derabonon.
The ceiling was also adorned with fabulous drawings. The
whole floor was covered with rugs. The colorful tapestries,
the embroidered bench coverings and the silken cloths on the
tables and the omud were the trademarks of the
splendor of the Bukharan botei knesses.
Elderly women from the community would sometimes donate their
scarves to be used to embellish the sifrei Torah, and
such contributions were considered a zchus and honor
for them. Oil lamps hung down from the ceiling and were kept
constantly lit through donations le'ilui nishmas
deceased relatives; later, kerosene lamps were added and
eventually electric lights came into use. Fancy curtains and
suzeni (needle-embroideries) covered the windows,
adding another colorful touch.
The sifrei Torah were kept in a wooden aron
kodesh placed alongside the western wall and decorated
with curtains made of superb cloth. Sewn onto the curtains
was a rectangular strip of cloth with a dedication
embroidered in gold and silver letters. Altogether the
aron kodesh had three curtains: one outside the doors,
a second one between the doors and the sifrei Torah
and a third behind the sifrei Torah. Each of them was
made of velvet or silk or brocade and generally unadorned
except for the dedication.
In Bukhara (and in Shechunat HaBucharim in Jerusalem)
congregants sat cross-legged on a kurpacha, a thin, 18-
inch wide mattress. Later low benches were introduced. Today
congregants sit on chairs with tables in front of them. Only
distinguished figures are provided with cushions on their
benches.
In 1924, when I was 17-years-old, I married my husband,
Yitzhak Tilayov z'l. Even after all these years I
still remember the joy I felt. Jewish weddings in Bukhara
were unique and extended over a period of two weeks.
After my parents reached an agreement with the
chosson's parents regarding the shidduch, a
seuda--not unlike a vort--was held to celebrate
the engagement. During the banquet, crowns were tied to the
heads of the chosson and kalla. This custom,
called sala bandan, was originally inspired by the
verse, "bo'atoro she'itro lo imo beyom chasunoso ubeyom
simchas libo" (Shir Hashirim 3:11). After the meal the
guests rose to dance to the sounds of string instruments and
drums.
On the Shabbos before the wedding, my parents held a
seudah called "lech Sham" which means "go unto
G- d," and on Monday morning a similar meal was held at the
home of the chosson's parents. When my chosson
approached me to do kiddushin the men sang Boruch
Ato Bevo'echo to the accompaniment of drums and other
instruments. They also lit a large bonfire in his honor.
After Mincha, my mother and the chosson's mother led
me, veiled, and stood me to the right of the chosson
and the chuppah ceremony was performed. The week
following the wedding is called hapti pai tacht ("the
canopy week"), because after the seudah or the next
day we were brought under a canopy to the chosson's
home.
On Wednesday night a seuda called shevi
ashpiro, named after the main dish traditionally served,
was held at the chosson's home. At the conclusion of
the meal my chosson received a gold watch as a gift
from my father. During the meal a sheep was shechted
and the meat was distributed among the poor as
tzedokoh.
For seven days and nights following the wedding,
seudos were held at the home of the chosson's
parents to celebrate. My chosson and I were seated in
a special room called the deri churjeh, under a
chuppah set up for us there. Ponim chadoshos
were invited to every meal and every seuda--as was
customary at all other simchos--was concluded with a
brochoh that we merit seeing simchos
Yerushalayim.
What would a Bukharan kalla receive for a dowry?
* One bundle of silk or cotton kerchiefs (buchcheband)
* Earrings (chalka) * A twisted coral (sandalwood)
necklace on a gold chain * (kaffa band) * A gold-
plated bracelet (daspona) * A gold-plated headband
with inlaid stones (parchona) * Brass candlesticks * A
kiddush cup * Porcelain dishes * A tea kettle, tea
cups and saucers * A type of Bukharan head-covering made of
cotton threads and metal strands used to decorate kerchiefs *
Hats decorated with gold and silver embroidery (tupi
dass) * Weavings, pillowcases and quilt-covers,
tablecloths of silk and colored cotton or velvet * Tapestries
(suzeni) * Embroidered boots made of dyed leather
(massi jana) * Shoes made of dyed leather, embroidered
with cotton thread * A hair-covering for a kalla
(oini ja) * A silk dress (kurta) * A silk
jacket with buttons (kamazol) * A silk dressing gown,
embroidered with silk thread (faranjin) * An overcoat
made of thick woven material, and sometimes woven with gold
thread (kalcha)
The area formerly known as Bukhara was located in Central
Asia and formed part of a large historical land belt called
Turkestan (because most of its inhabitants originated from
Turkey). It is bordered on the west by the Caspian Sea, on
the east by the Pamir and Tien Shan mountain ranges, on the
south by Afghanistan and Iran and on the north by Siberia.
Today Turkestan is divided into Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, part of Northern Afghanistan and the Chursan
region of Iran.
Most of Bukhara is desert and plains. The large cities--
Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent--are concentrated in the
central area, a fertile oasis about 1,300 feet above sea
level. Each of these cities is the capital of a former
province of Turkestan. The rich agricultural lands
surrounding them and their location along the Silk Route--the
famous historical route used by caravans traveling back and
forth between China and Europe via the Caspian Sea, Iran,
Southern Turkey and the Mediterranean--gave them important
status as commercial centers considered highly developed and
in demand.
In the 12th century, traveler R' Binyamin of Tudelo reported
finding a flourishing Jewish community in Samarkand numbering
50,000 souls at a time when important kehillos in
Spain sometimes numbered only in the hundreds. The Bukharan
kehillos are among the most ancient in the Diaspora,
some of which have been documented to date from the time of
the First Exile.
In ancient times the local inhabitants were idol worshipers
until Muslim Arab rulers conquered the land, forcibly
converting them all to Islam. After becoming an important
commercial center around 1,000 years ago it became a
contested region, alternately conquered and ruled by the
Salajuki Turks, Genghis Khan, and Timor Khan. During the 16th
century nomadic Uzbekistani tribes took control, moving the
seat of government from Samarkand and proclaiming Bukhara the
new capital. The entire country then came to be known as the
Bukhara Emirates.
The Uzbekistanis expanded and at the height of their power
extended the borders far to the east and the west, but soon
afterwards a number of internal wars weakened the kingdom.
In 1753 Bukhara was still an independent emirate but
diminished in size and strength. The population consisted
primarily of Uzbekistani tribes, some of them nomadic, who
dominated the ranks of the ruling aristocracy, military
officers, court officials and provincial rulers and military
and political leaders. Civil and particularly economic
affairs remained in the hands of Tajikistani bureaucrats,
permanent residents in the cities who were merchants and
industrialists and spoke Turkish. The urban population did
not belong to any of the tribes.
The Jews of Bukhara, who predated all of the tribes that
ruled over them throughout the centuries, had high status
under all of the various governments that controlled the
region.
During the 19th century the Bukhara Emirates became a corrupt
totalitarian regime ruled by cruel, despotic emirs. In 1866
Bukhara was conquered by the czar's army and became a Russian
protectorate.
The emir kept his throne under the patronage of the Russian
czar. Although he had no control over defense and military
matters, the emir still had a free hand to run domestic
affairs. The last two emirs in Bukhara were treated well by
their Russian patrons and maintained close ties with the
imperial court in St. Petersburg.
All of this came to an end in 1920, three years after the
Bolshevik Revolution, when Bukhara fell to the Bolshevik
army. The emir was deposed and exiled to Afghanistan. A
"Soviet republic of the Bukharan people" was set up in
accordance with the well-known revolutionary doctrine of the
time.
The republic held out until 1924, when Stalin came to power
and instituted a "new order." He dismantled the entire
Bukharan Republic and divided it into newly formed socialist
republics--Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan--that were
artificially created and become member states of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics. When the USSR disbanded at the
end of the 1980s these states won independence, but Bukhara
was not reunited as a nation.
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