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               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
                           Part 7: Jews as a Nation
         [Last Change: $Date: 1995/10/19 15:24:09 $ $Revision: 1.3 $]
                    [Last Post: Thu Mar  4 11:07:08 US/Pacific 2004]

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Subject: ORGANIZATION

   This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

   Section 13. Jews as a Nation
    1. [8]What are the different racial and cultural groups of Jews?
    2. [9]What are the differences between Sephardim and Ashkenazim?
    3. [10]Where did the Beita Yisrael (Falashas) come from?
    4. [11]Who were the Khazars? Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from the
       Khazars?
    5. [12]Who are Crypto-Jews (also known as "marranos")?
    6. [13]How does the Sephardi/Ashkenazi differences differ from the
       O/C/R differences?
    7. [14]I've heard of a group called the "Black Hebrews". Who are
       they?
    8. [15]What about the black jews in South Africa?
    9. [16]Who Are The Jews of India, And What Are Their Origins?
   10. [17]Are Jews a Nation or a Religion?
   11. [18]Who are the Edot Mizraxi?
   12. [19]What About Yeminite Jews?
   13. [20]Who was Donna Gracia?


------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Question 13.1: What are the different racial and cultural groups of
         Jews?

                                  Answer:
   
   The Jewish religion is practiced by people of diverse racial and
   ethnic backgrounds, as a result of the continual process of conversion
   to Judaism. Thus, Jews today are a mixture of descendants of converts
   as well as direct descendants of ancient Israelite Jews. You cannot
   determine who is a Jew based solely on name, racial characteristics,
   or any other physical characteristics (including circumcision, for
   much of the male general population undergos this procedure).
   
   Among North American Jews, individuals of Eastern European Ashkenazi
   heritage are predominant, although before the late 1800's, individuals
   of Sephardi origin (i.e. Jews who settled around the Mediterranean
   basin at the time of the diaspora) were more common.
   
   Other groups of Jews include the Arab and Yemeni Jews. In fact, there
   was a Jewish kingdom in Yemen in the early Middle Ages under the rule
   of Dhu Nuwas. There are also Jews of Persian origin. The larger groups
   of non-Caucasian Jews include the Jews from Ethiopia.
   
   Other Jewish communities include the Kaifeng Jews of China (now mostly
   assimilated). Until 1960, there was a community of cave-dwelling Jews
   in southern Libya. A community in Burma claimed to be Jews, and rumors
   and legends abound about African, Native American, and other tribes
   claiming Jewish ancestry. There are also Jewish communities in India.
   
   A 20th-century convert community, the Abayudaya Jews, exists in
   Uganda, Africa.
   
   Jews may be white or black. No one knows the skin color of the
   patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We do know that there was some
   mixing between the Jewish and the Hamatic nations. Some biblical
   scholars believe that Abraham was half-Chaldean; there is some
   evidence that the Chaldeans were black. The point of this: to
   reiterate what was said at the beginning of this answer: You cannot
   determine who is a Jew based solely on name, racial characteristics,
   or any other physical characteristics (including circumcision, for
   much of the male general population undergos this procedure).

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Question 13.2: What are the differences between Sephardim and
         Ashkenazim?

                                  Answer:
   
   They came from different cultures, and so particular customs developed
   differently, such as details of the prayer service and permitted foods
   on Pesach. The [5]Shulchan Aruch by R' Joseph Karo is the definitive
   Sephardic work on halacha, and R' Moshe Isserles later added glosses
   to describe Ashkenazi practice. Other works describe the customs and
   practices of particular communities.
   
   Many of the customs (minhagim) are derived from the communities in
   which these groups arose. The customs of Ashkenazi Jews often resemble
   those of the Slavs and Germans, because the Ashkenazi Jews were
   concentrated in that region. Additional information may be found in
   Paul Wexler's book The Ashkenazic Jews by Slavica Publishers.

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Subject: Question 13.3: Where did the Beita Yisrael (Falashas) come from?

                                  Answer:
   
   First off, know that "Falasha" (Amharic for "stranger") is considered
   very derogatory. Just say "Ethiopian Jew" if you can't remember "Beita
   Yisrael." Older reference books will probably list them under
   "Falasha," i.e. the 1972 article in the Encyclopaedia Judaica.
   
   Their own legends date them back to Shlomo ha-melech [King Solomon],
   and ascribe their origin to the tribe of Dan. See the book The Lost
   Jews by Rappoport.
   
   Researchers also think some of the defeated Yemenite Jews from the Abu
   Duwas Jewish Kingdom came to Ethiopia, and that some Elephantine Jews
   migrated south from Egypt. Another Ethiopian legend has one of Moses'
   sons migrating South and establishing a Hebrew community before King
   Solomon.
   
   You can learn more about Ethiopian Jewry and their rich history and
   culture on the [5]Ethiopian Jewry WWW Homepage at
   .

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Subject: Question 13.4: Who were the Khazars? Are Ashkenazi Jews descended
         from the Khazars?

                                  Answer:
   
   The Khazars were a Turkic tribe that migrated to the steppes of what
   is today southern Russia and eastern Ukraine by the 5th century. They
   established a powerful kingdom that existed from the mid-7th century
   until the early-11th century. The Khazars had a two-king system,
   consisting of a military king (bek) and a sacral king (khaqan). The
   Khazar army, which took orders from the bek and the military commander
   (tarkhan), included tens of thousands of professional soldiers.
   
   The Khazars were a potent military force in eastern Europe till about
   the middle of the 11th century, their last power base being the
   Crimean peninsula. In the 7th and 8th centuries, they defeated the
   Eastern Caliphate in several key battles, thus halting the spread of
   Islam north of the Caucasus mountain range, much the same as what the
   Carolingian rulers did to the Western Caliphate at the Pyrenees.
   (Ironically, these Jewish converts made Eastern Europe safe for
   Christianity.) The Khazars gained control over major waterways such as
   the Caspian Sea, the Volga River, and the Dnieper River. The Khazar
   kings collected tribute from many of the East Slavic tribes as well as
   from traders traversing their country. Large garrisons were stationed
   at hill-forts located at strategic points throughout the kingdom
   (e.g., Kiev by the Dnieper, Sarkel by the Don, Samandar by the
   Caspian) to guard against enemy invaders such as the Rus.
   
   The king of the Khazars learned the Torah with the assistance of the
   Jewish preacher Isaac Sangari, whose existence has recently been
   verified (by the discovery of poems authored by Sangari in the
   Firkovitch collection of manuscripts). In the 9th century, the
   Khazarian kings and nobles officially converted to Judaism. Surrounded
   by the Islamic Eastern Caliphate of Persia and the Christian Byzantine
   Empire, the Khazars may have chosen Judaism as their state religion to
   avoid being religiously (and hence politically) dominated by either
   empire, so that they could avoid being labelled as heathens while at
   the same time remaining independent of their powerful neighbors. By
   the start of the 10th century, Judaism gained a stronghold among the
   common Khazar people, and the Hebrew script came into use in Khazaria.
   However, most of the soldiers in the Khazar army were Muslims, and the
   non-Khazar ethnic groups within the Khazar Empire (such as the Slavs,
   Bulgars, and Goths) did not adopt Judaism but rather remained pagans,
   Muslims, and Christians.
   
   Arab travelogues provide useful contemporary details about the life of
   the Khazars. Armenian, Slavic, and Hebrew sources also form the core
   of our knowledge about the Khazar people. Important Hebrew primary
   sources are:
    1. The Khazar Correspondence between Khaqan Joseph and Hasdai ibn
       Shaprut of Spain, now known to be authentic.
    2. The Schechter Letter, found in the Cairo Genizah, an account of
       the conversion of Khazars to Judaism, the migration of Jews to
       Khazaria, and the military victories of the Khazars.
    3. The Kievan Letter, found in the Cairo Genizah, written by the
       Khazar Jews of Kiev in the early 10th century.
       
   Within the past few decades, archaeological excavations in Russia and
   Ukraine have unearthed Khazar jewelry, pottery, gravesites, and
   tombstones containing engraved menorahs and Turkic tribe symbols. One
   of the most famous sites was Sarkel, which in 1952 was flooded for a
   dam by the Soviet government and is not available for further
   research. Other major Khazarian archaeological sites include Verkhneye
   Chiryurt (Balanjar, in Daghestan), Verkhneye Saltovo and Mayaki
   hill-fort (near the Don and Donets rivers), and Kerch and Sudak (on
   the Crimea). For several years, archaeologists have been trying to
   locate the precise site of the Khazar capital of Itil; some believe
   the wall which surrounded Itil has been found underwater, while others
   associate Itil with a hill in the Volga delta region called Samosdelka
   (south of Astrakhan).
   
   Secondary sources include:
     * The Kuzari by Yehuda HaLevi, a 12th century religious work using
       the story of the Khazars as justification for Judaism in the face
       of intense missionary pressure especially in Spain. The Kuzari was
       originally written in Arabic, but many excellent Hebrew and
       English translations have been published.
     * "The History of the Jewish Khazars" by Douglas M. Dunlop (New
       York: Schocken Books, 1967).
     * "The Thirteenth Tribe: The Khazar Empire and Its Heritage" by
       Arthur Koestler (New York: Random House, 1976).
     * "Khazar Studies: An Historico-Philological Inquiry into the
       Origins of the Khazars" by Peter Golden (Budapest: Akademiai
       Kiado, 1980).
     * "Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century" by Omeljan
       Pritsak (Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press, 1982).
     * "The Jews of Khazaria" by Kevin A. Brook (Northvale, NJ: Jason
       Aronson, 1999).
       
   Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from the Khazars? Some believe that they
   are, at least to a certain extent. An important Khazar community
   remained in Kiev, and family oral traditions indicate the persistence
   of Khazar Jewish communities in Hungary, Transylvania, Lithuania, and
   central Ukraine. Some Jews have features that might be considered
   almost Mongolian or Oriental. However, there is no remnant of Khazar
   custom among Ashkenazi Jews, and there are only a few Ashkenazi
   surnames (e.g., Balaban) that derive from Turkic. It is sometimes
   suggested that the surname Kogan derives from Khaqan, but the more
   likely derivation is from Kohen (meaning "Israelite priest"); the
   Ukrainians and Belarusians use the letter h, but in Russian h becomes
   g, as may be seen in such examples as Grodno-Hrodna and Girsch-Hirsch.
   
   It seems that after the fall of their kingdom, the Khazars adopted the
   Cyrillic script in place of Hebrew and began to speak East Slavic
   (sometimes called "Canaanic" because Benjamin of Tudela called Kievan
   Rus the "Land of Canaan"). These Slavic-speaking Jews are documented
   to have lived in Kievan Rus during the 11th-13th centuries. However,
   Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants from the west (especially Germany,
   Bohemia, and other areas of Central Europe) soon began to flood into
   Eastern Europe, and it is believed that these newer immigrants
   eventually outnumbered the Khazars. Thus, Eastern European Jews
   predominantly have ancestors who came from Central Europe rather than
   from the Khazar kingdom. The two groups (eastern and western Jews)
   intermarried over the centuries.
   
   The Ashkenazi Jews are also the direct descendants of the Israelites.
   Genetic tests seem to indicate some ancestry from the regions known
   today as Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, and Iraq. Mediterranean
   Fever, for example, is found among some Ashkenazi Jews as well as
   Armenians and Anatolian Turks. It is now asserted that many Ashkenazi
   men who belong to the priestly caste (Kohenim) possess a "Kohen"
   marker on the Y-chromosome. However, note that this provides no
   evidence of Khazar ancestry. Common genetic markers in people from
   these regions is expected for the following reasons, which alone could
   account for the common markers occurring in some Jews as well as
   non-Jews in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, and Iraq:
    1. Archaeological evidence suggests that the some of the earliest
       ancestors of the ancient Levantine and Mesopotamian civilzations
       originated in the region of Armenia and moved southwards.
    2. The Tanach records extensive evidence of intermarriage between
       Jews and ancient peoples who originated in eastern Anatolia, viz.
       the Hittites and Hurrians (including the Jebusites of Jerusalem).
       The Edomites who were of mixed Hebrew and Hurrian ancestry were
       also absorbed into the Jewish people.
    3. The Armenians and Kurds are the descendants of people who remained
       in Eastern Anatolia / Armenia / Kurdistan and intermarried with
       the Turks and neighbouring peoples.
       
   Some descendants of the Khazars may still live in the north Caucasus
   among the Kumuks and the Balkars. These descendents include Crimean
   Jews called Krymchaks and Mountain Jews (a mix of Khazars and Iranian
   Caucasian Jews). Many Muslim Khazars settled in Azerbaijan and
   Kazakhstan and may have intermarried with Oghuz and Kipchak Turks.
   
   If you are interested in the subject of Khazar Jews, you can visit the
   Khazaria Information Center at <[5]http://www.khazaria.com>.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Question 13.5: Who are Crypto-Jews (also known as "marranos")?

                                  Answer:
   
   At the time of the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion from Spain in
   1492, Jews were offered conversion or expulsion. Many chose to leave
   Spain (quite a few found safety in the Muslim Ottoman Empire), but
   others stayed behind.
   
   "Marranos" actually started appearing with the first riots in the
   Juderias of Spain. Many were forced to convert to save their lives.
   These were naturally not faithful Catholics. The laws in 14th and 15th
   century Spain became increasingly oppressive towards practicing Jews,
   while providing an easy escape by conversion. Large numbers of middle
   class Jews outwardly took on Christianity to avoid the laws, while
   secretly practicing Judaism. [The term Marrano appears to be derived
   from the color of the robes of a Roman Catholic Bishop; Jews who
   converted were placed under the direct tutelage of that bishop. One
   source indicates that the term "marrano" means pig literally in
   Spanish, and notes that the converted Jews were called that because
   one of the ideals of the Spanish society in the times of the Catholic
   Kings was purity of blood--hence, if a person couldn't prove to be
   totally "clean" of blood (i.e., that they were a descendant of
   Christian Spaniards), they were called a marrano.]
   
   Most of the remaining Marranic practice in Spain and Portugal today is
   from those religious Jews who escaped from Spain to Portugal in 1492,
   only to be trapped there later when the expulsion was instituted there
   as well. The most active Marranism in the Iberian peninsula is in the
   mountainous border areas between Spain and Portugal, in towns such as
   Belmonte'. Jewish outreach in these areas is achieving success in
   bringing them forward and restoring full Judaic practice, but many
   still fear burning or other persecution if they go public.
   
   Some faithful Catholic converts were won by the efforts of famous
   apostates like Pablo de Santa Maria who went around disputing the
   rabbis and ordinary Jews, winning some converts. In the most famous
   disputation, with Nachmanides, he was soundly defeated, but the
   Franciscans published false reports of the disputation to win more
   converts. Nachmanides, who had been protected from heresy laws during
   the disputations, was forced to publish his refutations in public. He
   was forced into exile rather than be burned as a heretic. In any case,
   the faithfulness of these converts is doubtful, since the Order of
   Expulsion was primarily due to the recidivism of Conversos once they
   had to live next door to practicing Jews again. It was felt that
   expelling all open Jews was the only way to keep the Conversos
   Christian.
   
   Among those who stayed behind were Jews who pretended to convert to
   Roman Catholicism, but who secretly maintained a practice of Judaism.
   The term "Marrano" was at one time used to describe them, as the term
   refers to the swine which they'd publicly eat to demonstrate their
   outward conversion. It isn't clear if the "Old Christians" or the
   practicing Jews called them "marrano".
   
   In Majorca the community was converted in the 1430's and are called
   Chuetas, from "pork lard" since they regularly keep pork lard boiling
   in cauldrons on their porches. They themselves still call themselves
   Israelitas in private, and ask forgiveness from el Grande Dio for
   worshipping in front of statues of a man. They typically sacrified (in
   a figurative, not literal, sense) their first born sons to the
   Catholic priesthood as a means of getting protection from Church
   persecution, so, ironically, many of the priests across the Baleiric
   Islands are from Marrano families.
   
   Crypto-Jew is the correct term, as it also refers to Jews forced to
   adopt other religions and political philosophies while maintaining
   Jewish practices. Crypto-Judaism pre-dates the Inquisition, as Jews
   were forced by the Al-Mohavid invasions of Spain to become Muslims,
   creating Crypto-Jews who gradually fled to Christian districts for
   protection from the Muslims (see Roth's History of the Jews). In
   modern times outwardly Muslim Crypto-Jews are known to be in Meshed,
   Iran, and in Turkey.
   
   A number of Crypto-Jewish communities survive today, especially in
   former Spanish-influenced regions, such as the southwestern U.S.A.
   They still maintain extensive secrecy after centuries. Other
   communities were lost to assimilation, but maintained residual Jewish
   practices such as lighting candles Friday night. Cohen's The Marranos
   and Prinz's The Secret Jews claim that the following are examples of
   such communities, although such claims have not been verified and are
   disputed by some:
     * The Antiqueñas of Colombia.
     * Much of Northern Mexico's middle and upper classes (Nuevo Leon is
       the "New Lion of Judah"). Note: Some note that Neuvo Leon mean was
       named after the old Leon in Spain. However, whatever the origin of
       the name, many of the families of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, have
       managed to keep in their memory, after more than 400 years, their
       Separdic origin.
     * The Naucalpan and Vallejo districts of Mexico City. (Technically,
       Naucalpan is not in the Distrito Federal, but in the greater
       metropolitan area).
     * The Chuetas of Majorca. A look at Chueta last names shows many
       surnames which have became quite famous in the Hispanic world.
       They include Mir, Miro, and Marti. Of course Joan Miro was
       Mallorcan. Any marranism in Fidel Castro's family would be through
       his mother, as his father's family was Gallego, and very few Jews
       ever lived in Galicia (of course plenty lived in the Austrian
       Galicia, I'm refering to northwestern Spain ). Interesting about
       the mountains on the Spanish-Portuguese border being a hotbed of
       marranism, particularly those on the Extremadura-Andalucia border.
       This area is directly inland from some of the areas which
       contained the earliest Jewish communities on the Iberian peninsula
       - for example Huelva and Gibraltar. Malaga and Almunecar - which
       also had early communities - are also in Andalucia. According to
       Timothy Mitchell's book Flamenco: Deep Song and other sources, the
       inquisition in western Andalucia was slightly more lenient than
       elsewhere because of the need for labour related for the new world
       trade and mining. The connections are quite interesting.
       
   Famous Hispanics who have acknowledged Marrano ancestry include Rita
   Moreno and Fidel Castro. Jews have played an important role in the
   history of Monterrey, Mexico. Frida Kahlo's father, Guillermo Kahlo, a
   somewhat reknowned photographer in his own right, was a Hungarian Jew.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Question 13.6: How does the Sephardi/Ashkenazi differences differ
         from the O/C/R differences?

                                  Answer:
   
   Traditional Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews agree that the oral and
   written Torah are from G-d, and that the sages may rule on halachic
   matters. The differences in practice are mostly in culture and
   customs. Traditional and liberal Jews disagree on the Divine origin of
   the oral and written Torah, and on the ability of present-day sages
   and secular scholars to overrule earlier halachic decisors.
   
   Also, Sephardic Jews tend not to separate along "denominational"
   lines, but rather "observant" and "non-observant."

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Question 13.7: I've heard of a group called the "Black Hebrews". Who
         are they?

                                  Answer:
   
   The answer depends on where you are talking about. First, note that
   the term "Black Hebrews" is not appreciated (although used) by most
   individuals in such communiites. The term is used only because they
   were branded with the name by the predominantly White media some
   decades ago. The problems with the term is that it normalizes the
   "Whiteness" of the Jewish/Hebrew people. The groups actually refer to
   themselves as "Hebrews", "Israelites" and in many cases,
   "Hebrew-Israelites."
     * In Israel:
       First, note that there are many "black" Jews in Israel that are
       properly affiliated with Judaism--in all movements--including
       Orthodoxy. Many were converted generations ago and their
       descendants deserve the same credibility given to any child born
       of a Jewish mother-converted or otherwise. Others have come from
       African communities who have practiced Judaism for ages. In the
       eyes of Judaism, it is whether you are a Jew, and not your skin
       color, that matters.
       However, in Israel, there are groups calling themselves "Black
       Hebrews" that are African Americans, not Ethiopian Jews, who moved
       to Israel in late 60's-early-70's. There is a wide variety of
       "Black Hebrew" practices in Israel. Some are Torah Israelites,
       some ascribe to "the whole bible", and some claim they are Torah
       based. Some of the misunderstandings about the nature of these
       groups arises from the particularity of African-American religious
       sensibilities, which themselves arise out of fundamentally
       different experiences than those of any other American group.
       Thus, the categorical boundaries that apply to Euro-Americans
       (i.e., Christian or Jew, Muslim or Christian) cannot be so easily
       applied to the African-American religious traditions. This
       partially explains why these groups identify with ancient culture
       and not the religion of Judaism.
       Some groups called "Black Hebrew" Israel (but which are really
       not) practice a fundamentalist form of Christianity, but do not
       consider themselves Christians or Jews, but Hebrews, "true"
       decendants of the "Hebrew race". For example, they fast on
       Shabbat, and are strict vegetarians, to name a couple of examples.
       They have a large community in Dimona in the Negev, and they often
       hold jazz concerts throughout the country. They recently received
       permanent residency status, and official citizenship is soon to
       follow.
       Many African American Hebrews practice Kashruth, circumcise their
       male children, observe Shabbat, as well as many other customs.
       These customs were passed down from their grandparents, although
       they may not be understood as Jewish at the time. Some in this
       group grew up practicing all forms of Christianity, some have
       given such practices up completely, others have mixed Christian
       practices with Jewish custom. Such African American Hebrew
       Israelites identify with ancient culture and not the religion of
       Judaism
     * In the United States:
       Note that according to the Council of Jewish Federations, 2.2% of
       America's 5.5 million Jews identify themselves as black. There are
       many observant Black Jews living within American communities in
       all movements--including Orthodoxy. Many African-Americans were
       converted generations ago and their descendants deserve the same
       credibility given to any child born of a Jewish mother-converted
       or otherwise. In the eyes of Judaism, it is whether you are a Jew,
       and not your skin color, that matters.
       In the United States, some groups of Black Jews use the term
       "black hebrews". The name is an artifact of the times when white
       synagogues refused to accept them as Jews.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Question 13.8: What about the black jews in South Africa?

                                  Answer:
   
   This group lives in a region in the north of S.A. known as Venda.
   Apparently early Jewish traders in S.A. found that certain Africans in
   Venda practised kashrut and other Jewish practises, and historical
   records of the Boer republics mention black Jews.
   
   There are supposedly 300,000 such Jews in S.A.; they claim to be
   descendants of a group of Yemenite Jews who migrated south and
   intermarried with the locals. Supposedly, there are similar groups all
   along the east coast of Africa. Of particular interest are 40000
   members of the black Lemba people. Like the Abayudaya, these people
   are keen to learn more about Jewish laws and practices. These claims
   of the Lemba are documented at
   [5]http://www.ubalt.edu/kulanu/africa.html.
   
   On the other hand, there is a book about this group (called the

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