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7 Aug, 13 tweets, 5 min read
Day 13 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Relaxed Shabbat...

After an intense week Chaim and I had a relaxing Shabbat... We prayed, ate, relaxed, but mostly read books... What books did we take on this trip? Image
A rabbi's day starts with the morning prayers... for this one needs a prayer book... ImageImageImage
This prayer book includes also the Torah (the five books of Moses), Tehillim (Psalms by King David), and Tanya (the Magnum opus of Chabad)... Image
When we get into the car, after coffee, we listen to a class on the daily page of Talmud - Day Yomi - now we study the tractate of Sukkah... Image
To identify biblical sites, we use this treasure, which although I feel it can have a lot mlre information from Talmudic and Post-Talmudic Jewish sources, never the less it is full with archeological, historical and current references... Image
We also use to identify locations of old synagogues, the valuable information contained in these books... ImageImage
Visiting isn't just about physically being there... When I was in Izmir - as in any other place - I wished to feel it, to 'know' the place, and for this - I read this book by Jacob Barnai: Smyrna, the Microcosmos of Europe, about the community in the 17th and 18th century Image
I also have with me the book Turkey, by Yaron Ben Naeh, about the Jewish communities in Turkey in the 19th and 20th centuries... Image
And the recent book on Rabbi Yosef Karo who lived in Edirne, and gives a good background on Jewish life in the 15th and 16th centuries... Image
To read about the Sefardi Jewery in the region, I read Ester Benbasa and Aharon Rodrig's "The Jews of the Balkans, the Judeo-Spanish Community, 15th to the 20th Centuries"... Image
Keren Zavit, by Prof. Nadav Shnerb is a must read for me every Shabbat, Shnerb writes a short essay on the weekly Torah portion - and brings down to reality, numbers, colors, and topics in a way that only a scientist can... Image
"A Heartless Chicken", is the newly published book by Maoz Kahana, that deals with religion and science in the rabbinic responsa of the 18th century... Image
Looking forward for another exciting week on the #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip...

Where will we be tomorrow?

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More from @mchitrik

Rabbi Mendy Chitrik Profile picture
9 Aug
Night 15 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Adıyaman

I usually share a day post, but meeting with Metropolitan Gregorios Melki ÜREK of Adıyaman and conversing with him in Aramaic, deserves a special thread... Image
Metropolitan Gregorios looks over a small, dwindling community in the Adıyaman area - a community that is native to this region, as he explains "We are Arameans, we are from this region, so we speak, write and read in Aramaic. This is our home".
The Metropolitan and I walked around the streets of Adıyaman, he wearing his usual bright red clerical clothing, me wearing my Kipah, and it seems that everyone knows him "we love the people" he says, and they sure reciprocate in kind... Image
Read 8 tweets
Rabbi Mendy Chitrik Profile picture
9 Aug
Day 15 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Kayseri

Did you know that Kayseri, aka Mazaka,
the capital of the Kingdom of Cappadocia, was in antiquity home to a very significant Jewish community? Image
The Talmud, discussing the laws of mourning over great tragedies, writes that King "Shavor Malka" killed in Mezget Kayseri 12 thousand Jews! But never the less, Shmuel, one of the great sages and confidant of Shapur did not mourn upon hearing the news! Image
The Talmud goes on to explain that it is because "they brought it upon themselves!" - it wasn't a real 'tragedy' - because somehow they deserved it... Image
Read 6 tweets
Rabbi Mendy Chitrik Profile picture
8 Aug
Day 14 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Cappadocia...

Did you know that the Jews of #Cappadocia have an ever lasting impression on every Jewish home celebrating #Shabbat?

Rosh Hodesh Tov 😂

(enjoy the beautiful scenery while you read...) Image
You see, some Jewish communities of Anatolia left their mark etched in stone. Some left significant buildings, cemeteries, books (we will talk about that too), but some were so significant that the Talmudic scholars have enhanced Jewish law to accommodate their specific needs! Image
After the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 CE, the great rabbis gathered in the city of Yavne, and collaborated in adopting Jewish law to a new situation, Judaism without a central Temple... Image
Read 17 tweets
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4 Aug
Day 10 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Gelibolu and Thrace

Driving through the Gallipoli Peninsula - I am thinking about the words that allegedly Atatürk said in 1934:
"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ..."
Although some dispute the authenticity of this quote - never the less, after driving through the trenches, the cemeteries, seeing memorials for all those who fiercely fought here on both sides - one must only concur with the underlying message...
Read 10 tweets
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3 Aug
Day 9 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Ayvalık/Troy/Çanakkale/Dardanelles Strait

Waking tp to the view of the Agean sea and #Cunda was quite amazing - not to say pretty relaxing... We are going to Çanakkale!
Last night me and Chaim were walking in Ayvalık - a coffee shop owner noticing the Kipah on Chaim's head walks over:

- "Are you guys Jewish by any chance?" - "Of course!" we say.
- "Let's have coffee, its on me. Last year I got stuck in Israel for 8 months during the pandemic."
He was excited to see Jews walking on the streets of his hometown, and is planning on opening an identical coffee shop in Tel Aviv...

Leave a comment if you prefer the Sunset over Sunrise...

Back to Çanakkale...
Read 18 tweets
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2 Aug
Day 8 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Bergama (Pergamon)

Guess who rebuilt this beautiful synagogue of #Bergama? Image
This is of course the beautiful synagogue of Bergama... Just a few years ago it was used as a barn, after most Jews have left the city.

While my friend Selim Ozturk was arranging the synagogue to open, @ChaimChitrik and I went up the acropolis to see the ruins of #Pergamon Image
The ruins of this once major city are still quite impressive now! But we were waiting for the keys of the synagogue to arrive... Image
Read 10 tweets

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