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...
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...
"One should always feel free to express his religion and who he is anywhere he goes" he says "because freedom is not a human gift. It was given to us from our Creator".
It was a lovely evening with the Metropolitan, we drank tea, ate fruits, said Lehayim, spoke about what divides us and about what unites us - concern for continuity of our respective communities chief amongst them...
"Seyidne" he is called by everyone in the neighborhood, mostly Syrian war refugees who settled close to his home. "Have always been respected here by everyone, even though we are so beey few here" he tells me as he explains the meaning behind the Mount Nemrut marble replicas...
"May the Eternal protect you and we are sending peace and greetings to the Hebrews, the Jews, our brothers" he says in Aramaic before we part...
For me, to witness Aramaic as spoken language, to argue about the roots of specific words and expressions and singing Chad Gadya Dezabin Abba, with someone who actually understands the words was an unforgettable experience!

Leilio Nicho Boeina Loch! Good night in #Aramaic!

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Rabbi Mendy Chitrik

Rabbi Mendy Chitrik Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @mchitrik

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?
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!
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...
Read 6 tweets
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
7 Aug
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
Read 13 tweets
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
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
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

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(