Thread by @ZechariahSharab

🧵on Jews of #Syria سُورِيَة 🇸🇾

1) #Syrian Jews are one of the most ancient and indigenous communities of the Middle East

#Jews first arrived in Syria from #Jerusalem during the time of King David, over 3,000 years ago

2) A large and influential Jewish community was first established in Damascus. During the rule of the Byzantine Empire, the community was led by Rabbi Rafram Bar Papa, son of Babylonian Rabbi Rav Pappa, who is cited often in the Talmud

3) The Jewish community of Aleppo was established during the 5th Century

It would become one of the most influential communities in the Jewish world, as its scholars and liturgical traditions would later be embraced by the rest of Sephardic Jewry

4) The Jewish community was established near the site of the cave where the prophet Elijah hid during persecution, in the Jobar suburb of Damascus

Elijah's disciple, the prophet Elisha, built a synagogue on this site, which the community used until its destruction in 2014

5) The Jobar synagogue also indicates the specific location where the Prophet Elijah anointed his disciple Elisha with a special sign post in Hebrew, Arabic, and French

Another tradition states that Elisha anointed the biblical King Hazael of Syria in this synagogue

6) Aleppo was known across the entire Jewish world as a center of Torah scholarship

Maimonides, in his letter to the rabbis of Lunel writes:

"There is one city alone and it is Aleppo, in which there are those who are truly devoted to the Jewish religion and the study of Torah"

7) The community established yeshivas, schools, and seminaries for all ages

Given the close vicinity to ancient Babylon, #Syrian Jews were in direct contact with the Talmudic sages

According to tradition, the Talmudic sages would visit and assist in repair of Syrian synagogues

8) The community guarded the Aleppo Codex כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא the most important existing hand-written manuscript of the Hebrew Bible

The codex was written in Tiberias in the 10th century and was endorsed for its accuracy by Maimonides!

9) The Aleppo Codex was purchased by the Karaites in #Jerusalem 100 years after it was drafted.

When the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099, it was transferred to Egypt where it was reviewed by Maimonides.

His descendants brought it to Aleppo in 1375

10) The Aleppo community guarded the Codex zealously for 600 years. It was kept in the basement of the Central Synagogue of Aleppo and regarded as the community's most sacred possession

Those in trouble would pray before it, and oaths were taken by it

11) In 1492, the infamous Alhambra decree expelled the Jews of Spain. Many found refuge in Syria and joined the communities of Damascus and Aleppo

To this day, Syrian Sephardic Jews light an extra candle each night during Hannukah as a sign of gratitude to the Syrian people

12) One of the most influential traditions of Syrian Jews is the Baqashot, liturgical hymns recited during the winter in the early hours of Shabbat

Baqashot started in Spain, with Syrian Jews later composing them to Maqam (Arabic musical scales)

13) Baqashot became popular across most Jewish communities in MENA, especially in #Jerusalem. People gather in the early morning, recite liturgical hymns according the specific scales, and sip piping hot tea

A sign for a recent Baqashot event in Jerusalem starting at 3am!

14) Here is an example of a beautiful Baqasha in the Syrian Jewish tradition recorded in #Jerusalem

15) Syrian Jews enjoyed great freedom and continued to grow and flourish until the Damascus Affair of 1840

A false blood libel led to the arrest of notable members of the Jewish community in Damascus, leading to violents riots and pillaging the famous Jobar synagogue

16) These riots led thousands of Jews to leave their beloved Syria

Many left for Egypt, but the majority migrated to New York City, which was home to the largest Syrian Jewish community at one point. Others migrated to Mexico, Argentina, Panama, and Brazil

17) In 1946, there were 15,000 Jews left in Syria. Severe limitations were placed on the Jews including forbidding the teaching of Hebrew in Jewish schools

In 1947 pogroms broke out in Damscus and Aleppo. Hundreds of Jews were killed and injured, the main synagogue was destroyed

18) During the buring of the Central Synagogue of Aleppo, the famous Aleppo Codex went missing!

Parts of it were miraculously recovered in 1958. It is on display at the Jerusalem Museum in #Israel and is recognized as a UNESCO world treasure

19) Jews from Aleppo built the beautiful Ades synagogue in #Jerusalem where the liturgical Syrian tradition lives on

It's one of the few synagogues in the world where the Torah is read based on a different Maqam (Arabic musical scale) every Shabbat!

20) 2,000 Jews were left in #Syria. Although they were loyal citizens they were not allowed to leave, even to visit their families abroad

Below is a sign in Hebrew saying "All the love and respect to the grand president" during the time of Hafez al-Assad

21) Jewish schools started each morning by pledging allegiance to President Hafez al-Assad and had to wear army uniforms throughout the day

22) Jews across the world prayed for the freedom of the remaining Jews in Syria

The Lubavitcher Rebbe held special large prayer sessions in NYC in their merit

23) The late Rabbi Abraham Hamra zt"l, the Chief Rabbi of Syria, worked tirelessly to promote the freedom of Syrian Jews

24) Like a modern-day Moses, Rabbi Hamra met then president Hafez al-Assad and asked him to free Syria's Jews

In 1994, the Jews of Syria were finally allowed to leave and re-join their families across the globe

25) There are 250,000 #Syrian Jews worldwide today

🇮🇱 115,000
🇺🇸 75,000
🇦🇷 40,000
🇲🇽 16,000
🇵🇦 10,000
🇧🇷 7,000
🇨🇱 2,000
🇸🇾 0 💔

26) Some famous #Syrian Jews

🔹Top left: Isaac Mizrahi - fashion designer
🔹Bottom left: Paula Abdul -singer
🔹Top right: Jerry Seinfeld - actor
🔹Bottom right: Rabbi Haim Sabato - award winning author and Torah scholar

27) And if you want to learn Torah in #Arabic, listen to the wonderful weekly Torah classes of Rabbi Uri Lati from the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn