Krymchaks
The
Krymchaks (sg. кърымчах -
qrymchakh, pl. кърымчахлар -
qrymchakhlar) are a community of Turkic-speaking adherents of
Rabbinic Judaism living in
Crimea. They have historically lived in close proximity to the
Karaims (Crimean Karaites). At first
krymchak was a Russian descriptive used to differentiate them from their
Ashkenazi coreligionists, as well as other Jewish communities in the former
Russian Empire such as the
Gruzim, but in the second half of the 19th century this name was adopted by the Krymchaks themselves. Before this their self-designation was "Срель балалары" (
Srel balalary) - literally "Children of Israel". The
Crimean Tatars referred to them as
zuluflı çufutlar ("Jews with
pe'ot") to distinguish them from the
Karaims, who were called
zulufsız çufutlar ("Jews without pe'ot").
The Krymchaks speak a modified form of the
Crimean Tatar language, called the
Krymchak language. It contains numerous
Hebrew and
Aramaic loan-words and was traditionally written in Hebrew characters (now it is written in Cyrillic script).
They are probably partially descended from Jewish colonists who settled along the
Black Sea in ancient times. Jewish communities existed in many of the
Greek colonies in the region. Recently-excavated inscriptions in Crimea have revealed a Jewish presence at least as early as the first century BCE. In some Crimean towns, pagan cults called
sebomenoi theon hypsiston ("Worshippers of the All-Highest God", or "God-Fearers") existed. These quasi-Jews kept the Jewish
commandments but remained uncircumcised and retained certain pagan customs. Eventually, these sects disappeared as their members adopted either
Christianity or normative Judaism.
The late classical era saw great upheaval in the region as Crimea was occupied by
Goths,
Huns,
Bulgars, and other peoples. Jewish merchants such as the
Radhanites began to develop extensive contacts in the
Pontic region during this period, and probably maintained close relations with the proto-Krymchak communities.
In the late 600s most of Crimea fell to the
Khazars. The extent to which the Krymchaks influenced the ultimate conversion of the Khazars development of Khazar Judaism is unknown. During the period of Khazar rule, intermarriage between Crimean Jews and Khazars is likely, and the Krymchaks probably absorbed numerous Khazar refugees during the decline and fall of the Khazar kingdom (a Khazar
successor state, ruled by
Georgius Tzul, was centered on
Kerch). It is known that
Kipchak converts to Judaism existed, it is possible that from these converts the Krymchaks adopted their distinctive language.
The
Mongol conquerors of the Pontic region were promoters of religious freedom, and the
Genoese occupation of the southern Crimea (1315-1475) saw increasing levels of Jewish settlement in the region. The Jewish community was divided between those who prayed according to the
Sephardi rite, the
Ashkenazim, and
Romaniote. Only in 1515 were the different styles united into a distinctive Krymchak rite, by Rabbi Moshe Ha-Golah, a Chief Rabbi of
Kiev who settled in Crimea.
Under the
Crimean Khanate the Jews were required to live in separate quarters and pay a
dhimmi-tax. A limited judicial autonomy was granted according to the Ottoman
millet system. Overt, violent persecution was extremely rare.
During the
Cossack rebellions and
pogroms of the mid 1600s, the Krymchaks were active in ransoming fellow Jews who had been taken captive.
Russia annexed Crimea in 1783. The Krymchaks were thereafter subjected to the same humiliations imposed on other
Jews in Russia. Unlike their Karaite neighbors, the Krymchaks suffered the full brunt of anti-Jewish restrictions.
During the 1800s many
Ashkenazim from
Ukraine and
Lithuania began to settle in
Crimea. Compared with these Ashkenazim the Krymchaks seemed somewhat backward; their illiteracy rates, for example, were quite high, and they observed many superstitions . Intermarriage with the newcomers reduced the numbers of the distinct Krymchak community dramatically. By 1900 there were 60,000 Ashkenazim and only 6,000 Krymchaks in Crimea.
In the mid 1800s the Krymchaks became followers of Rabbi
Chaim Hezekiah Medini, a Sephardi rabbi born in
Jerusalem who came to Crimea from
Constantinople. His followers accorded him the title of
gaon. Settling in
Karasu Bazaar, the largest Krymchak community in Crimea, Rabbi Medini spent his life raising educational standards among the Jews of Crimea.
After the
Russian Revolution of 1917,
civil war tore apart Crimea. Many Krymchaks were killed in the fighting between the
Red Army, the
White Movement and the
Green Army. More still died in the famines of the early 1920s and the early 1930s. Many emigrated to the
Holy Land, the
United States, and
Turkey.
Under
Stalin, the Krymchaks were forbidden to write in
Hebrew and were ordered to employ a
Cyrillic alphabet to write their own language.
Synagogues and
yeshivot were closed by government decree. Krymchaks were compelled to work in factories and
collective farms.
Unlike the
Karaim, the Krymchaks were targeted for annihilation by the
Nazis. Six thousand Krymchaks, almost 75% of their population, were killed by the Nazis. Moreover, upon the return of
Soviet authority to the region, many Krymchaks found themselves mistakenly deported to Central Asia along with their
Crimean Tatar neighbors.
By 2000 only about 2,500 Krymchaks lived in the former
Soviet Union, about half in
Ukraine and the remainder in
Georgia,
Russia, and
Uzbekistan. A few hundred Krymchaks still clinging to their Crimean identity live in the
United States and
Israel: animator
Ralph Bakshi is the most famous of these.
*
Türk Dirlik*
Jews in Russia*
Crimean Karaites*
Khazars*
Ralph Bakshi*Blady, Ken.
Jewish Communities in Exotic Places Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson Inc., 2000. pp. 115-130.
