Dec. 5, 2006 Omeljan Pritsak Armağani (A Tribute to Omeljan Priysak), Sakarya, Sakarya Universitesi Yayin, No. 51, 2007, pp. 283-301
Judeo-Turkic encounters in Hebrew epitaphs from Ukraine: naming patterns Michael Nosonovsky, PhD 427 West Side Dr. Gaithersburg, MD 20878, U.S.A. nosonovsky@yahoo.com Phone: 1-917-971-7716 Fax: 1-301-975-5334
1. Introduction The Khazarian and Jewish topics played a prominent role in the scholarly work of the late professor Omeljan Pritsak, whose research was devoted mostly to the Ukrainian and Turkic studies 1 . Historically, Ukraine was a crossroad region, where various oriental and western cultures met and often formed a remarkable amalgam of languages, traditions, linguistic and ethnic elements. The Jews, who populated the region for more than two thousand years, played a significant role in this process of mutual enrichment of various cultures. First Jewish communities emerged at the northern shore of the Black Sea at least in the first century BC. These were the communities of the “God-fearers”, which existed in the Hellenistic colonies of Panticapaeum (Παντικάπαιον, modern Kerch), Tanais (Τάναϊς, near modern Azov), Phanagoria and Germonassa (near modern Taman), and other parts of the Bosporan kingdom 2 . They left numerous monuments (mostly manumissions and burial inscriptions) with Jewish images and inscriptions. In the consequent centuries, most of the territory of modern Ukraine was, to some extent, under the political control of the Khazars, who, at least
1
O. Pritsak and N. Golb, Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century (Harvard University, 1984), O. Pritsak, “The Khazar Kingdom's Conversion to Judaism,” Harvard Ukrainian studies (1978). 2 I. A. Levinskaya and S.R.Tokhtas’ev, “Jews and Jewish Names in the Bosporan Kingdom,” Te‘uda, 12, Studies on the Jewish Diaspora in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods (1996), 69
partially, adhered to the Jewish religion3. During that period, Jewish communities were found in Kiev (Kyiv), Chernihov (Chernihiv), Belaya Vieža (Sarkel / Şarkil), and several other places 4 . Starting the 13th century, Karaite Jews, who spoke a Turkic language, formed their communities in the Crimea (Çhufut-Qal‘eh and later MangoupQal‘eh), in Wolhynia, Galicia and Lithuania, while the Krymchak Jewish communities emerged in the Crimea 5 . The Ashkenazi Jews, who migrated to Ukraine from the Central Europe, appeared in the western regions of Ukraine (Galicia, Wolhynia and, later, Podolia) starting, at
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Pritsak, 1978; M.I. Artamonov, Istoria Khazar (2nd edition, St. Petersburg, 2002), pp. 272-291 4 Artamonov 2002:295-327 5 G. Akhiezer and D. Shapira, “Qaraim be-Lita ube-Wohlin-Galiciyah ‘ad ha-meah ha-18”, Pe‘amim, 89 (2001), p. 44 (Hebrew); M. Kizilov, “The arrival of the Karaites (Karaims) to Poland and Lithuania”, Archivum Eurasiae Mediiaevi, 12 (2002-2003). Karaite communities existed in Łuck, Derażne (Wolhynia), Halicz/Halych, and Kokizow (Galicia) in Ukraine, as well as in Troki (Lithuania). There are three dialects of the Turkic Karaim language: the Troki dialect, the Halicz dialect (spoken also in Łuck, Derażne, and Kokizow), and the Crimean dialect. The later, however, is considered by many scholars a dialect of the Crimean Tartar language, rather than the Karaim, and its proximity to the two other dialects is disputed (K.M.Musaev, Grammatika Karaimskogo Yazyka, Moscow, 1964). The Krymchak rabbinical Jews were speakers of the Krymchak Turkic language, which is considered by many scholars a dialect of the Crimean Tartar, and lived in several cities the Crimea.
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least, the 14th century Common Era (CE)6. Thus, Jewish communities of various origins and cultural traditions coexisted in Ukraine next to each other. The problem of Turkic influence upon the Ukrainian Jews received a significant attention in the past decades, however, the issue is still far from being settled. There are a handful of words of Turkic origin in the Standard Yiddish, which may be attributed to the Ottoman or Tartar influence 7 . It is reasonable to expect that the Turkic influence upon the Ashkenazi Jews was much more pronounced in Bessarabia and Podolia regions, which had been under the Ottoman rule for significant periods. Unfortunately, local Bessarabian and Podolian dialects of Yiddish are less studied by scholars, than the Central (Polish) and Northeastern (Lithuanian) dialects of Yiddish 8 . Thus, Turkic elements, which were present in the Southeastern dialects of Yiddish, however, had not entered the standard Yiddish, remain often beyond the scope of visibility for scholars.
6
Y. Gessen, Istoriya Evreyskogo Naroda v Rossii (Petrograd, 1916). 7 See, for example, P. Wexler, Two-tiered Relexification in Yiddish (Berlin, 2002); P. Wexler. The Ashkenazic Jews: a Slavo-Turkic People in Search of a Jewish Identity (Columbus, 1993). Among the Yiddish words, which are usually mentioned as Turkisms, are yarmulke (“skullcap”, presumably from yağmurluk “raincoat”), kaftan (“long male over garment”), kavene (“watermelon”), kabak (“squash”), titun (tobacco), pupik, gopl (both meaning “navel”), pirogi (“pies”), and several others. Many of these words could enter Yiddish via a Slavic language (for example, Russian, Ukrainian or Polish). It has been suggested that Yiddish davnen (“to pray”) might be of Turkic origin, however, the etymology remains dubious. 8 M. Herzog, The Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry, Vols. 1-3 (Max Niemeyer Verlag/YIVO, 1995-2000). There are three main dialects of Yiddish in Eastern Europe: the Northeastern (Lithuianian), Central (Polish), and Southeastern (Ukrainian) dialects. The later includes several local sub-dialects, such as the Podolian, Bessarabian etc. Among specific southern Ukrainian dialect words of Turkic origin, the names of local food are often suggested: prakes (“stuffed cabbage”, from Turkic yarpak), pastrame (“pastrami”), bekhleva (“sweet oriental eating”).
Analysis of naming patterns is an important approach to studying cultural influences. Jewish names constitute a unique combination of elements, derived from Hebrew/Aramaic, non-Semitic Jewish spoken languages, and non-Jewish languages. Almost all Jewish men and many women had a Hebrew name, which was used during religious ceremonies (such as wedding, circumcision, or Torah reading in a synagogue) and in communal records. In the everyday life, however, the Jewish name was used in its diminutive or “pet” form of the spoken language (a local dialect of Yiddish for the Ashkenazi Jews, the Halicz dialect of the Karaim language for the Wolhynian and Galician Karaites, the Crimean Karaim for the Crimean Karaites). In addition, an “external” non-Jewish form of the name could be used. These “nonofficial” names were treated as nicknames, along with nicknames per se. Some of the nicknames could be hereditary and thus became family nicknames. In addition, starting the early 1800s, the non-Jewish authorities demanded that the Jews acquire family names, and in some cases the family nicknames were used, while in other cases family names were imposed by the authorities. The family names were used rarely in the internal communal life until the end of the 19th century. Among the Jewish monuments in Ukraine, gravestones with Hebrew epitaphs play a prominent role due to their significant number and important information, which they often contain9. The purpose of the present article is to study Turkic and other non-Semitic elements in Jewish Hebrew epitaphs from Ukraine, which belong to Jewish communities of various origins, with the emphasis upon the naming patterns. The study is based upon the material collected in the past 15 years as well as some material published in the earlier period. 2. Structure of a traditional Jewish name A Jewish name is used during some religious ceremonies, such as the circumcision, when the name of a newborn baby is pronounced for the first time, during reading from the Torah scroll in a synagogue, when a reader is called to the pulpit by his Hebrew name, as well as in official legal documents, such as the ketubba (the marital contract) and get (the divorce letter). The Jewish law prescribes the pattern, according to 9
M. Nosonovsky, Hebrew epitaphs and inscriptions from Ukraine and Former Soviet Union (Washington, 2006).
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which the name should be written in the official documents. In particular, it requires that all nicknames or diminutive forms of the name, under which the bearer is known, be mentioned in the document10. The full name in official communal documents consists of three parts: “[a given name], son/daughter of [father’s given name], nicknamed [nicknames]”. For married women, husband’s name may be mentioned too. The majority of male given names are of Hebrew (predominantly Biblical) origin, although exceptions are known. Many female names are also of Hebrew origin, while many others are of non-Hebrew origin (Slavic, Germanic, and Romanic in the case of Ashkenazi Jews and Turkic, Iranian and Arabic in the case of the Karaite Jews)11. The names were spelled un the epitaphs and documents in Hebrew, however, they were pronounced in a spoken language (Yiddish in the case of the Ashkenazi Jews, Karaim in the case of the Karaites, and Krymchak in the case of the Krymchak Jews). In Yiddish, there is a significant difference between the so-called Whole Hebrew (WH), i.e., Hebrew, as written by Hebrew letters with vowel signs and pronounced according to the Ashkenazi pronunciation, and the Merged Hebrew (MH), i.e., words of Hebrew origin in Yiddish12. Thus, the WH given names Yitzkhaq, Yehuda, Arye, Yosef would be pronounced in MH as Itzik, Ide, Ari, Yoysef. Furthermore, colloquial forms are quite different from the Hebrew forms, thus, dual names are possible: Itzik-Aizek, Ide-Leyb, AriLeyb, with only the second (Yiddish) name used in informal situations, as well as diminutive forms,
such as Yosi, Yosl. Furthermore, the external nonJewish forms could be used during contacts with gentiles and sometimes in informal situations among the Jews: Izak. Isaac, Leon, Leo, Loew, Lev, etc. The words of Hebrew origin in the Karaite language were pronounced much closer to the Sephardic Hebrew pronunciation, however, a certain distinction, similar to the WH and MH, also existed 13 . Thus, the WH name Noakh was pronounced in the Karaim as Novakh, while Yeshu‘a could be pronounced as Yeshuva. In addition, a certain kinnuy (nickname) could be added to the name14. The kinnuy could be based upon an informal form of the Hebrew name, so the full name would look like “Yoysef, nicknamed Yosl” 15 . In other cases, kinnuy is a hereditary family nickname, like Teumim, Babad etc., or a name, indicating belonging to the priestly line: Levy, Cohen, Segal. The kinnuy can also be a regular nickname, similar to the laqab of the traditional Arabic name16. It was customary in many Hebrew documents and, especially, in the epitaphs, for the name to be preceded by a certain epithet or title, often abbreviated, such as “ התורניeducated in the Torah”, (“ מוהר"ר )=מורנו הרב רביrespected our teacher Rabbi” and followed by an abbreviated blessing formula, such as (“ ז"ל )=זכרונו לברכהhis memory is for blessing” (for a deceased person) or (“ יצ"ו )=ישמרהו צורו וגואלוmay his Rock and Redeemer keep him” (for a living person)17. 3. Naming patterns in epitaphs In this section we will consider naming patterns in the epitaphs of three different ethnic/confessional groups: the Ashkenazi Jews of the Galicia and Podolia regions of Ukraine, the
10
See the Talmud, Gittin. A. Beider, A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names: Their Origins, Structure, Pronunciation, and Migrations (Bergenfield, 2001); A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire (Teaneck, 1993). Beider (2001:1) considers three types of Hebrew given names (1) Biblical names, such as Abraham and David, (2) Talmudic names, such as Aba and Ben Zion, (3) Hebrew names, coined during the Middle Ages, often as calques from other languages, such as Khaim (meaning, “life”, possibly translated from Romanic Vital) and Zeev (meaning “wolf”, possibly, translated from Yiddish Vulf). In addition, there are Greek names, accepted by the Jews, such as Alexander, Kalonimus, and Todros. 12 M.Weinreich. History of the Yiddish Languages (Chicago, 1980). 11
13
M.Altbauer, ‘Al ha-‘ivrit she-bbe-fi karaye Lita we-‘al ha-yyesodot ha-‘ivriyot she-bbi-lshonam, Leshonenu, 21, pp. 117-126 (1957), 22, pp. 258265 (1958) 14 The concept of kinnuy and the term itself is, apparently, borrowed from the similar concept of kunya of the Arabic name. 15 Weinreich 1980:271 16 Laqabs (laqomho) derived from Hebrew, Iranian (Tajik), and Turkic (Uzbek) roots were used by the Bukharan Jews of the Central Asia, and many of them became a basis for family names (Y. Murdakhayev and I. Kalontarov, Bukharian Jews’ Nicknames, New York, 2002). . 17 Nosonovsky 2006:53-56
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Karaite Jews of Halicz, and the Karaite Jews in the Crimea18. 3.1. Ashkenazi epitaphs The given names in Ashkenazi epitaphs constitute two groups: names of Hebrew origin (mostly, Biblical) and non-Hebrew names, such as Yiddish, Karaim, or borrowed by the Jews from co-territorial languages. The Yiddish names are usually of Germanic or Slavic origin, sometimes also of Roman, Greek, etc. Male names generally belong to the first group, while among female names there many those of non-Hebrew origin. Dual names are very widely spread among the Ashkenazi Jews, and often the second name is a popular form of the first Hebrew name ליב- אריחArye-Leyb (“lion” in Hebrew and Yiddish), הירש- צביTzevi-Hirsh (“deer” in Hebrew and Yiddish), פייגע- צפורהTsipora-Feyga (“bird” in Hebrew and Yiddish), וואלף- זאבZeev-Vulf (“wolf’ in Hebrew and Yiddish), אייזיק- יצחקIsaac-Ayzek, מענדיל- מנחםMenakhem-Mendl (sound similarly), לייב- יהודהYehuda-Leyb (“lion” is a symbol of the Judah’s tribe) and so on. We calculated frequency statistics for 724 male and female names found in epitaphs from the Jewish cemeteries of Satanov (Podolia), Busk (Galicia) and Vishnevets (Volhynia). The most common male names are משהMoyshe/Moses (8%), קחצי Itzkhok/Isaac (7%), םהרבא Avrom/Abraham (5.5%), יוסףYoysef/Joseph (4.5%), רזעילא Eliezer (4.5%), המלש Sheloymo/Solomon (4.5%), יעקבYakov/Jacob (3.5%), לארשיIsrael (3.5%), הדוהיYehuda/Juda (3%). All these names are of Biblical Hebrew origin. Most frequent female names are הנחKhana (8%), לחרRokhal/Rachel (5%), האלLea (5%), הרש Soro/Sarah (5%), אליבBeyla (5%), רתסאEsther (4%), אגיפFeyga (4%), היחKhaya (3%), הקבר Rivka/Rebecca (3%), לזירReyzl (3%). Of these 10 names, 7 are of Biblical Hebrew origin, Feyge and Reyzl are of Germanic origin, and Beyle is apparently of Slavic origin (meaning “white”,
18
The Ashkenazi epitaphs from Galicia and Podolia were collected systematically in 19901991 by expeditions of St. Petersburg Jewish University, in which the author took an active role (Nosonovsky 2006:21-27). The Karaite inscriptions from Halicz are discussed based on the literature sources. The Karaite inscriptions from the Crimea are discussed based on field trips in 2004-2005 (Nosonovsky 2006:163-177) and literature sources.
alternatively may be explained from Romanic bela “beauty”)19. Women’s epitaphs often mention husband’s name in addition to father’s name, thus indicating the family ties. Another sign of family ties is indication of belonging to the Cohanim (descendents of Jerusalem Temple priests) and Levyim (secondary priests), such as “ הכוהןthe priest”, כ"ץ כוהן צדק“Katz, Righteous Cohen”, “ הלויLevy”, “ סג"ל סגן לוייםdescendent of Levy”. These hereditary titles often became family names in the 19th century. Most Russian and Polish Jews received family names only in the 19th century. It was a government’s official requirement to obtain a family name; however, these names were not used in the internal documents of the communities until the very end of the 19th century or even later, so they are not mentioned also in the epitaphs. At the same time, some families of “noble’ origin, such as the Rabbis’ dynasties, had had family nicknames. These “nicknames” may be mentioned in the epitaphs. Thus, in Buchach we find Ashkenazi (1612; 1648 CE), Yafe (1642), Kahane (17th-18th century), Margolis (1729), Friedman (1736); in Bolehov – Horovitz (1739). The family names are used also in epitaphs from Podolia: Babad (1750, 1775, 1744), Teumim (1809), Blokh (1789), Shor (1815), Yafe (1773 CE), Rapoport (1840, 1823), Margolis (1828), Getz (1737), Landa (1740), Shapira (1766), Khaes (18th century), Shterkberger (1766). Jewish family names were often derived from a name of a place, from which the person originated or from his function in a community. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between a family name received from a parent and a personal nickname, especially with names like שו"ב)=שוחט ( ובודקShuv (“butcher and inspector [of ritual purity of meat]”, Bh-29.2), ( ש"ץ)=שליח צבורShatz (“a messenger of the community”, St-2.9.1) meaning a cantor in a synagogue, נאמןNeeman (“responsible”). Since family names were used mostly by non-Jewish authorities, they rarely appear in the epitaphs until the 20th century. In some cemeteries in Galicia, however, family names appear on the 19
It is interesting to compare this data with the list of most common Ashkenazi names by A. Beider (2001:17-19). His list is quite similar, however, he mentions also Shmuel, and Mordecai, but dos not mention Eliezer and Israel among male names. Among female names he mentions also Judith, Tzippora, Miryam, Gute, Sheyna, Freyda, Golda and Malka.
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backside of a tombstone, sometimes with a number of the tombstone and a year. In these cases, names serve for external identification of a tombstone and not as a part of a traditional epitaph. Summarizing, we did not find any specific Turkic features in naming patterns of the Ashkenazi epitaphs. These patterns in the Ukraine region, which had been under the Ottoman influence for several centuries, are not different from general naming patterns of the Ashkenazi Jews in other regions of Eastern Europe. 3.2. Karaites in Halicz The Karaite cemetery of Halicz was documented in 1997-2000 by Yurchenko et al.20, who published texts of 107 epitaphs out of 219 monuments extent at the cemetery, covering the period from the middle of the 18th century until the end of the 20th century. The epitaphs are in Hebrew, however, the name and date are often repeated in Polish, especially in the inscriptions of the first half of the 20th century. In this case, the name is often presented in Polish in its “external”, polonized form, for example, in the Hebrew text מנוחהMenukha, while in the Polish text Mincia Ickowicz21. Practically all male deceased have a Hebrew name. Some of them, however, have an external non-Hebrew name, which is used in nonHebrew parts of inscriptions: Ignat-Izak (1992), Izidor-Izak (1975), Marek (Mordecai-Shalom, 1973), Marek (1983), Lev (1953), Leon (Shulim, 1958). All these names were borrowed from neighboring languages (Polish, Russian or Ukrainian) and appear in the epitaphs of the Soviet period22. Among 79 Hebrew names mentioned, the most common are יוסףIosef (10 or 13%), שמואל Shmuel (8 or 10%), ישועהEshuva (8 or 10%), שלום Shalom (6 or 8%), זכריהZakharia (6 or 8%), מרדכי Mordecai (6 or 8%), משהMoshe (6 or 8%), יעקב Yakov (4 or 5%), שמחהSimkha (4 or 5%), זרח Zarakh (4 or 5%).
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I. Yurchenko, O. Kefeli, N. Yurchenko, and O. Beregovskiy, Karaims’ke kladovysche bilya Halycha (L’viv-Halych, 2000), in Ukrainian. 21 Yurchenko 2000:179. 22 Halicz is located in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast’ of Ukraine, historically, Eastern Galicia. Before the World War I this territory was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the inter-war period it belonged to Poland, until its occupation by the Soviet Union in 1939. The territory was later a part of the Soviet republic of Ukraine until Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
In the female epitaphs, most names are also of the Hebrew origin. Several polonized names in the “external” appear already in the inscription of the first half of the 20th century: Sabina (1918), Sophis (Shulamit, 1924 and 1943), Domicea (1925 with Dvora, and 1940), Tincia (Estיer, 1931), Mincia (Menukha, 1932), Stephania (Esther, 1944), Helena (Rakhel, 1946), and several more in the epitaphs of the second half of the 20th century. Hebrew female names mentioned 40 times, and the most popular are Shulamit (6 or ), Menukha (5 or ), Rivka (5), Khanna (5), Esther, Rivka, Malka (4), Sarah (3), Rakhel (2), Dvora (2). Family names of Halicz Karaites with the Slavic ending –ovich are mentioned in some Hebrew epitaphs. Their orthography is not consistent, but it tends to be phonetic: מורדקויץ Mordkovich, יצקװיץand אצקװיץ Itskovich, שמואלויץShmuelovich, יוזעפװיץIozefovich, שולימװיץShulimovich, ליאנװיץ, ליעונװיץand לעאנװיץ Leonovich, עשוואויץ, אשבווץand עשבוביץ Eshvovich (from ישועהYeshu‘a) etc 23 . The occasional use of the letters ‘ayin for [e] and ’aleph for [o] could be a result of Yiddish orthography influence. Note also the name שולימװיץShulimovich < שלוםShulem, which may be influenced by Galician Yiddish pronunciation of שלוםShalom as Shulem. To conclude, we did not find any specific Turkic elements in Hebrew epitaphs from Halicz. Most Hebrew names are the same as those of the Ashkenazi Jews, however, some Karaite names are rare among the Ashkenazim (Zarakh, Yeshu‘a, Menukha). The non-Hebrew names, when used by the Karaites in the town, were usually of Slavic (Polish) origin. The specific Karaim Hebrew pronunciation of given names Eshuva, Novakh is reflected in the family names, which are spelled in accordance to the phonetic pronunciation. A remarkable and somewhat unexpected observation is the Yiddish pronunciation, reflected in some of the family names. 3.3. Karaites in Crimea There are two significant Karaite Jewish cemeteries in the Crimea: Çhufut-Qal’eh and Mangoup. The total corpus of inscriptions is still Rather than historical spelling מרדכװיץ, יצחקװיץ, יוספװיץ, ישועװיץ. Note that the letter 23
sade was pronounced in Galicz dialect of the Karaim as [c], unlike [ch] in the Crimea and Trakai. Karaite pronunciation of Hebrew is discussed in Altbauer, 1957, pronunciation of the Karaim language in Musaev, 1964.
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unpublished, so we will present only some occasional observations, based upon our personal impressions of the visits to the cemeteries in 2004 and 2005, without the intention of any complete systematic analysis24. There are up to 10,000 tombstones at the cemetery of Çhufut-Qal’eh. We will mention briefly some typical features of the Çhufut-Qal’eh inscriptions without the intention to give a comprehensive review of the subject. Among these features are an extensive use of various eulogies and chronograms, use of the titles משכיל “educated” 25 and “ ירושלמיJerusalemite” (person, who visited Jerusalem with a pilgrimage) 26 , as 24
The catalogue of epitaphs from Çhufut-Qal’eh is to be published by Prof. D. Shapira and A. Fedorchuk, based on the material collected during the past 10 years. Previous publications of ÇhufutQal’eh inscriptions by A. Firkovich (Sefer Avne Ziqqaron, Vilna, 1872), D. Chwolson (Corpus Inscriptionum Hebraicarum, St. Peterburg, 1882, reprinted by Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, New York, 1974), A.Harkavy (Altjudische Denkmaler aus der Krim, mitgetheilt von Abraham Firkowitsch (1839 - 1872), St. Petersbourg, 1876), I.N.Babalikashvili (“О нескольких еврейскоязычных караимских эпиграфических памятниках из Чуфут-Кале,” Семитологические штудии, 3, Тбилиси: Мецниерба, 1987.), S Szyszman (“Les inscriptions funerales decouvertes par Abraham Firkowicz,” Journal Asiatique, Paris, 1975, pp. 231 – 264) are incomplete and in some cases dubious. These publications are a subject of a controversy and intensive argument, which lasts for more than 130 years, however, this topic is beyond the scope of our present investigation (see Nosonovsky 2006:163-177; A.Федорчук, Новые данные о собирательской деятельности А.С.Фирковича // Материалы Шестой Ежегодной Международной Междисциплинарной конференции по иудаике. – Ч. 2: История еврейского народа. – М., 1999. – С.43-55). The author would like to thank Dr. Shapira and Mr. Fedorchuk for fruitful discussions of Karaite inscriptions. 25 This title, maskil, was rarely used by the Ashkenazi Jews, apparently, because it had a connotation of belonging to Haskala, the antitraditionalist movement of Jewish Enlightenment, which existed in 18-19th century Europe. The same title is also found in the Karaite epitaphs from Halicz. 26 Apparently, under the influence of the Muslim title of Khaja, a person, who visited Mecca with a
well as female names and family names of Turkic or Iranian origin, such as טוכטרTukhtar, סוכהSuka, אגאAga, אפלקKalpa, יבוגנמMangubi, יקופPuki, ינאניסSinani27. It is difficult to distinguish between a Karaite and a Rabbinical epitaph. It has been suggested, that occasionally some Rabbinical (Krymchak) Jews were buried at the cemetery, however, the issue remains a matter of discussion28. The epitaphs with names marked as belonging to the priestly line, ןהכהha-Cohen or יולהha-Levy are certain candidates for being considered as rabbinical29. Mangoup-Kale (Theodoro, Doro, BabaDag) was the capital of the Gothic/Alanian Principality of Theodoro and the second most important Crimean Karaite community, which existed since the first half of the 15th century until 1792 CE, when the Karaites were expelled from Mangoup and had to move to Çhufut-Qal’eh. Historians believe that the Ottoman conquest of Theodoro in 1475 CE resulted in the influx of Jews to the castle30. The Mangoup-Kale Karaite Jewish cemetery in the Tabana-Dete (the valley of tanners) was documented by M. Ezer and N. Kashovskaya. The cemetery has several hundreds of tombstones, of which the earliest are dated with
pilgrimage, a Khajj (Hac) جح. It is noted that Muslim titles could be used by the Jews in the region. For example, a Jewish epitaph of 1497 CE from a Muslim village of Alagaz of SharuroDaralagez uezd near Ehegis of the historical region Vayots-Dzora (modern Armenia) mentions “Khawadja Sharaf-el-Din, son of the old Khawadja Sabai” with the title Khawadja derived from the Persian ()ﺨوآﺠﺔ, see [Марр, Н. Я.]. Еврейская надгробная надпись XV века в Эриванской губ. // Христианский Восток. 1912. - Т. 1. - Вып. 3. - С. 253. 27 Firkovich 1872:159, 174, 175, 177, etc. 28 Kizilov, 2003. Unlike in Galich, Çhufut-Qal’eh had neither separate rabbinical cemetery, nor section, nor a synagogue. Burying rabbinical Jews at the Karaite cemetery would contradict the Jewish religious law. 29 For example, Firkovich 1872:159, 167. Interestingly, no priestly descendents are found at the Karaite cemetery in Halicz, where traditional symbol of the cohanim (the so-called priestly blessing gesture) serves as an indication of belonging to Khazzanim, the community leaders (see examples in Yurchenko 2000:74,78). 30 Kizilov, 2003b
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1440s CE31. The epitaphs are similar to those of Chufut-Kale, with a big number of blessing formulas. Here is an epitaph from Mangoup חנוכה ב״ר משה ז״ל נפטר יום א׳ לטבת שנת הש״ט ליצירה ציון הלז של “This sign of Khanuka s[on of] Moses, o[f blessed] m[emory]. Passed away on first day of Tevet, year 5309 from the Creation” (1549 CE). In this inscription, the name Khanuka is quite interesting. This Hebrew name originates from the name of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, which lasts for 8 days, and is presumably given to children, who were born during the holiday. It appears for the first time in a presumably Khazar document from 10th century Kiev, which was published by Pritsak and Golb32. Later, the name appears among the Ashkenazi Jews of Central Europe, in particular, in the 14th century Austria, as well as among some oriental Jewish communities 33 . According to some scholars, the use of this name, along with a similar name Peysakh (meaning Passover, which appears in the same 10th century document) is an indication of the Khazar influence upon the Ashkenazi Jews34. Interestingly, unlike the Rabbinical Jews, the Karaites did not observe the holiday of Chanukah, but the mane Khanuka was used among them. Apparently, the Karaites borrowed this name from rabbinical Jews. In some cases, the form of the Karaite Hebrew names are different, from related Ashkenazi names. Thus, Ashkenazi male name ןמחנNakhman corresponds to Karaite ומחנ Nekhamu, Ashkenazi female name המחנNekhama may correspond to Karaite החונמMenukha (all these four names are derived from the same root “ מחנto comfort”). To conclude, the Karaite Hebrew epitaphs from the Crimea show much more Turkic elements, then the Karaite epitaphs from Halicz or Ashkenazi epitaphs from Ukraine. These elements are mostly in Turkic and oriental given names. At the same time, there are common features between the Karaite epitaphs from the Crimea and Halicz, such as titles and eulogies and particular names, which are different from those of the Ashkenazi Jews. The reason for that is that the Karaite and Ashkenazi Jews had their distinct literature traditions and corpuses of sacred texts, which intersected but did not coincide. 31
M.Ezer and N.Kashovskaya, Catalogue of Epitaphs from Mangoup-Kale (unpublished). 32 Pritsak and N. Golb 1984:14 33 Beider 2001:318 34 Wexler 1993:131.
4. Other Turkic influences Speaking about Turkic elements in the naming patterns, it is interesting also to investigate other Turkic influences upon Hebrew epitaphs. Among them are direct mentions of the Turks, evidences of travel to the Ottoman Empire, and Turkic influences upon the genre of the Hebrew epitaphs. 4.1. Mentions of Turks Studying Ashkenazi epitaphs from Ukraine we found Slavic and Germanic nonHebrew names, but no Turkic elements. However, there are inscriptions, which mention the Turks. Three inscriptions from Satanov 35 (Podolia) bear memory of the wars between the Poles and Turks and Tartars. During which Satanov and its Jewish community were badly damaged. Below is the first inscription: ויעקב איש תם יושב אוהלים שנת השלום לכל ישראל היה איש נחמד למטה ואהוב למעלה...מלחמה באדום וישמעל הקדש חרד יעקב ב"ר משה זצ"ל ט"ו באלול נתבקש בישיבה של מעלה תנצב"ה “’And Jacob is a flawless man, sitting in tents’. Year ‘peace for all Israel’. There was a war of Edom and Ishmael… A man pleasant to the lower ones and loved by the upper ones. Holy R[abbi] R[ebbe] Jacob b. R. Moses, m[emory of] r[ighteous for] b[lessing]. 15 Elul called to the meeting of the Heavenly Court. M[ay his] s[oul be] b[ound in the] b[undle of] l[ife]”36. In the rabbinical literature, “Edom” may mean the Christian world, while “Ishmael” means usually the Muslim world. Two inscriptions mention Rabbi Abraham who was the head of the community before “ מלחמת תוגריםthe war with Turks” or Ishmaelites מלחמת ישמעל: מ הרבקנ הרשכ השא הפ ק״פל ו״קת רדא שדוח שאר הרטפנ ל״צז םהרבא ו״המ ןואגה תב המורפ ומעל ׳רוהו ׳רומ הפ לעמשי תמחלמ םדוק ׳יהש ה״בצנת הרות “Passed away at the New Month of Adar (5)506 (2/21/1746 CE) a[cording to the] M[inor] E[ra]. Here is an appropriate woman buried, Mrs. Fruma daughter of the genius ou[r teacher] R[abbi] Abraham, m[emory of the] r[ighteous for] b[lessing], whe was before the war of Ishmael, here tea[cher] and ins[tructor] for his people in 35
Satanov in modern Khmelnitzky oblast’ of Ukraine. According to the testimony of Nathan Hanover, Satanov was burned by the Tartars in the 17th century (Богдан Хмельницкий, летопись еврея-современника Натана Гановера о событиях в Малороссии за 1648 - 1652 годы, Одесса, 1878). 36 Nosonovsky, 2006:138
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Torah. M[ay her] s[oul be] b[ound in the] b[undle of] l[ife]”37 Again, the word “Ishmael” is used to describe the Muslims, i.e, the Turks. The third inscription follows: עדונ הלעב הורשאיו הינב ומק הרש מ תינברה הרעמה וזב לז םהרבא ומ ןואגה ברה םירעשב לש התמשנו םירגות תמחלמ םרוק ד׳בא וניתולהק הפ ׳הש ה״בצנת ׳ל א״פת טבש ח״ך ןדע ןגל האצי תינברה “In this cave the rabbanit Mrs. Sarah …. Rise her sons and praise her, her husband is known at the gates, the Rabbi, the genius, ou[r teacher] Abraham of b[lessed] m[emory], who was here in our community the H[ead of the] R[abbinical] C[ourt] before the war with Turks. And the soul of the rabbanit went out to the Garden of Eden 28 Shevat (5)481 a[cording to the Minor Era]. M[ay her] s[oul be] b[ound in the] b[undle of] l[ife].”38 Here the word םירגותtugarim is used to describe the Turks. This name originates from Biblical המרגתTogarma (Genesis 10:3), a grandchild of Japheth. The name was later interpreted as the land of Til-Garimmu () in Asia Minor 39 . In Hebrew literature of the 18th-19th centuries the name meant Ottoman Turkey. These inscriptions show, that the Satanov community, although had suffered severely from the events of the 17-18th centuries, still kept continuity and memory of its pre-war life as well as of the war with the Ottoman Turks and Tartars itself. 4.2. Travels to and from the Ottoman Empire There are several accounts in the epitaphs of travels by both the Ashkenazi and Karaite Jews to the Ottoman Empire. An interesting evidence about a woman, who arrived from Istanbul, is found at the Mangoup-Kale Karaite cemetery: ףוגנמ רעב םוזג אובב ואובב קקקמ בולעה קחצי ברה תשא הדוי ימ ימ לאושב תנש רייאל זכ א םוי הרטפנו תרפועב הוכה קפל ךל “Wife of Mr. … Isaac from the H[oly] C[ongregation of] I[stanbul] when the militants came to the city of Mangoup, they hit her with a lead, and she died on Sunday 27th Iyyar, year ‘who
is greatful to you’ a[cording to the] M[inor] E[ra]40“ Apparently, the woman or her husband were born in Istanbul and came to Mangoup. She was hit by a lead bullet during an attack on the castle. Interestingly, the name of Istanbul ( הטשוקin Hebrew) was used so often that the special abbreviation “ ק״קקthe holy congregation of Istanbul” applied. Another interesting evidence is a story of a descendent from an Ashkenazi rabbinical family Malka Babad from Brody41 (Galicia). Her epitaph at the Brody cemetery says: “Joined her people for the distress of the soul of her husband on Wednesday 8 Kislev (5)595 (12/10/1834 CE). This is tombstone monument of a woman whose ways are the ways of good, honest in her nice deeds, source of pure water, eternal hills with nice seedlings, loved a lot by the Lord Mrs. Malka, b. of the outstanding Mr. Isaac Babad of b[lessed] m[emory], his r[est is in] h[onor] in the holy land, m[ay it be rebuild] q[uickly] i[n our days], a[men]. In her young years she ignored pleasures of the world, and took her soul in her palm to swim in a great fleet, to go the place of Beth El. But the Lord told: ‘Return to your place! At the place where you were born, there you will be buried. But there is merit in your deeds’. Her intentions and trends are desirable. She will eat and be satisfied from the fruits of her doings, and at the end of days will rise for her fate”42 An engraved image of a ship upon her tombstone should be specially noted. Malka Babad with her father, Rabbi Yitzkhok Babad, visited in 1811 CE Palestine, which was a part of the Ottoman Empire, and tried to settle there, apparently in the city of Safed, among several very religious Galician Jews 43 . However, later, after the death of her father, she returned to Brody where she was buried in 1834. Travels to Palestine and contacts with the Ottoman Jews were quite common for the Ukraine Jews, so it is not surprisingly that these travels are mentioned in the epitaphs. 4.3. Turkic influences upon the genre of the epitaph
40
37
Ibid. Nosonovsky, 2006:139 39 The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody, 2000), p.1062. 38
Year 5389 (1629 CE) according to Ezer and Kashovskaya. 41 In L’viv oblast’ of Ukraine. 42 Nosonovsky 2006:129 43 A.Morgenshtern, 1993, “Mi-Brody le-’Eretz Yisra’el wa-khazara,” Tziyon (5753), 1, pp 107 113 (Hebrew).
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Another interesting example of JudeoTurkic encounters in Ukraine, the traces of which are found in the epitaphs, is a possible influence of Ottoman folk poetry upon the genre of the Hebrew epitaph. Many Hebrew epitaphs are versed and these poetic epitaphs are related to the traditional genre of Hebrew poetry called the הניקqina (elegy). Hebrew elegies, which often express hope for the messianic redemption, are quite typical for both the Rabbinical and Karaite liturgical poetry44. The Karaite poet and Derażne community leader Khazzan Joseph ben Jesh‘ua was apparently the first author (at least in Poland/Lithuania), who started to write the elegies in the Karaim language 45 . These poems, which were popular among the Karaites, followed rhyming patterns, typical for the Hebrew poetry 46 . That was rabbinical, cabbalistic poetry, which followed the pattern, created in the 16th century by Rabbi Israel Najara from Safed (Palestine) and his school. The poetry of the Najara’s school became quickly extremely popular among the Jews in various countries of the Middle East and, partially, in Europe. One of the main factors, which caused this poetic school to flourish in the late 1500-s – 1600-s was the influence of Ottoman folk poetry47. Many of their poems were renderings of popular Turkic songs with new, religious Hebrew lyric. Najara was the first poet, who adopted the traditional oriental systems of maqam for the Hebrew poetry, which he borrowed from the Turks. We do not have evidence on the usage of the maqam system by the Karaites, however, there are evidences of this system being extremely popular with other Jewish communities in Turkic lands, following the spread of the Najara Hebrew 44
See L.J.Weinberger, Rabbanite and Karaite Poetry in South-Eastern Europe, Cincinnati, 1991, Pp. 14-15; L.J.Weinberger, “Note on Karaite Adaptations of Rabbinical Prayers,” Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 74. – No. 3 (1984), pp. 267-279. 45 M. Nosonovsky, “The Karaite Community in Derazhnia and its Destruction,” Shvut (1997), pp. 206-212. 46 J. Grzegorzewski (Op. cit, s. 275) wrote: “These poems involve a lot of usual rhyme-making, to which the Karaite poets had attraction as those who learned from Hebrew texts. The author had enough feelings, but not enough poetic technique.” 47 About the influence of Turkic folk-songs on the cabbalist and poet from Safed I. Najara (c. 15401620) and his followers, see A. Tietze and J. Yahalom. Ottoman Melodies and Hebrew Hymns, Budapest, 1995.
poetry. Thus, the maqam (maqom or shashmaqom) became the dominant genre of musical activity of the Bukharan Jews in the Central Asia. It may be assumed, that it was this trend in the contemporary Hebrew poetry, which linked the poetry of Jewish redemption with the popular Turkic songs that influenced Joseph ben Jesh‘ua’s decision to render his elegies in the Karaim language 48 . Although there was no direct influence of the Turkic folk poetry upon the Hebrew epitaphs, there was an indirect effect upon the Hebrew genre of religious elegies, which in turn, affected the epitaphs. 5. Conclusions We studied Turkic influences upon Ashkenazi and Karaite Hebrew epitaphs from Ukraine. First, we investigated naming patterns of the two groups. We found no Turkic influence upon the Ashkenazi names, a certain influence upon Halicz Karaite names (mostly in titles which precede the names) and a significant influence upon the Crimean Karaites, both in terms of given and family names, as well as titles. Then we investigated direct references to the Ottoman Empire in the epitaphs, and found that such references are quite common both in the Ashkenazi epitaphs from Podolia and in the Karaite epitaphs from the Crimea. These references include travels to and from the Ottoman Empire, mentions of the wars between the Poles and the Turks, and, less obviously, a possible influence of Turkic folk poetry upon the genre of Hebrew elegy, and, therefore, upon the epitaphs found in the funeral epigraphy. This all shows that the region to the north of the Black Sea was a zone of Ottoman cultural influences, which affected the Jewish culture there. Although the Hebrew epitaphs are quite an unusual source for the study of these influences, a comparative study of the Ashkenazi and Karaite tombstone inscriptions may provide new insights on the cultural interaction in the region, which was among the primary interests of the late professor Omeljan Pritsak. 48
An additional evidence of this is found in Joseph’s poem Bijler biji, nek cydajsen, which uses the standard formula bijler biji to render Hebrew “the King of kings”. This was a typical contemporary practice; there was an argument on the validity of using this Turkic formula in Hebrew religious poetry (Tietze and Yahalom 1995:28); note also some similarity between Joseph’s Ej, jachsy ol karyndaslar” (“Oh, dear brothers!”) and Ottoman Bre yarenler, bre yoldaslar (“Oh, friends, oh comrades!”) used by Najara (Tietze and Yahalom, 1995:89).
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