HISTORY
The source of Jewish religious music dates from the very
early years of the history of the Hebrew tribes, from the times of the
‘Beith Hamigdash, the holy temple of which only the wall remains
today. Incredible similarities have been found between the songs sung
in the Beith Hamigdash and Gregorian tunes. Though no records are
available, just identifying the similarities in the music created by
the Hebrew tribes, which could have had no contact with each other,
such as the Yemenites, the Jews of Persia, Syria or Iraq will support
the hypothesis that a very old tradition has survived over the
millenniums. The hymns repeated on the special religious days, the
Hizum, also have a lot of similarities in the way they are sung by the
Jewish, which were dispersed all around the globe. No constant
communication could be traced between them neither. The hymns repeated
on the sacred days of Yamin Norayim the holy Jewish days of the
beginning of the Hebrew year could be a very good example as to how
tunes show very little variations.
Another point to note in she religious music created by
Jewish people is the special way the passages from the old Testament
are read and sung. The readings have special tunes mostly created by
improvisations and these again have a lot of similarities with respect
to melody end intonation when the ways they are sung among different
groups of Jewish people and compared. Each word is marked and given a
certain musicality. The hymns sung on Shabbat have also been created
by improvisations and Middle Eastern tunes such as Suzinak. Hicaz,
Huzzam, Rast, Huseyni, Nihavend, Acemsiran have widely influenced the
Hazan who composed them.
While reading the Old Testament the Hazan have been
influenced both by the tunes of theMiddle Eastern music and by the
historical Jewish hymns. The prayers of the
Milha, Arvit, Avdala, Musaf and Sahrit are also sung in the tune which
carry the influences of both traditional Jewish music and Middle
Eastern tunes. Though most prayers are in Hebrew some parts are sung
in Ladino, a diversified form of the old Spanish language.
The Perek and the Maftirim hold an important part in
diversity of Jewish religious music. These “unisound” and ‘akapella
songs can be said to be a kind of “Oratorium” sung collectively in
tune. The Maftirim, the choral music performed every Shabbat evening
before the prayers, have a concert like quality. It dates hack to 300
years and is believed to have come to Istanbul from Edirne, its place
of birth. The tradition of the Maftirim is still alive in the
synagogues of Istanbul today. The music of the “Mevlevi” of followers
of the leader Mevlana, a Turkish poet and founder of the mevlevi sect,
has been very influential in the tunes of the Maftirim. Semtov
Sikar, Simon Aftelyon, Yomtov Hazar, Israel Nacar, Kemal Abiyatov,
Ishak Macoro, Izak Algazi are some important names in the wording and
composition of the Maftirim.
TURKISH JEWS
Archeological evidence shows that Jewish presence on Turkish
soil dates back to the 4th century BC. A number of ruins of Jewish
settlements have been found in various regions of Turkey (Southeast,
South, Eastern Black Sea Coast, Central Anatolia, Marmara) and
especially on the Aegean coast. Until the conquest of Istanbul by the
Ottomans in t453, the Jews led a generally difficult life under
Byzantine rule. The first contact of Jews with the Ottoman Turks
occurred in 1326 when Orhan Gazi conquered Bursa. The Etz-Hayim
Synagogue in Bursa was built with the permission of Orhan Gazi and
functioned until the 1940’s.
During the first half of the 14th century, Ashkenazic and
Karaite Jews running away from pogroms in Europe (Hungary. France,
Bohemia, Bavaria, etc.) found refuge in Ottoman territory. In 5454,
Rabbi flak Sarfati of Edirne invited European Jews” ... to find peace
and happiness.., on Turkish soil abundant with God’s blessing...”
On his conquest of Constantinople, Mehmed the Conqueror was
welcomed by Byzantine Jews as a savior. Three days after the conquest.
he sent a letter to Anatolian Jewish communities inviting them to
Istanbul and many Jewish families settled in the new capital.
After the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 5492, the majority
of Sephardic Jews immigrated to Anatolia. Sultan Bayezid II ordered
governors to welcome Sephardic Jews cordially and stated that those
who mistreated the immigrants would be punished by death. The
immigrants settled mainly in Istanbul, Selanik and Edirne.
The Sephardic immigrants skilled in arts, trade, medicine,
printing, production of firearms, dyeing and weaving of textiles and
tanning offered their knowledge and expertise to the service of their
new country. The tolerance of the administration and the native
population on the one hand and the support of the existing Jewish
community on the other hand enabled the immigrants to adapt quickly
to the new environment. Many of them were appointed to important posts
in the fields of foreign affairs and finance.
An important event in the history 0f the Ottoman
Jews occurred in the second half of the 17th century when Sabbatai
Tsevi of Izmir proclaimed himself Messiah and found many followers.
But upon the intervention of Sultan Mehmed IV. his followers converted
to Islam (1666), thereby creating a schism.
The events and disturbances, reform attempts and intellectual
developments during the last 130 years of the Ottoman empire
affected Turkish Jews profoundly. They departed from the pacifism of
the t8th century and participated actively in the political and social
life of their country. Some fanatic and conservative rabbis were
dissatisfied with the cultural and educational improvements that
secular community leaders in contact with the western world were
trying to establish and caused an upheaval resulting in the Regulation
of the Rabbinate dated May 3, 1855.
The first Ottoman Parliament founded in accordance with the
1876 Constitution and the second parliament of 1908 each comprised 5
Jewish members.
The Balkan wars caused many Bulgarian Jews to immigrate to
Edirne and other towns in Thrace. Edirne was one of the main cultural
and trade centers of Turkish Jews for a long period.
In World War I, Jewish soldiers fought in the Ottoman army
and some were killed in Dardanelle. During the War of Independence,
Jews in Bursa, Izmir, various towns of the Aegean and Adana as well as
Istanbul refused to cooperate with the invaders.
Like other minorities, Turkish Jews experienced serious
difficulties during the transition from the canonical Ottoman state to
the nation-state of the Republic. One of them was the compulsion of
all minorities to speak Turkish and adopt the Turkish culture and
ideal. Furthermore, the founders of the Republic also desired the
economy to he controlled by the Muslim majority rather than the
minorities. The most prominent example of this process was Thrace. In
the 1930’s. the region was one the main settlements of Turkish Jews
and dairy production was monopolized by Jewish tradesmen. The aim of
the Settlement Act of June 14, 5934 was to displace ethnic minorities
from regions where they were concentrated so as to facilitate their
assimilation to Turkish culture. Following the act, pillage was
attempted in all towns of Thrace where Jews were concentrated upon the
provocation of anti-Semitic writers. The army and police force
suppressed the upheaval hut the unrest caused Thracian Jews to leave
their towns and settle in Istanbul and many of them did not return
after order was established in the region.
When the Israeli state was founded in 1948 mass emigration of
Turkish Jews caused the Jewish population in Turkey to he reduced by
half. Moat of the emigrants belonged to provincial communities. Today
the Jewish population in Turkey is approximately 25,ooo, with the big
majority in Istanbul and 2000 inhabitants in Izmir.
There are presently 57 functioning synagogues in Istanbul,
the oldest being the Balat Ahrida Synagogue. The Zulfaris Synagogue in
Karakoy is being converted to a museum.
The Jewish communities in Istanbul and Izmir have their
hospitals, various charity organizations and a school in Istanbul.
Jewish publications in the Turkish and Judeospanish language are: the
weekly Salom (since 1947), the monthly Tiryaki (since 1994) and the
monthly Goztepe Kultur (since 1988).
JEWISH RELIGIOUS MUSIC FROM THE FIRST DAYS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE TO
THE PRESENT DAY
Jewish composers were deeply influenced by Ottoman music and
one of the important elements of this influence was their knowledge of
the subtleties of Arabic music dating from their residence in Spain
during the Omayyad reign.
The Jewish poet-musician Yehuda Al Harizi was born in Spain,
traveled to Constantinople in the 1180’s and translated Al Hariri’s
Modes to Hebrew in 1218. His translation of Rules of Philosophy by
Huanin Ibn Ishak deals partly with the therapeutic properties of music
on patients with psychological disorders.
In the hospital founded in Edirne during the reign of Sultan
Bayezid II, mental patients were treated with care and affection and
musical therapy was used. Already in that period, the modes
influential in the cure of certain disorders had been specified.
