For a Jewish community that once lived at the crossroads of the Old World, halfway between the Middle East and Far East, so much has been written, but so little of it is known among its youngest members. A decade ago my friend Imanuel Rybakov connected me to Robert Pinkhasov, a retired urologist who spent most of his time writing articles and books on the history and culture of Bukharian Jews.
The daily life of a typical immigrant retiree does not seem exciting as it rotates around family responsibilities, shopping, doctor appointments, senior center events, and memorial gatherings for deceased friends. English is not their first language and their source of comfort is to share memories of their old home.
Pinkhasov’s calendar has all of these items but he is also a member of Roshnayi, a club of active and retired academics in the Bukharian Jewish community who spend their time writing books and articles on their history. He called me a decade ago to translate a book, Bukharian Jews: An Encyclopedic Reference, which contains short articles on famous individuals, Bukharian Jews in each country and state, religious customs, and a short history.
As most books on Bukharian Jews are written in either Hebrew, Bukhori, and Russian, my translation enabled a younger English-speaking generation to access their heritage. In the decade since then, there has been tremendous progress in English-language programming concerning Bukharian Jews, much of it by three members of my generation from this community who recognize the importance of their work.
Queens College made history as the first college in the country to have classes on Bukharian Jewish culture and language, taught initially by Rybakov. Publishing a book on a community that is little-known beyond Queens was not a source of tremendous income for its author, but more of a historical record that would have been lost had it not been written in English.
In 2011, Rybakov published a study guide on the language of Bukharian Jews, following up in 2014 with a book on Bukharian Jewish merchants. As languages carry the history of a people in their vocabulary, the same can be said about ethnic food. Amnun Kimyagarov’s Classic Central Asian Bukharian Jewish Cuisine & Customs offers recipes with remarks on history and customs.
Manashe Khaimov is a social entrepreneur who balances his work as a professor at Queens College, organizing student activities at the campus Hillel, networking at the Bukharian Jewish Union, and lecturing on his community at various forums. In the example set by Birthright Israel, he organized trips to Uzbekistan for students and young professionals, where they visit shuls, cemeteries, and historic Jewish neighborhoods. During this pandemic, his online courses made Bukharian Jewish history accessible to a worldwide audience.
Likewise for Ruben Shimonov, who grew far from 108th Street in Seattle but it did not diminish his interest in Bukharian history. He also delivers lectures before American audiences and younger members of his community. Khaimov and Shimonov have been recognized by organizations such as the American Sephardi Federation, JDC Entwine, Limmud, and Hillel, which awarded them fellowships and stipends for their work.
In my past decade of teaching American Jewish history at Touro College, I’ve had many Bukharian students who have learned about Haym Solomon, Judah P. Benjamin, Isaac Leeser, Rebecca Gratz, and other historic American Jewish personalities. But how much do they know about their own ancestral history?
This year Touro College approved my proposal to teach a class on Bukharian Jews where I can investigate, find answers, and translate materials on various topics in their history, and share it with students. When did the first Jews arrive in Central Asia? How did they live prior to the arrival of Islam in this region? How did they survive the conquests of the Mongols and Tamerlane? What about the significance of Judeo-Persian poetry? How similar was the situation of the Chala to other crypto-Jews such as the Masshadis of Iran, Falash Mura of Ethiopia, and the Spanish conversos? How quickly did the teachings of Rabbi Yosef Maimon spread among Bukharian Jews?
Such questions only cover the centuries preceding the arrival of the Russian forces in 1865, when Bukharian Jews had the opportunity to reconnect with the Jewish world, establish communities in Israel, built international trade networks, and eventually reestablished themselves in Queens, among other places.
With each week, I hope to share some of my findings in this newspaper, which will become an additional source of information on Bukharian Jews in the English language.
By Sergey Kadinsky
Revealing Bukharian History in English
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