| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,200–1,500 (est)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Israel | 1,200[2] |
 Russia | 954 (2021)[3] |
 Ukraine | 406 (2001)[4] |
| Languages | |
| Hebrew,Russian,Krymchak | |
| Religion | |
| Orthodox Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| otherJews, especiallyCrimean Karaites | |
Krymchaks (Krymchak:plural:кърымчахлар,qrımçahlar,singular:кърымчах,qrımçah) are Jewish ethno-religious communities ofCrimea derived fromTurkic-speaking adherents ofRabbinic Judaism.[4] They have historically lived in close proximity to theCrimean Karaites, who followKaraite Judaism.
At firstkrymchak was a Russian descriptive used to differentiate them from theirAshkenazi Jewish coreligionists, as well as other Jewish communities in the formerRussian Empire such as theGeorgian Jews, 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". TheCrimean Tatars referred to them aszuluflı çufutlar ("Jews withpe'ot") to distinguish them from theKaraites, who were calledzulufsız çufutlar ("Jews without pe'ot").[5]
The Krymchaks speak a modified form of theCrimean Tatar language, called theKrymchak language. It is the Jewish patois,[6] orethnolect of Crimean Tatar, which is aKypchak Turkic language. Before theRussian Revolution in 1917, the Krymchaks were at least bilingual: they spoke the Krymchak ethnolect and at the same time mostly usedHebrew for their religious life and for written communication. The Krymchaks adhered to their Turkic patois up toWorld War II, but later began to lose their linguistic identity. Now they are making efforts to revive their language. Many of the linguistic characteristics of the Krymchak language could be found in the Crimean Tatar language. In addition, it contains numerous Hebrew andAramaicloan-words and was traditionally written in Hebrew characters (now it is written inCyrillic script).
The Krymchaks are likely a result of diverse origins whose ancestors probably included Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews, and Jews from the Byzantine empire, Genoa, Georgia, and other places.[7]
Other more speculative theories include that the Krymchaks are probably partially descended from Jewish refugees who settled along theBlack Sea in ancient times. Jewish communities existed in many of theGreek colonies in the region during the late classic period. Recently excavated inscriptions in Crimea have revealed a Jewish presence at least as early as the 1st century BC. In some Crimean towns, monotheistic pagan cults calledsebomenoi theon hypsiston ("Worshippers of the All-Highest God," or "God-Fearers") existed.[8] These quasi-proselytes kept the Jewishcommandments but remained uncircumcised and retained certain pagan customs. Eventually, these sects disappeared as their members adopted eitherChristianity or normativeJudaism. Another theory is that after the suppression ofBar Kokhba's revolt by the emperorHadrian, those Jews who were not executed were exiled to theCrimean peninsula.[citation needed]
The late classical era saw great upheaval in the region as Crimea was occupied byGoths,Huns,Bulgars,Khazars, and other peoples. Jewish merchants such as theRadhanites began to develop extensive contacts in thePontic region during this period, and probably maintained close relations with the proto-Krymchak communities.Khazar dominance of Crimea during theEarly Middle Ages is considered to have had at least a partial impact on Krymchak demographics.
In the late 7th century most of Crimea fell to the Khazars. In the 12th century, RabbiYehuda haLevi wrote a philosophical work known as theKuzari, in which he placed a learned Jew in a long discussion with the Khazar king, who was searching for the religion he would take up. According toKuzari and certain other written sources, some or all of his people followed him into Judaism. In the 20th century, Hungarian Jewish authorArthur Koestler suggested thatAshkenazi Jews descended from this episode. Since then, this theory has reemerged, including by antisemites who seek to deny continuity between ancient Jews with modern Jewish populations.
In 2013, ProfessorShaul Stampfer of the history department of theHebrew University of Jerusalem, argued that Kuzari was never intended to be a true description of the events but merely an allegory using the supposed discussion to explain Jewish philosophy. According to Stampfer, there are no Jewish graveyards, buildings, writings or references in the writings of others to suggest that there was ever any significant Jewish community among the Khazars or their leadership.[9] However, Stampfer's assessment regarding a lack of writings is contradicted by numerous other scholars who have cited wide-ranging medieval documents, some written contemporaneous with Khazaria's existence, beginning in the 860s, that claimed that the conversion was widespread, whether among the ruling classes or the population at large.[10][11][12][13]
During the period of Khazar rule, some degree of intermarriage between Crimean Jews and Khazars could have occurred, but suggestions that the Krymchaks absorbed numerous Khazar refugees during the decline and fall of the Khazar kingdom (or during the Khazarsuccessor state, ruled byGeorgius Tzul, centered inKerch), seem to be fanciful. It is known thatKipchak converts to Judaism existed,[citation needed] and it is possible that from these converts the Krymchaks adopted their distinctive language.
In times when the Crimea belonged to theByzantine Empire and after then, waves ofByzantine Jews settled there. These newcomers were in most cases merchants from Constantinople and brought with them Romaniote Jewish practices (Bonfil 2011).
TheMongol conquerors of thePontic–Caspian steppe were promoters of religious freedom, and theGenoese occupation of southern Crimea (1315–1475) saw rising degrees of Jewish settlement in the region. The Jewish community was divided among those who prayed according to theSephardi, Ashkenazi andRomaniote rites. In 1515 the different traditions were united into a distinctive Krymchak prayer book, which represented the Romaniote rite[14][15] by Rabbi Moshe Ha-Golah, aChief Rabbi ofKiev, who had settled in Crimea.[16]
In the 18th century the community was headed by David Ben Eliezer Lehno (d. 1735), author of the introduction to the "Kaffa" rite prayer book andMishkan David ("Abode of David"), devoted to Hebrew grammar. He was also the author of a monumental Hebrew historical chronicle,Devar sefataim ("Utterance the mouth"), on the history of the Crimean Khanate.
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Under theCrimean Khanate the Jews lived in separate quarters and paid thedhimmi-tax (theJizya). A limited judicial autonomy was granted according to theOttomanmillet system. Overt, violent persecution was extremely rare.
According to anthropologist S.Vaysenberg, "The origin of Krymchaks is lost in the darkness of the ages. Only one thing can be said, that they carry less Turkic blood than the Karaites, although certain kinship between both peoples and the Khazars can hardly be denied. But Krymchaks during theMiddle Ages and modern times constantly mixed with their European counterparts. There was an admixture withItalian Jews from the time of the Genoeses with the arrival of the Lombroso, Pyastro and other families. Cases of intermarriage withRussian Jews occurred in recent times.
There is no general work on theethnography of Krymchaks. The available summary of folklore materials is not complete. Extensiveanthroponimic data has been collected from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but does not cover earlier periods, for which archival material does exist. The study of each of these groups of sources can shed light on the ethnogenesis of the Krymchak ethnic minority.
TheRussian Empireannexed Crimea in 1783. The Krymchaks were thereafter subjected to the same religious persecution imposed on otherJews in Russia. Unlike their Karaite neighbors, the Krymchaks suffered the full brunt of anti-Jewish restrictions.
During the 19th century many Ashkenazim fromUkraine andLithuania began to settle in Crimea. Compared with these Ashkenazim the Krymchaks seemed somewhat backward; their illiteracy rates, for example, were quite high, and they held fast to many superstitions.[citation needed] Intermarriage with the Ashkenazim 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-19th century the Krymchaks became followers ofRabbiChaim Hezekiah Medini, also known by the name of his work the Sedei Chemed, a Sephardi rabbi born inJerusalem who had come to Crimea fromIstanbul. His followers accorded him the title ofgaon. Settling inKarasubazaar, the largest Krymchak community in Crimea, Rabbi Medini spent his life raising their educational standards.
By 1897, the Krymchaks stopped being "the majority of Talmudic Jews on the Crimean Peninsula".[17]
After the Russian Revolution of 1917,civil war tore apart Crimea. Many Krymchaks were killed in the fighting between theRed Army and theWhite Movement. More still died in the famines of the early 1920s and the early 1930s. Many emigrated to theHoly Land, theUnited States andTurkey.
UnderJoseph Stalin, the Krymchaks were forbidden to write in Hebrew and were ordered to employ the Cyrillic alphabet to write their own language.Synagogues andyeshivas were closed by government decree. Krymchaks were compelled to work in factories andcollective farms.
Unlike the Crimean Karaites, the Krymchaks were targeted for annihilation by theNazis following theAxiscapture of Crimea in 1941. Six thousand Krymchaks, almost 75% of their population, were killed duringthe Holocaust. Moreover, upon thereturn ofSoviet authority to the region in 1944, many Krymchaks found themselvesforciblydeported toCentral Asia along withtheir Crimean Tatar neighbors.[18]
By 2000, only about 600 Krymchaks lived in the formerSoviet Union, about half inUkraine and the remainder inGeorgia,Russia, andUzbekistan. Some 600–700 Krymchaks still maintaining their Crimean identity live in Israel,[2] and others in the United States and Canada.
The Krymchaks practice Orthodox or Talmudic Judaism. Their uniquenusah, or prayer book, known as Nusah Kaffa, emerged during the 16th century. Kaffa was a former name of the Crimean city ofFeodosia.[7]
Traditional occupations for the Krymchaks included farming, trade, andviticulture.[7]
The dress and customs of the Krymchaks resembled that of the nearby Karaites and Crimean Tatars.[7]
The Krymchaks considered themselves a distinct group and rarely intermarried with Karaites or the Crimean Tatars. The Krymchaks used to practicepolygamy but then adoptedmonogamy by the late 19th century.[7]
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