Community Magazine November 2019

28 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE A leppo (Halab, or Aram Soba) is the second largest city in Syria, located in the country’s northern region, at the foot of the Tauris Mountains. It is 400 meters above sea level, on the edge of the desert, surrounded by orchards. The summers are hot and dry, and the winters cold, with snow falling every two or three years. Over the years, the city suffered many major calamities, such as earthquakes, famine, and epidemics of cholera, smallpox, plague, and diphtheria. In 1822, a horrendous seismic upheaval caused the destruction of 4,000 buildings. Thousands of people, many of them Jews, died in the epidemic that broke out in its aftermath. The city’s location made it an important strategic crossroad between East and West, and lent it commercial importance for thousands of years. Many caravans of traders passed through this city until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. In 1516, Syria was taken over by the Ottomans, bringing a significant financial and spiritual boon to the Jewish community, as it strengthened its connections with other Jewish centers in the Ottoman Empire. During that era, Halab attracted Jews, mainly Spanish, to the city to deal in commerce. The legal status of the Jews was determined by Islamic law. The Jews, like the Christians, were considered “people of the book,” which meant that their law originated from a true revelation. They were therefore given the freedom to observe their religion, on the condition that they recognized their inferior status and paid a protection tax. By virtue of their inferior status, they were not allowed to build new synagogues, were required to wear clothes of a certain color, and were not permitted to ride on horses or carry weapons. Tedef, Adlib, Ein Tab, Orfa, and Kilz are satellite villages located not far from Aleppo in northern Syria and southern Turkey. The Jews of these communities considered Halab their spiritual and commercial capital. The Spanish Exiles The expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 resulted in a large influx of Spanish Jews in Aleppo, triggering tensions between the newcomers and the mistarvim , the indigenous Jews, who came under pressure to change their traditions. Arguments erupted concerning matters of great religious importance such as the validity of mikvaot , the status of the study hall which shared a roof with the burial Cave of the Righteous, and issues of leadership and law enforcement. The leaders of the Spanish Jews, Rabbis Moshe Kaletz and Eliezer Ben Yochai, wrote to the leading Sephardic rabbis of Tzfat – Rabbis Yosef Karo, Yosef Ben Moshe Tarani, and Yaakov Berav – and to Rabbi Levi Ben Haviv of Jerusalem, asking them to arbitrate and settle the dispute. Eventually, the Spanish Jews of Aleppo asked Rabbi Yosef Karo to come and serve as their rabbi. As he was unable leave Tzfat, Rabbi Karo sent his close disciple and friend, Rabbi Shmuel Laniado (known as the Ba’al Hakelim ), to come and serve as rabbi of the community. The new immigrants from Spain were men of spiritual and organizational stature who contributed to turning Halab into an important Torah center. Rabbinical families such as Laniado, Attia, Kassin, Labaton and others descend fromSpanish exiles who settled in Aleppo. The Spanish rabbis were more accomplished scholars than the local rabbis, creating a rift in the Aleppo community, where the Dayan family, which descended from King David, had served as the religious leaders for many generations. For a period of time, there were two separate communities in Aleppo, until, within several generations, they united under the leadership of the rabbis from the Laniado family. In his book, Nahar Eldahab Fee Tareah Halab ( The Golden River in the History of Halab ), the Aleppan historian Kamel Al-Ghazzi claims that the reason why the Spanish rabbis succeeded in taking the place of the local rabbis was because of their erudition not only in Jewish studies, but also in mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, and medicine. The Francos In the 17 th and 18 th centuries, Jewish merchants from Europe – mostly from Italy, Spain, and France – arrived in Halab to do business. While they intended to stay temporarily, they ended up marrying local Jewish girls and settling permanently in Aram Soba. They were known as “Francos,” or, more honorably, as “Senors Francos.” They enjoyed special legal rights because of their foreign citizenship. They were not under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman government, were exempt from paying taxes, and often served as honorary consuls or representatives for the government of their native country, or for other governments that did not have a consul in Halab. The Francos differed in their traditions and manner of dress. A major controversy erupted in the 1780s, when Rabbi Raphael Laniado, the city’s Chief Rabbi, decided to subject them to the community regulations. The Francos resisted and threatened to sever all ties with the rest of the community. Most of the rabbis SARINA ROFFÉ A Historical Look at LIFE in ALEPPO