Community Magazine November 2019

32 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Family Life In Aleppo, a great deal of importance was ascribed to social status. The highest social stratum was occupied by the families of rabbis and Torah scholars, and of rich philanthropists who supported Torah and charity institutions. Families remained in the same social status for generations, and marital connections were rarely made outside one’s social standing. The family usually consisted of three generations living in one home. A number of families lived in homes surrounding a common courtyard. Most of the routine daily activities, such as cooking and laundry, took place in this courtyard. The children were trained to obey their elders and to give respect to their father. The wife ran the household. Only the daughters of the poor worked outside the home, as domestic helpers in the homes of the rich. The man of the house would shop at the market and have the purchases delivered to his home. The wealthy would send a servant to do the shopping. Marriages were usually arranged within the extended family. Once the conditions of the marriage contract werewritten and signed, therewas a series of reciprocal visits, dinners, and gift-giving between the two families, accompanied by great ceremony and fanfare ( Source: Shoshana Zonshine). The weddings took place on Friday afternoons in the courtyard of the groom's family. The young couple usually began their married life living in the home of the groom’s family. Education Well-to-do men would bring a Torah scholar ( hacham ) into the home who would serve as a teacher for the children and would answer any halachic questions that arose in the household. Children began school – the “ kittab ” – at the age of three or four, when they were first taught the Hebrew alphabet followed by the texts of the blessings and prayers, and the weekly Torah portion. The study of Humash began with the Book of Vayikra, and only afterward were they taught Beresheet. The children also studied En Yaakov , a compendium of legends from the Talmud. From the kittab , the children graduated to the next level of their education – Photos courtesy of Beth Hatefutsoth, Photo Archive, Tel Aviv. THE TIMELESS VALUES OF FAMILY, TORAH SCHOLARSHIPAND PRACTICE, AND DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY CONTINUE TO CHARACTERIZE TODAY’S SYRIAN JEWS NO LESS THAN THEY DID CENTURIES AGO. the talmud Torah . At the age of 11, the boys began to study Gemara. They were taught according to the Halab method, which differs from the method used in Europe. Upon completing the talmud Torah , the boys went on to study in the “Midrash,” or yeshiva. Aleppo produced many Torah scholars who were renowned for their brilliance, their sharp analytical skills, and their encompassing knowledge of Torah and its treasures. They were the pride of the community. In 1869, the Alliance Israelite Universelle opened a modern school in Aleppo to improve conditions for the city’s Jews. The curriculum included Torah studies as well as general secular studies, andmany rabbisendorsedthe program and taught religious studies in the school. The rabbis encouraged registering children in the school, and sent their own children to study there. They organized fundraising campaigns in the synagogues and yeshivas for these new schools. Later, however, conflicts arose between the school and the rabbis over differing philosophies. Beginning in the 1880s, economic decline spurred emigration fromAramSoba. Many of the rabbis and Torah scholars of AramSoba moved to Jerusalem, creating a spiritual center there. Communities formed and preserved the traditions of Halab in Manchester, Cairo, Alexandria, New York, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Panama, Sao Paulo, and other places. Today, the descendants of Aleppo’s Jews carry their heritage with a great deal of pride in their history and traditions. Despite being transplanted in geographically and culturally remote regions, and despite the upheavals that have fundamentally changed the way people live, Syrian Jews remain passionate about, and fervently devoted to, their ancient heritage. Thetimeless values of family, Torah scholarship and practice, and dedication to community continue to characterize today’s Syrian Jews no less than they did centuries ago. This commitment will assure the Syrian Jewish community’s continued qualitative and quantitative growth for generations to come, and will cement its stature as one of the greatest communities in the history of the Jewish diaspora. Bab al-Faraj was one of the 9 main gates of the ancient city walls of Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo Old City