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Jewish Social Studies 10.2 (2004) 80-115



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Reconsidering the Tale of Rabbi Yosef Maman and the Bukharan Jewish Diaspora

An ancient Diaspora group, situated in the heart of Central Asia, disconnected for generations from the wider Jewish world— these exotic and faraway images of the Bukharan Jews, which fill the popular Jewish imagination, have been heavily informed by the writings of historian Avraham Yaari. In three separate books, Yaari tells of the Bukharan Jews' spiritual decay, caused by centuries of isolation from other Jewish communities. And he recounts the dramatic story of their reconnection, facilitated in the late eighteenth century by Rabbi Yosef Maman, an emissary from the Holy Land.

Since the publication of Yaari's works some 60 years ago, scholars and journalists have come to refer to this story of isolation and reunion as a critical chapter in the history of the Bukharan Jews. Indeed, over the years this portrayal has been so widely disseminated that it has been commonly accepted as fact, and Yaari—as the author of the tale—is often no longer cited.1

Close examination of Yaari's narrative, however, reveals that it is woven together from a few fragments of unreliable sources that contradict one another in significant ways. Yaari's methodologically flawed analysis of the documents seriously calls into question the factuality of his portrayal of the Bukharan Jews. But more than that, it begs the question of why he chose to portray the history as he did, and why— despite its flaws—the story has been uncritically accepted in both academic and popular discourse. [End Page 80]

In this article, I suggest that Yaari's history is strongly informed by a paradigmatic approach to the study of Jewish diaspora history,2 which identifies a dominant "Center" and privileges its voice while muting contesting voices by relegating them to marginalized positions. Furthermore, I argue that this story of the Bukharan Jews ought to be re- examined—not only to gain a fuller understanding into the Jewish condition in Central Asia but, more important, to gain more critical insight into the dynamics of Jewish diaspora history in general.

Historical Background

Jews had been living in Central Asia3 for over a millennium prior to Maman's arrival. In fact, historians trace back their presence in the region since the time of the first exile. However, little source material about their situation prior to the 1800s is available, and few scholars have attempted to piece together their early history. Yitzhak Ben-Tsvi, Walter Fischel, and Mikhael Zand are among the few who have undertaken the task, and they structure their narratives around a tale of the Central Asia's Jews' gradual isolation from the wider Jewish world.4

Through the twelfth century, the Jews of Central Asia remained connected to the Babylonian (and later Baghdadi) Jewish academies and communal institutions.5 According to Ben-Tsvi, Fischel, and Zand, those ties were severed in the early thirteenth century, when Genghis Khan's army swept through the region and the Jews, together with their neighbors, faced massive destruction. Some Jewish communities were decimated and others relocated.6 The Jews of Central Asia, from that time onward, are portrayed as cut off from the Jewish centers that had emerged in the Sephardi and Ashkenazi worlds.7

Despite their (supposed) severance from the wider Jewish world, the Jews of Central Asia remained closely connected to the Jews who lived in the territories that would become Iran and Afghanistan. Their liturgy was shared, and they created a common library of Judeo- Persian biblical commentary and poetry.8 Historians note, however, that—as a result of macro-geopolitical changes9—the Jews of Central Asia gradually became isolated from these neighboring communities as well.10 As a result of this isolation, they reached a state that has been described as "ignorance" and "religious dissolution."11

A new chapter of their history was said to have opened as the eighteenth century drew to a close. At that moment, historians introduce Yosef Maman on...

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