Are the modern Jews Khazars?

Question

I read a book called "The 13th STribe" by Kostler

Answer 1

This topic is interesting, however too Zionistic.

I have not read the book, but your topic has sparked my interest. Thank you.

I was always under the impression, people of Jewish origin were a semetic middle eastern group originating from the Tigris and Euphrates area.

Answer 2

Some are. The Khazars were a nomadic Turkic group, many of whom converted to Judaism, but not all modern Jews are descended from the Khazars nor are all those descended from the Khazars Jewish.

Answer 3

The story about the Khazar king and his conversion to Judaism is from a book called HaKuzari, by Rabbi Judah the Levite. Rabbi Judah claims he convinced the King to convert inadvertantly after engaging in a forced four way debate between himself, a Muslim cleric, a Priest, and a philosopher. The King was impressed by Judah's answers, converted, and made his whole country convert.

Kostler claims many modern Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of the Khazars and not ethnicly Jewish. (According to Jewish law this wouldn't matter at all, as a convert is fully Jewish.)

The problem is it's simply not true for several demonstratable reasons:

1) There are people in Jewish society called Cohanim, or priests, who are descended from the prophet Aaron, Moses' brother. They are given special respect and synagogue honors. There are an equal number of Cohanim per regular Jews among European Jews as there are among the Asian and African Sephardi Jews. AMong a population of mostly converts, one would not find many.

2) THe vast majority of Ashkenazim arrived in Eastern Europe after the expulsion from Spain and massacres in France. This happened after the events in HaKuzari.

3) There were a lot more Jews in Europe than there were Khazars. The Khazars would have been swallowed up in general Jewish society, not replace it. The Khazars were in reality just a few tent dwelling tribes in the BLack Sea area, not a vast empire.

4) In Judaism, famous rabbinical families tend to marry into each other over and over. (An example: The Grand Rabbi of Satmar, Rabbi Aaron is married to the daughter of the Grand Rabbi of Vishnitz. The previous Grand Rabbi of Satmer was also married to the previous Grand Rabbi of Vishnitz's daughter. Rabbi Aaron married his first cousin. This isn't at all unusual.)

The Kuzari story took place during a period called in Judaism, "The Age of RIshonim." (Rishonim were Rabbis who wrote Jewish law into easy to use manuals.) Then like now, the Rabbinical families married into each other and seldom out. If there was a giant influx of distinctive looking converts into the Ashkenazi population of Jews, today we would see the Rabbinical families appearing noticeably different from the average Jews.

(In Chassidic Jewry you CAN see this, but for a different reason. Many of the important families have blond or red hair. Why? CHasidic Rabbinical families marry each other and not other kinds of Jewish rabbinical families, and the founder of CHasidic Judaism, as well as his closest disciple, was Blond. THat is not so common among JEws, though not unheard of. In the important Chassidic families, however, there are a lot of blonds)

Answer 4

Fabulous book, isn't it?

But, doing other studies on it, many of the Khazars did convert to Judaism. Many did not.

I have often laughed when someone says a person (who is from Eastern Europe) looks Jewish. To me, he probably looks Turkish------from the Khazars. There is no ''looks Jewish''-----we are all too diverse.

Answer 5

There is a substantial genetic affiliation between Palestinians and Jews - and the only explanation for this would be for a substantially middle eastern origin for the Jews.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/05/000509003653.htm

Answer 6

sorry but modern DNA evidence have thrown Kostlers theory out the window.