The Ashkenazi Jews claim to have come up from Palestine to Eastern Europe. Is this true? Are the direct descendents of the European Jews the original bible Jews? Or did the Jews integrate with the local population so much that they are basically identical? Or are the Ashkenazis actually the descendents of the warlike Khazars?
2007-01-08 11:09:49 · 6 answers · asked by ihaveissues 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Ashkenazis are Khazars converted to Judaism. In the Bible it says that Ashkenaz is a descendent of Japheth, not Shem, therefore they are not semitic.
2007-01-08 11:18:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Ashkenazi Jews are European Jews, mostly from around Poland and Germany, and the Yiddish language is associated with them. Also, Ashkenaz is supposed to be their ancient word for Germany. They are different from the Sephardic Jews who have a connection to the Iberian peninsula, and are regarded as being more Middle Eastern. But Ashkenazi Jews are also thought to be descendants of Khazar soldiers who were based in Turkish-dominated Eastern European regions.
2007-01-08 19:23:59 · answer #2 · answered by montrealissima 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Originally, there was only one group of Jews, so both Ashkenazim and Sephardim come from that original tribe. Some believe the Ashkenazim came from the Khazars but it is recorded elsewhere that both Ashkenazim and Sephardim are the original Jews of the Bible. Since the Ashkenazim moved far away to a place where not many Jewish traditions were honored, they had to blend in a bit and melt the Jewish traditions and the traditions of the home country together.
2007-01-08 19:14:34 · answer #3 · answered by LadySuri 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Forget the Khazars. Only one tribe of Khazars converted, and they weren't so large. They were gone before any other Jewish community of size made it to Eastern Europe.
From Palestine to Eastern Europe is not the route. The route was more from Palestine to the Mediteranean area, mostly Greece, Italy and Spain. This happened in the first, and second centuries and before.
From Spain to France. From Italy and Greece into the Balcans and Hungary. Also, in the earlier centuries.
When the expulsion from SPain took place, the Jews went up into France and over into Germany (some went to Holland by ship). From there they went to Poland, and eventually into Russia. This was in the 15th and 16th century.
Finally the Jews of Germany mixed in with the Jews from Hungary in the early 19th century, and by then travel was easy enough for everyone to mix together.
About mixing with local people, Jews all over the world have mixed in with local people through a steady trickle of converts. This applies even to, or espescially to, Sephardim. The Yemanite Jews for example, at one point had a shortage of women, so they brought Ethiopian women, converted them, and married them.
The reason people think Ashkenazim are less related to Biblical Jews biologically (which doesn't matter in the least in Judaism, btw) is because they imagine Biblical Jews looked like Arabs. This is by far gleened more from Bible Story Books than Jewish religion. The arabs are beautiful people, but tradition says the tribe of Dan was black, and David King of Israel had red hair. His wife Michal, daughter of King Saul, was blond.
There was a lot of diversity among Jews in the Bible.
2007-01-08 19:30:48 · answer #4 · answered by 0 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
The Jews of eastern Europe didn't Integrate with the local population. They married into there own race or tribe what ever you want to call it.
2007-01-08 19:14:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
They are mostly khazar and slavic or germanic.
2007-01-11 00:54:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋