Mountain Jews

Presentation by Nathan and Haley

Not to be confused with the delicious beverage. 

Mountain Jews

Where did the Jews Resettle?

The Mountain Jews lived on the Eastern and Northern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains.

Country Where the Jewish Community Existed

The Mountain Jews mainly populated the countries of Azerbaijan and Daghestan. The group traveled east from Persia to settle in Caucasus Mountain area in 5th century AD.

Map of Daghestan and Azerbaijan. 

How did the Native People treat the Jewish People?

Azerbaijan

The Jewish people in Azerbaijan were welcomed warmly in comparison to other nations. Later, Azerbaijan was under communist rule and  Jews’ land was seized by Soviets. In some cases, graves were desecrated by locals who opposed their way of life.

Upper: Map of Azerbaijan

Lower: Jewish Tomb

Daghestan

In Daghestan, Jews were not as lucky. Many of their land was taken by Mohammedans (Followers of the Prophet Muhammad). This group also destroyed Jewish burial places and graves. In some of the country, Jews owned property and were forced to pay high taxes on their land and other goods.

Jewish Man from Daghestan

Laws and
Rules Concerning
Jews...

In many localities in Azerbaijan and Dagestan, Jews were either not allowed to own land or were so heavily taxed that land ownership was impractical.  

Most places allowed the Jewish people to practice their religion even though they usually opposed it.

The jobs that Jews were able to have were limited mostly agriculture.

The restriction to agriculture that was placed on the Jews helped them become good at growing certain crops.

Rice and grain were important to the them.

Grapes were also a staple crop for the Mountain Jews.  

Customs and Traditions

Mountain Jews were exceptional tanners. The tanning of animal hides was one of their main economic activities.

They raised only a few types of animals due to religious restrictions.

The Mountain Jews practiced Jewish holidays as well as ceremonial weddings and burials. 

There was very little integrating with the outside groups as the Mountain Jews practiced endogamy--that is marrying within the limits of the Jewish clan.

What did they Eat?

Like most Jewish cultures, the Mountain Jews followed the food laws of Kashrut. Food that follows these laws is noted to be Kosher. They did not eat pork, shellfish, or insects. The combination of milk and meat was also forbidden.

Even the preparation of an animal to be used for consumption had to follow the laws of Shechita.

Staple foods of the Mountain Jews included Kurz - meat dumplings, Durme - meat wrapped in cabbage, and "miracle" - meat pies.   

The Sarajevo Haggadah is a book that illustrates events in the Torah that was created around year 1350 in Spain.  

Camille Pissarro

Works Cited

http://www.khazaria.com/mountainjews.html

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/42649/mountain-jews

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4847-daghestan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Jews#cite_note-ReferenceA-16

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shechita

http://jtimes.ru/juhuro/culture/2847-chudu-gorskie-pirogi