Dönmeh
Encyclopedia
Dönmeh refers to a group of crypto-Jews
in the Ottoman Empire
and present-day Turkey
who openly affiliated with Islam
and secretly practiced a form of Judaism
called Sabbateanism. The group originated during and soon after the era of Sabbatai Zevi
, a 17th-century Jewish
kabbalist
who claimed to be the Messiah
and was eventually forced by the Ottoman Sultan
Mehmed IV
to become a Muslim. After Zevi's conversion
, a number of Jews followed him into Islam
and became the Dönmeh. Since the 20th century, many Dönmeh have intermarried with other groups and most have assimilated into Turkish society. Although a few still consider themselves Jews, the Dönmeh are not officially recognized as such by Jewish authorities.
" or avdetî "religious convert" ( ‘awdah 'return'). Members of the group refer to themselves simply as "the Believers" in Hebrew ( ham-Ma'minim),
and continued to practice Jewish rituals covertly. They recognized Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676) as the Jewish Messiah
, observed certain rituals
with similarities to those in Judaism, and prayed in Hebrew
and later in Ladino
. They also observed ritual
s celebrating important events in Zevi's life. They interpreted Zevi's conversion in a Kabbalistic
way.
There are several branches of Dönmehs. The first was the Ismirli, formed in İzmir, Turkey
(Smyrna). The second were the Jakubi, founded by Jacob Querido
(ca. 1650-1690), the nephew of Zevi's wife. Querido claimed to be Zevi's reincarnation and a messiah in his own right. Berechiah Russo, also known as Osman Baba, founded the Karakashi. Missionaries from the Karakashi were active in Poland in the first part of the 18th century and taught Jacob Frank
(1726–1791), who in turn founded the "Frankists", another a non-dönmeh Sabbatian group in eastern Europe
. Yet another group, the Lechli, of Polish descent
, lived in exile in Salonika
(modern Thessaloniki, Greece) and Constantinople
.
The dönmeh played an enormous role on the Young Turk movement, a group of modernist revolutionaries who brought down the Ottoman Empire
. At the time of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
in 1923, some among the Salonika Dönmeh tried to be recognized as non-Muslims to avoid being forced to leave Salonika. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic
in 1922-1923, the dönmeh strongly supported the Republican, pro-Western reforms of Atatürk that tried to restrict the power of the religious establishment and to modernize society. In particular, the Dönmeh were instrumental in establishing trade, industry and culture in the emerging Republic of Turkey, which is partially due to the prominence of Rumeli
immigrants in general and of Thessaloniki in particular in the early Republic years.
Although the dönmeh theoretically practiced endogamy
and thus married only within their own community, mixed-marriage and assimilation began at the end of 19th century. As of the end of 20th century, the dönmeh had integrated fully into Turkish society, and the intermarriage restriction has been largely ignored since the 1960s, except by the Karakashi branch.
An interesting case is the one of Ilgaz Zorlu, a dönmeh publisher who founded Zvi Publishers in 2000 and sought recognition as a Jew, but a Beth Din
refused to recognize his Jewishness without a full conversion. He claimed to have converted in Israel and then filed a lawsuit for changing his religion from Islam to Judaism in his registry records and ID. The court voted in his favor. His acts are seen as controversial by many, particularly due to his cooperation with Muslims like Mehmed Şevket Eygi.
Işık University
, which is the part of the Feyziye Schools Foundation , and Terakki schools were founded originally by the Dönmeh community in Thessaloniki in the last quarter of the 19th century and continued their activities in Istanbul after Greeks captured the city on 9 November 1912
.
, in the newspaper Vatan
he owned, accepted the existence of such groups but claimed that those groups were not following their traditions any more. Then Karakaşzade Rüştü petitioned TBMM, requesting the abolition of some Dönmehs' ongoing immigration from Macedonia
by population exchange.
, Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain
. As evidence of this revival the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv recently published an interview with Leib on the Neo-Sabbatean movement. In addition, Ma'ariv is translating the Neo-Sabbatean writings of Reb Yakov Leib and publishing them as a series of feature articles in their spirituality section. The first of these, "Redemption Through Sin," has already been published.
Donmeh West and its founding by Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain are noted and discussed by Prof. Matt Goldish in the introduction to his book, The Sabbatean Prophets, published by Harvard University Press, as well as by Prof. Wendelin von Winckelstein in his study, Die Odyssee des Aristoteles, where he writes “Eine nachfolgeorganisation existiert heute noch unter dem namen Donmeh West” (“Today a successor organization [to that of Sabbatai Zevi’s original Donmeh] still exists under the name of Donmeh West").
Crypto-Judaism
Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews"...
in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and present-day Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
who openly affiliated with Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and secretly practiced a form of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
called Sabbateanism. The group originated during and soon after the era of Sabbatai Zevi
Sabbatai Zevi
Sabbatai Zevi, , was a Sephardic Rabbi and kabbalist who claimed to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. He was the founder of the Jewish Sabbatean movement...
, a 17th-century Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
kabbalist
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
who claimed to be the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
and was eventually forced by the Ottoman Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...
to become a Muslim. After Zevi's conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
, a number of Jews followed him into Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and became the Dönmeh. Since the 20th century, many Dönmeh have intermarried with other groups and most have assimilated into Turkish society. Although a few still consider themselves Jews, the Dönmeh are not officially recognized as such by Jewish authorities.
Etymology
The Turkish word dönme is from the verbal root dön- which means 'to turn', i.e., "to convert," but in a pejorative sense. They are also called Selânikli "person from ThessalonikiThessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
" or avdetî "religious convert" ( ‘awdah 'return'). Members of the group refer to themselves simply as "the Believers" in Hebrew ( ham-Ma'minim),
History
Despite their conversion to Islam, the Sabbateans secretly remained close to JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and continued to practice Jewish rituals covertly. They recognized Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676) as the Jewish Messiah
Jewish Messiah
Messiah, ; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...
, observed certain rituals
613 mitzvot
The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
with similarities to those in Judaism, and prayed in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
and later in Ladino
Judaeo-Spanish
Judaeo-Spanish , in Israel commonly referred to as Ladino, and known locally as Judezmo, Djudeo-Espanyol, Djudezmo, Djudeo-Kasteyano, Spaniolit and other names, is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish...
. They also observed ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
s celebrating important events in Zevi's life. They interpreted Zevi's conversion in a Kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
way.
There are several branches of Dönmehs. The first was the Ismirli, formed in İzmir, Turkey
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
(Smyrna). The second were the Jakubi, founded by Jacob Querido
Jacob Querido
Jacob Querido was the successor of the self-proclaimed Jewish Messiah Sabbatai Zevi. Born in Thessaloniki, he was the son of Joseph the Philosopher and brother of Jochebed, Shabbatai Zevi's last wife...
(ca. 1650-1690), the nephew of Zevi's wife. Querido claimed to be Zevi's reincarnation and a messiah in his own right. Berechiah Russo, also known as Osman Baba, founded the Karakashi. Missionaries from the Karakashi were active in Poland in the first part of the 18th century and taught Jacob Frank
Jacob Frank
Jacob Frank was an 18th century Jewish religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi and also of the biblical patriarch Jacob...
(1726–1791), who in turn founded the "Frankists", another a non-dönmeh Sabbatian group in eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. Yet another group, the Lechli, of Polish descent
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, lived in exile in Salonika
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
(modern Thessaloniki, Greece) and Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
The dönmeh played an enormous role on the Young Turk movement, a group of modernist revolutionaries who brought down the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. At the time of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
in 1923, some among the Salonika Dönmeh tried to be recognized as non-Muslims to avoid being forced to leave Salonika. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in 1922-1923, the dönmeh strongly supported the Republican, pro-Western reforms of Atatürk that tried to restrict the power of the religious establishment and to modernize society. In particular, the Dönmeh were instrumental in establishing trade, industry and culture in the emerging Republic of Turkey, which is partially due to the prominence of Rumeli
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
immigrants in general and of Thessaloniki in particular in the early Republic years.
Although the dönmeh theoretically practiced endogamy
Endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. A Greek Orthodox Christian endogamist, for example, would require that a marriage be only with another...
and thus married only within their own community, mixed-marriage and assimilation began at the end of 19th century. As of the end of 20th century, the dönmeh had integrated fully into Turkish society, and the intermarriage restriction has been largely ignored since the 1960s, except by the Karakashi branch.
An interesting case is the one of Ilgaz Zorlu, a dönmeh publisher who founded Zvi Publishers in 2000 and sought recognition as a Jew, but a Beth Din
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
refused to recognize his Jewishness without a full conversion. He claimed to have converted in Israel and then filed a lawsuit for changing his religion from Islam to Judaism in his registry records and ID. The court voted in his favor. His acts are seen as controversial by many, particularly due to his cooperation with Muslims like Mehmed Şevket Eygi.
Işık University
Isik University
Işık University is a private university located in Istanbul, Turkey. The university is a part of the Feyziye Schools Foundation which was established in Thessaloniki in 1885.-History:...
, which is the part of the Feyziye Schools Foundation , and Terakki schools were founded originally by the Dönmeh community in Thessaloniki in the last quarter of the 19th century and continued their activities in Istanbul after Greeks captured the city on 9 November 1912
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
.
Notable people of Dönmeh descent
- Azra ErhatAzra ErhatAzra Erhat was a Turkish authoress, archaeologist, academician and translator.-Biography:...
- Cemil Bey
- İsmail Cem İpekçi
- Jacob QueridoJacob QueridoJacob Querido was the successor of the self-proclaimed Jewish Messiah Sabbatai Zevi. Born in Thessaloniki, he was the son of Joseph the Philosopher and brother of Jochebed, Shabbatai Zevi's last wife...
- Mehmet Cavit BeyMehmet Cavit BeyMehmet Cavit Bey, Mehmed Cavid Bey or Mehmed Djavid Bey was an Ottoman Sabbateaneconomist, newspaper editor and leading politician during the last period of the Ottoman Empire. A member of the Committee of Union and Progress , he was part of the Young Turks and had positions in government after...
- Sabiha SertelSabiha SertelSabiha Derviş Sertel was the first professional female journalist and one of the first feminist writers in Turkey with Donmeh ancestry. Educated in a progressive high school, Sertel began writing essays at the age of sixteen on women's rights and social issues...
Mehmet Karakaşzade Rüştü incident
In 1924, Mehmet Karakaşzade Rüştü, who was with Karakash branch, revealed information about Dönmehs, branches and wife-swapping rituals to Vakit newspaper. He also accused Donmehs of lack of patriotism and not having been assimilated into. Discussions spread into other newspapers including the ones owned by Dönmeh groups. Ahmet Emin YalmanAhmet Emin Yalman
Ahmet Emin Yalman , Turkish journalist and author.Ahmet Emin Yalman was born in 1888 in Thessaloniki. He was the founder and for many years the editor of the influential Turkish nationalist newspaper Vatan, the official newspaper of the Committee of Union and Progress....
, in the newspaper Vatan
Vatan
Vatan is a Turkish daily newspaper.A newspaper in Turkey founded in 2002, it is increasingly becoming one of the most popular.As of March 2011, Vatan newspaper had the 15th highest circulation in Turkey at 111,489....
he owned, accepted the existence of such groups but claimed that those groups were not following their traditions any more. Then Karakaşzade Rüştü petitioned TBMM, requesting the abolition of some Dönmehs' ongoing immigration from Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
by population exchange.
Neo-Sabbatean revival
Recently there has been what some are calling a "revival" of Neo-Sabbatean Kabbalah, led by the 75-year old kabbalist and founder of Donmeh WestDonmeh West
Dönmeh West is a non-sectarian, international organization which promotes an original reformulation of Sabbatean and Frankist kabbalah by its founder and leader, Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain...
, Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain
Yakov Leib HaKohain
Yakov Leib HaKohain is a kabbalist, religious philosopher, poet and founder of Donmeh West, a "Virtual Community for the Study and Practice of Neo-Sabbatian Kabbalah"....
. As evidence of this revival the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv recently published an interview with Leib on the Neo-Sabbatean movement. In addition, Ma'ariv is translating the Neo-Sabbatean writings of Reb Yakov Leib and publishing them as a series of feature articles in their spirituality section. The first of these, "Redemption Through Sin," has already been published.
Donmeh West and its founding by Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain are noted and discussed by Prof. Matt Goldish in the introduction to his book, The Sabbatean Prophets, published by Harvard University Press, as well as by Prof. Wendelin von Winckelstein in his study, Die Odyssee des Aristoteles, where he writes “Eine nachfolgeorganisation existiert heute noch unter dem namen Donmeh West” (“Today a successor organization [to that of Sabbatai Zevi’s original Donmeh] still exists under the name of Donmeh West").
See also
- History of the Jews in TurkeyHistory of the Jews in TurkeyTurkish Jews The history of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey covers the 2,400 years that Jews have lived in what is now Turkey. There have been Jewish communities in Asia Minor since at least the 5th century BCE and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed to the...
- ConversoConversoA converso and its feminine form conversa was a Jew or Muslim—or a descendant of Jews or Muslims—who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. Mass conversions once took place under significant government pressure...
- Crypto-Jews
- Jewish Museum of TurkeyJewish Museum of TurkeyJewish Museum of Turkey is a cultural center established by the Quincentennial Foundation to inform the society of the traditions and history of Turkish Jewry. It was inaugurated on November 25, 2001...
- MarranoMarranoMarranos were Jews living in the Iberian peninsula who converted to Christianity rather than be expelled but continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret...
- Judaism and Islam
- Sabbatai ZeviSabbatai ZeviSabbatai Zevi, , was a Sephardic Rabbi and kabbalist who claimed to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. He was the founder of the Jewish Sabbatean movement...
- Jacob FrankJacob FrankJacob Frank was an 18th century Jewish religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi and also of the biblical patriarch Jacob...
- KabbalahKabbalahKabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
- Donmeh WestDonmeh WestDönmeh West is a non-sectarian, international organization which promotes an original reformulation of Sabbatean and Frankist kabbalah by its founder and leader, Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain...
- Yakov Leib HaKohainYakov Leib HaKohainYakov Leib HaKohain is a kabbalist, religious philosopher, poet and founder of Donmeh West, a "Virtual Community for the Study and Practice of Neo-Sabbatian Kabbalah"....
- FrankismFrankismFrankism was an 18th-century to 19th-century Jewish religious movement centered around the leadership of the Jewish Messiah claimant Jacob Frank, who lived from 1726 to 1791. At its height, it claimed perhaps 50,000 followers, primarily Jews living in Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe...
Further reading
- The Dönme Jewish Converts, Muslim Revolutionaries, and Secular Turks by Marc Baer ISBN: 9780804768672
- http://books.google.com/books?id=DrANyYkH0mwC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=The+History+of+Naming+the+Ottoman/Turkish+Sabbatians&source=bl&ots=gQK6Q3F30_&sig=IFT34-UbiC2-aRz9Hj8pVTukHMY&hl=en&ei=5wrxSoSYFMaj8AaH-b2CCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=The%20History%20of%20Naming%20the%20Ottoman%2FTurkish%20Sabbatians&f=false"THE HISTORY OF NAMING THE OTTOMAN/TURKISH SABBATIANS", by CENGIZ SISMAN, in Studies on Istanbul and Beyond ed. by Robert G. Ousterhout, Phila:Upenn Press, 2007]
- The Dönmes: Crypto-Jews under Turkish Rule by Jacob M. Landau Jewish Political Studies Review 19:1-2, Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsJerusalem Center for Public AffairsThe Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel...
- A Scapegoat for All Seasons: The Doenmeh or Crypto-Jews of Turkey by Rifat Bali (Isis Press, 400pgs), a review by Dan Yardeni in Haaretz
- DOENMEH-article in jewish virtual library