Page 233 - Peamim 136

In This Issue This issue of Pe`amim, devoted to the Jews of
Bukhara and Afghanistan, appears under the
auspices of the Center for the Study of the Jews
of Bukhara in the Ben-Zvi Institute.

The article by Yaacov Roi portrays the religious
life of the Bukharan Jewish community from
the end of World War II down to the end of
the Soviet period. It is based mainly on two
categories of sources which complement each
other although they are essentially different: On
the one hand, Soviet archival documentation
that has the advantage of having been written
down in true time; and, on the other hand,
interviews with members of the community
who were active in maintaining and preserving
Jewish frameworks, traditions and customs in the
various cities of Central Asia. By blending the two
the article seeks to give a comprehensive picture
of the endeavors of Bukaran Jews to retain as
far as possible the nucleus of their Judaism in
face of all constraints – the active pressure of
the authorities and the demands of Soviet-style
modernization – and to analyze the measure of
their success. (A previous version of the article
appeared in English.)
Prof.Yaacov Roi is profesor emeritus of history
at Tel-Aviv University.

The article by Tsila Zan-bar Tsur examines two
important rituals in the life cycle of Afghan Jews
from a functional and symbolic point of view:
birth and death ceremonies. The information is
based on field work that was carried out among
Afghan Jews in Israel, as well as on ethnographic

In This Issue V