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My ancestors came from Spain after 1492 when the persecution of Jews took place [see Expulsion of the Jews from Spain] [1]. They traveled along the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, passed through Greece and arrived in the Ottoman Empire. Then they gradually moved north and settled in present-day Bulgaria. [During the Sephardi settlement, the whole Balkan, including both Greece and Bulgaria, were integral parts of the Ottoman Empire.] But before that, in the ancient times, before the settlement of the Slavs and the proto-Bulgarians, in the times of the Roman Empire, there were Jews here already, who had come from the ancient Jewish land: Israel. There were such colonies in Plovdiv, along the Danube River, Nikopol, Silistra, and other places. This has been proven by a number of documented archaeological excavations. At the time the Turkish Sultan was far-sighted and accepted them, because they carried the contemporary European culture, crafts and new science. They came with a lot of doctors and other Jews with knowledge and abilities, which were useful for the Ottoman Empire.
Most of those Jews were doctors, craftsmen, and merchants, who had strong connections established with the West, although they had been subjected to humiliation and had actually been banished from Spain. But they had connections throughout Europe, because of the trade business. This was appreciated by the Turkish [Ottoman] authorities and they were allowed to settle there. That took about ten to fifteen years, so they settled there around 1500-1510. I can’t say exactly when, because I have no documents regarding it. [This was the first wave of Sephardi settlement; others were to follow later on.] They were religious, but we are different from the Jews who lived in Russia and the Baltic countries. We say that we are Sephardim [see Sephardi Jewry] [2], which comes from the ancient name of Spain. [Sefarad means Spain in Hebrew.]
The others are Ashkenazim. The difference lies in the religious traditions, services and also in the way the rabbis dress. Our rabbis dressed as the common people did and couldn’t be distinguished from them. The Ashkenazi and Orthodox Jews wear black hats and have beards, and are easily recognized on the street. [Editor’s note: The Sephardim as well as the Ashkenazim have their own traditional dress code; however, they are different from one another. It’s the degree of modernization which manifests itself in the outlook and clothing.] The Ashkenazim lived in Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. [More exactly until the time of mass emigration (after the late 19th century) Ashkenazim mostly lived in the territories of Germany, the Habsburg and the western parts of the Russian Empire.] They didn’t come from Spain.
Most of those Jews were doctors, craftsmen, and merchants, who had strong connections established with the West, although they had been subjected to humiliation and had actually been banished from Spain. But they had connections throughout Europe, because of the trade business. This was appreciated by the Turkish [Ottoman] authorities and they were allowed to settle there. That took about ten to fifteen years, so they settled there around 1500-1510. I can’t say exactly when, because I have no documents regarding it. [This was the first wave of Sephardi settlement; others were to follow later on.] They were religious, but we are different from the Jews who lived in Russia and the Baltic countries. We say that we are Sephardim [see Sephardi Jewry] [2], which comes from the ancient name of Spain. [Sefarad means Spain in Hebrew.]
The others are Ashkenazim. The difference lies in the religious traditions, services and also in the way the rabbis dress. Our rabbis dressed as the common people did and couldn’t be distinguished from them. The Ashkenazi and Orthodox Jews wear black hats and have beards, and are easily recognized on the street. [Editor’s note: The Sephardim as well as the Ashkenazim have their own traditional dress code; however, they are different from one another. It’s the degree of modernization which manifests itself in the outlook and clothing.] The Ashkenazim lived in Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. [More exactly until the time of mass emigration (after the late 19th century) Ashkenazim mostly lived in the territories of Germany, the Habsburg and the western parts of the Russian Empire.] They didn’t come from Spain.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Leon Seliktar