The level of income did not really matter. At one time or another, someone was always better off than the others, and then, the luck would move on, and you change places. All you could do, in rare cases, is to buy a little time and, all that extra time could do is to prolong the agony. The real escape from the adversity was never in the cards. Nothing was a clear cut. You were chosen. Remember? If the Jewish disaster struck, all of the Jews had to donate to the losses. That was the most important rule for the Jewish tragedy, and the favors, deviations or the exemptions were not offered nor tolerated. Only the lucky ones would be in the wrong place when the newly created catastrophe stormed through. But, it did not mean that these lucky ones had escaped the consequences, and the catastrophe will let them go. All it meant that the misfortune would get them later and maybe hit somewhat harder, like a slap on the wrist. Who could really tell what misfortune had in store for a family of Jews? It could be anything or much more. In Jewish life, trouble was the only permanent thing you could always rely on. Just wait long enough, and it will come.
On his mother’s side, somewhere in the eighteenth century, someone met someone else, a man or a woman, who was a Bukharan Jew. Maybe a Khazar? Maybe. What other Jews were there at the time? Well, in the distant past. He/she probably was a nice person, but what do we know of the Khazars? This is what we know, and one would not fill too many books with it. The Khazars came from the Medieval Kingdom of Khazaria, 652–1016. We know that over a thousand years ago or so, the far east of Europe (Eastern Russia now) was ruled by the Jewish Kings that presided over the copious tribes, including their own tribe — the Turkic Khazars. Interesting is not it. Did anyone say, Slaves? Who were they, the Khazars? Where did they come from? That is what we still need to find out, but we have some ideas. We know some, and we do not know even more. Was that the lost Jewish tribe mentioned in the Torah and so many other places? How could one misplace the whole tribe without a trace? Maybe this is the trace, the missing link? Maybe they were wandering around the Black Sea for a few hundred years and then, arrived in Khazaria? Maybe they were living there for a while before the area became known as Khazaria? There are legends in the Jewish, Russian, and the Eastern folklore. There are many legends and colorful folklore. In short, they were known and well. The Russian warlords were fighting the Jewish Khazars, laughing at them, and taking them lightly, but losing one battle after another. There is no record of Russian winnings, yet it was going on for centuries. Maybe those incidents were on a somewhat smaller scale? The border skirmishes… Who attacked whom and when did it happen? What were the Russians back then? What happened to the Slaves? Who was fighting whom and who was the winner in the end? There was a historical, but not very conclusive material available from the digs and researches, but we still rely on guesses and speculations. Records are so incomplete, scares and possibly modified. By whom? By whoever was writing the history at the time. The history was twisted and twisted again, and again, and again, and came out the way we know it now. Sometimes it sounds way too strange and even questionable, but do we know it any better? So, we have to take it the way it is and just keep digging.
In many cases, guesses and speculations were more reliable than investigations. Still, we keep digging for facts, and that fascinates us more and more. The thrill of searching, searching for truth, if possible. The look in the past, the adventure of the pursuit, and the excitement of the find. We know it makes the difference, and this was important for us and for those who briefly crossed our paths before us. They were a part of us in so many ways. Would we be us if not for them? They have existed, and we were connected, maybe more than we think. They gave us a piece of us, and that is why they were remembered. We came from them, our ancestry.
After the conversion to Judaism (or maybe they were Jews, to begin with, and that is likely), the Khazar people had employed the Jewish names, and customs. Or, they had it all ready? They spoke and wrote in Hebrew or its variations — jargons, were circumcised as all Semites did have synagogues, and the Rabbis studied and cherished Torah and the Talmud. So, did they convert, or that was the heritage? One could easily change the religion, but the heritage… How do you do that? How do you become someone else to the core? How do you change the customs, the traditions, the likes, and dislikes, the way you live? I doubt if you can do it at all. They observed all Jewish holidays such as Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Passover, Counting the Omer, Shavuot, Sukkoth, Purim, and the Sabbath, and the rest of them as well. They enjoyed the Jewish music and food. They were very Jewish Jews. At the time, Khazars were an advanced civilization, and one of the most tolerant societies of the medieval period. It could be the well-missed best part of the medieval period we don’t know much about.
We know that Khazaria welcomed and willingly hosted the merchants and the craftsmen from all over Asia and Europe. It was a desirable destination, and everyone wanted to trade with the Khazars. That was a good trade. The Khazars were skilled in science, medicine, crafts, art, architecture, agriculture, weaponry, and war. Khazaria was a prospering place. This kingdom was a jewel amid slowly developing, somewhat backward Muslim kingdoms. It was rich, strong, and powerful, and it definitely influenced the development of the society in that region. And, everyone wanted to conquer it, but not to destroy. The Khazars were too precious to be killed or just enslaved. That was not a good policy, and the conquerors of the time had realized it fast. They were brutal but never stupid. Even the bloodiest butchers of the time understood that the Khazars had to be incorporated into any other society, almost willingly, to survive, and to satisfy the newly emerging powers. And, new powers were emerging rapidly and always with a bang. That was the time of permanent turbulence. Something was brewing somewhere all the time. So, what happened to the Khazars? Could that be Islam? Another big accomplishment of the false prophet? Possible, but unlikely. For hundreds of years, Khazars had the monotheistic, one-god, religion already, and Islam was only making its way in, but it did not carry anything new for the Jews. Actually, Islam was offering less, and it was more mystical thus, not as much desirable. Islam could not compete with them, not yet.
Could that be the Mongols and the Tatars? The timing was right. Could the Khazars become the Mongols or the Tatars? When did it happen? How? Did they integrate completely with one of those cultures or both? Were both cultures so flexible to allow for that? Was that how the Mongols and the Tatars were able to rule the known world for five hundred years? Was that the secret of such a bloody success? Then, they paved the way for the Ottoman Empire and another bloody success. It could very well be, but we do not know that for sure. Anything was possible if God was willing. Boruch Hashem! (Hebrew: Praised be God!). Allahu Akbar! (Arabic: Allah is the Greatest!). Mirtseshem! (Hebrew: God willing.). Inshallah! (Arabic: God willing.).