Language:
English
Year of publication:
2021
Titel der Quelle:
Sephardic Horizons
Angaben zur Quelle:
11,1 (2021)
Keywords:
Halukkah
;
Jews Charities
;
Jews Charities
;
Sephardim History
;
West Indies
Abstract:
Before the rise of Zionism, Jews living in the Land of Israel were supported by the ḥaluqah system. Sephardim played an important role in the collecting and distribution of funds throughout the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. Yet, little is known about the involvement of the Caribbean Sephardim in the ḥaluqah. This paper explores those communities, the Ḥakhamim, and the travel patterns undertaken in order to maintain a Jewish presence in the Land of Israel.A belief exists among Jews that if prayer from Jerusalem ceases for a moment, the world will return to its primeval chaos. In order to ensure that this never happens, no matter how small the population, Jews must be ever-present in the Holy City. Before the fifteenth century, the Jewish population in the Land of Israel was minuscule, nevertheless, significant. After the Expulsion of the Sephardim from Spain and the forced conversions in Portugal, the Jewish presence in Ereṣ Israel (the Land of Israel) increased considerably. Almost simultaneously, the Sephardi diaspora communities developed into economic centers, whether in Europe or in the Americas.The now-neglected Caribbean Sephardi communities were at the forefront of trading and wealth in the eighteenth century. Through their money and influence, the Caribbean Sephardim managed to send continual financial support to the Jews living in the four holy cities. The capital of the Ottoman Empire served as the center of a “far-flung philanthropic network in support of the Jews” in Ereṣ Israel, “linking Jewish communities throughout the empire and beyond, from the Caribbean in the west to India in the east, and from England in the north to Yemen in the south” (Lehmann 1). Rabbinic emissaries were sent throughout the Jewish world, collecting pledges and contributions, which were then sent to Constantinople and distributed to Jerusalem, Safed, Ḥebron, and Tiberias (Lehmann 2)The ḥaluqah was an organized system of collection and distribution of charity funds for Jewish residents in the Land of Israel. Jews from all over the world would donate charity to this cause. The ḥaluqah divided its funds in three equal parts. One part was given to Torah scholars. Another third was given to widows and orphans, and the last third was to pay taxes. This paper will detail the historical accounts of the emissaries, their missions, their plights, and their successes and give a historical account of the Nação in Amsterdam, her daughter communities in the Western hemisphere, and their interactions with Sephardi communities in the Land of Israel. The primary focus will entail a survey of the Caribbean Sephardi communities that played a significant role in the ḥaluqah system.
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