A Study Of The Traditions And Ceremonies Of The Jews Of Bukhara

Authors

  • Jamoliddin KARIMOV

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.57033/mijournals-2026-9-0224

Keywords:

Bukharan Jews, Judaism, Central Asia, synagogue, Sabbath, brit milah, bar mitzvah, kiddushin, ketubah, ceremonies, traditions

Abstract

This article studies the religious traditions and ceremonies of the Jews of Bukhara, one of the oldest Jewish communities of Central Asia. On the basis of field research and a wide range of Jewish, Russian, Turkish, and Western scholarly sources, it examines the Sabbath and daily prayers, the annual festivals, and the life-cycle ceremonies – circumcision (brit milah), the naming of children, bar mitzvah, marriage (kiddushin and ketubah), and the rites surrounding death – showing how the Bukharan Jews preserved normative Jewish practice while developing local features of their own.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Abdulboriy, F. (n.d.). Yawm al-qiyama bayna al-islam wa-l-masihiyya wa-l-yahudiyya. Dar al-Afaq al-Arabiyya.

2. Amitin-Shapiro, Z. L. (2014). Ocherk pravovogo byta sredneaziatskikh evreev [An essay on the legal life of the Central Asian Jews]. Knizhniki.

3. Arık, D. (2005). The Jews of Bukhara. Kitabci.

4. Birnbaum, P. (1991). Encyclopedia of Jewish concepts. Hebrew Publishing Company.

5. Cooper, A. (2000). Negotiating identity in the context of diaspora, dispersion, and reunion: The Bukharan Jews and Jewish peoplehood. Columbia University.

6. Cooper, A. (2003). Feasting, memorializing, praying, and remaining Jewish in the Soviet Union: The case of the Bukharan Jews. In Jewish life after the USSR. Indiana University Press.

7. Dymshits, V. (1997). Facing west: Oriental Jews of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Amsterdam.

8. Al-Fayyumi, Sa’adia. (1882). Al-Amanat wa-l-i‘tiqadat. Leiden.

9. Field research. (n.d.). Interview with the leader of the Khal-Yahudi Jewish religious community. 367 E-ISSN 3069-8375 Vol. 9, (Issue 2/2026)

10. Firestone, R. (n.d.). Understanding Judaism. Istanbul.

11. Genesis 1:28; 2:16–17; 2:18; 3:3; Psalm 89:4. (1996). In The Bible. The Society for the Translation of the Bible.

12. Karimov, J. (2017a). Bar mitzvah. In Dictionary of religious studies (Z. Islamov, Ed.). Imam Bukhari International Center.

13. Karimov, J. (2017b). Brit milah. In Dictionary of religious studies (Z. Islamov, Ed.). Imam Bukhari International Center.

14. Karimov, J. (2017c). Kiddushin; Ketubah. In Dictionary of religious studies. Imam Bukhari International Center.

15. Kitsur Shulchan Aruch [Galakha] (Y. Veksler, Comp. & Trans.; Part IV: Shabbat). (1994). Shamir.

16. Mezuza. (n.d.). In Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia. https://eleven.co.il/judaism/ commandments-and-precepts/12683/

17. Mukhamedov, Sh. (2007). Bukharskie evrei (voprosy religii, istorii, prazdniki i obychai) [The Bukharan Jews: Questions of religion, history, festivals, and customs]. Bukhara Publishing House.

18. Neusner, J. (2000). The Routledge dictionary of Judaism. Routledge.

19. Patai, R. (1997). Jadid al-Islam: The Jewish new Muslims of Meshhed. Wayne State University Press.

20. Pilkington, S. M. (1999). Religii mira: Iudaizm [Religions of the world: Judaism]. FAIR- PRESS.

21. Taşpınar, İ. (2003). According to Jewish sources, the belief in the Hereafter in Judaism. Gelenek Yayınları.

22. Vikhnovich, V. L. (2006). Iudaizm [Judaism]. Piter. 368 E-ISSN 3069-8375

Downloads

Published

2026-06-22

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

A Study Of The Traditions And Ceremonies Of The Jews Of Bukhara. (2026). The Journal of Interdisciplinary Human Studies, 2(9), 224-234. https://doi.org/10.57033/mijournals-2026-9-0224