Vintage GEORGIAN PASSOVER HAGGADAH Hebrew SEDDER Jewish JUDAICA Georgia ILLUSTR

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Vintage GEORGIAN PASSOVER HAGGADAH Hebrew SEDDER Jewish JUDAICA Georgia ILLUSTR:
$65.00

DESCRIPTION :Here for sale is a v vintage around 35 years old ILLUSTRATED GEORGIAN HAGGADAH SHEL PESSACH which was published in Israel in 1980 ( Dated ) for the use of the Georgian Jews new comers to Israel . Including numerous Georgian commentaries and additions regarding the tradition of Passover - PESSACH and the SEDDER night ceremony. A MUST for every HAGGADAH collector . Original illustrated SC . Around 8 x 5 \" . Around 130 pp . Very good condition. clean. ( Pls look at scan for accurate AS IS images ) .Will be sent inside a protective rigid envelope .
PAYMENTS : Payment method accepted : Paypal .SHIPPMENT : SHIPP worldwide is $15 .Will be sent inside a protective envelope .Handling within 3-5 days after payment. . Estimated duration is 14 days.

The Haggadah (Hebrew: הגדה‎, \"telling\") is a Jewish religious text that sets out the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah is a fulfillment of the scriptural commandment to each Jew to \"tell your son\" about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah. (\"And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. \" Ex. 13:8) According to Jewish tradition the Haggadah was compiled during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods (c. 200 CE-500 CE), although the exact date is unknown. As of 2006, the oldest complete readable manuscript of the Haggadah is found in a prayer book compiled by Saadia Gaon in the 10th Century CE. By the end of the sixteenth century, only twenty-five editions had been printed. This number increased to thirty-seven during the seventeenth century, and 234 during the eighteenth century. It is not until the nineteenth century, when 1,269 separate editions were produced, that a significant shift is seen toward printed Haggadot as opposed to manuscripts. From 1900–1960 alone, over 1,100 Haggadot were printed.[1] While the main portions of the text of the Haggadah have remained mostly the same since their original compilation, there have been some additions after the last part of the text. Some of these additions, such as the cumulative songs \"One Kid\" (\"חד גדיא\") and \"Who Knows One?\" (\"אחד מי יודע\"), which were added sometime in the fifteenth century, gained such acceptance that they became a standard to print at the back of the Haggadah. In more recent times, attempts to modernize the Haggadah have been undertaken primarily to revitalize a text seen by some as \"no longer expressing their deepest religious feelings nor their understanding of the Passover festival itself\".[2] However, it should be noted that Orthodox Judaism does not approve of this \"modernization\" and still uses the historical texts.[3] Sephardi and Oriental Jews also apply the term Haggadah to the service itself, as it constitutes the act of \"telling your son.\" According to Jewish tradition the Haggadah was compiled during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods, although the exact date is unknown. The Haggadah could not have been written earlier than the time of Rabbi Yehudah bar Elaay (circa 170 CE) who is the last tanna to be quoted in the Haggadah. According to most Talmudic commentaries Rav and Shmuel argued on the compilation of the Haggadah,[4] and hence it wasn\'t completed by then. Based on a Talmudic statement, it was completed by the time of Rav Nachman (mentioned in Pesachim 116a). There is a dispute however to which Rav Nachman, the Talmud was referring. According to some commentators this was Rav Nachman bar Yaakov[5] (circa 280 CE) while others maintain this was Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak (360 CE).[6] However the Malbim,[7] along with a minority of commentators believe that Rav and Shmuel were not arguing on its compilation but on its interpretation and hence was completed before then. According to this explanation; the Haggadah was written during the lifetime of Rav Yehudah haNasi,[8] the compiler of the Mishna. The Malbim theorizes that the Haggadah was written by Rav Yehudah haNasi himself. As of 2006, the oldest complete readable manuscript of the Haggadah is found in a prayer book compiled by Saadia Gaon in the tenth century. The earliest known Haggadot (the plural of Hagaddah) produced as works in their own right are manuscripts from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries such as \"The Golden Haggadah\" (probably Barcelona c. 1320) and the \"Sarajevo Haggadah\" (late fourteenth century). It is believed that the first printed Haggadot were produced in 1482, in Guadalajara, Spain; however this is mostly conjecture, as there is no printer\'s colophon. The oldest confirmed printed Haggadah was printed in Soncino, Italy in 1486 by the Soncino family. Although the Jewish printing community was quick to adopt the printing press as a means of producing texts, the general adoption rate of printed Haggadot was slow. By the end of the sixteenth century, only twenty-five editions had been printed. This number increased to thirty-seven during the seventeenth century, and 234 during the eighteenth century. It is not until the nineteenth century, when 1,269 separate editions were produced, that a significant shift is seen toward printed Haggadot as opposed to manuscripts. From 1900–1960 alone, over 1,100 Haggadot were printed.[9] Published in 1526, the Prague Haggadah is known for its attention to detail in lettering and introducing many of the themes still found in modern texts. Although illustrations had often been a part of the Haggadah, it was not until the Prague Haggadah that they were used extensively in a printed text. The Haggadah features over sixty woodcut illustrations picturing \"scenes and symbols of the Passover ritual; [...] biblical and rabbinic elements that actually appear in the Haggadah text; and scenes and figures from biblical or other sources that play no role in the Haggadah itself, but have either past or future redemptive associations\".[10] While the main portions of the text of the Haggadah have remained mostly the same since their original compilation, there have been some additions after the last part of the text. Some of these additions, such as the cumulative songs \"One Kid\" (\"חד גדיא\") and \"Who Knows One?\" (\"אחד מי יודע\"), which were added sometime in the fifteenth century, gained such acceptance that they became a standard to print at the back of the Haggadah. In more recent times, attempts to modernize the Haggadah have been undertaken primarily to revitalize a text seen by some as \"no longer expressing their deepest religious feelings nor their understanding of the Passover festival itself\".[11] However, it should be noted that Orthodox Judaism does not approve of this \"modernization\" and still uses the historical texts. ******** The Passover Seder (Hebrew: סֵדֶר, seðɛɾ, \"order\", \"arrangement\") is a Jewish ritual feast held at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover.[1] The Seder is an intergenerational family ritual prescribed according to Jewish law and based on the interpretation of the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: \"And you shall tell it to your son on that day, saying, \'Because of this God did for me when He took me out of Egypt.\'\" (Exodus 13:8) Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient work derived from the seder service prescribed by the Mishnah (Pesahim 10)[2][3] including the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs. Seder customs include drinking of four cups of wine, eating matza and partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate. With a Haggadah serving as a guide, the Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews all over the world.Jews generally observe one or two seders: in Israel, one seder is observed on the first night of Passover; in the Diaspora communities other than Reform and Reconstructionist Jews hold a seder also on the second night.While many Jewish holidays revolve around the synagogue, the Seder is conducted in the family home, although communal Seders are also organized by synagogues, schools and community centers, some open to the general public. It is customary to invite guests, especially strangers and the needy. The Seder is integral to Jewish faith and identity: as explained in the Haggadah, if not for divine intervention and the Exodus, the Jewish people would still be slaves in Egypt. Therefore, the Seder is an occasion for praise and Thanksgiving and for rededication to the idea of liberation. Furthermore, the words and rituals of the Seder are a primary vehicle for the transmission of the Jewish faith from grandparent to child, and from one generation to the next. Attending a Seder and eating matza on Passover is a widespread custom in the Jewish community, even among those who are not religiously observant. Some Sephardi and Oriental Jews call the service the Haggadah, as it constitutes the act of narrating. The full name for the ceremony is Seder Haggadah, \"the order of narration\"; the word \"Seder\" is applicable to any ceremony with a set order, for example Seder Leil Shabbat (the Friday night service) or Seder Rosh Hashanah (the service for the eve of the Jewish New Year). The Seder table is traditionally set with the finest place settings and silverware, and family members come to the table dressed in their holiday clothes. There is a tradition for the person leading the Seder to wear a white robe called a kittel.[4][5] For the first half of the Seder, each participant will only need a plate and a wine glass. At the head of the table is a Seder Plate containing various symbolic foods that will be eaten or pointed out during the course of the Seder. Placed nearby is a plate with three matzot and dishes of salt water for dipping. Each participant receives a copy of the Haggadah, which is often a traditional version: an ancient text that contains the complete Seder service. Men and women are equally obligated and eligible to participate in the Seder.[5][6] In many homes, each participant at the Seder table will recite at least critical parts of the Haggadah in the original Hebrew and Aramaic. Halakhah requires that certain parts be said in language the participants can understand, and critical parts are often said in both Hebrew and the native language. The leader will often interrupt the reading to discuss different points with his or her children, or to offer a Torah insight into the meaning or interpretation of the words. In some homes, participants take turns reciting the text of the Haggadah, in the original Hebrew or in translation. It is traditional for the head of the household and other participants to have pillows placed behind them for added comfort. At several points during the Seder, participants lean to the left - when drinking the four cups of wine, eating the Afikoman, and eating the korech sandwich.[5] Themes of the Seder Slavery and freedom The rituals and symbolic foods associated with the Seder evoke the twin themes of the evening: slavery and freedom. The rendering of time for the Hebrews was that a day began at sunset and ended at sunset. Historically, at the beginning of the 15th of Nisan at sunset in Ancient Egypt, the Jewish people were enslaved to Pharaoh. After the tenth plague struck Egypt at midnight, killing all the first-born sons in the land, Pharaoh let the Hebrew nation go, effectively making them freedmen for the second half of the night. Thus, Seder participants recall the slavery that reigned during the first half of the night by eating matzo (the \"poor man\'s bread\"), maror (bitter herbs which symbolize the bitterness of slavery), and charoset (a sweet paste representing the mortar which the Jewish slaves used to cement bricks). Recalling the freedom of the second half of the night, they eat the matzo (the \"bread of freedom\" and also the \"bread of affliction\") and \'afikoman\', and drink the four cups of wine, in a reclining position, and dip vegetables into salt water (the dipping being a sign of royalty and freedom, while the salt water recalls the tears the Jews shed during their servitude). The Four Cups There is an obligation to drink four cups of wine (or pure grape juice) during the Seder. The Mishnah says (Pes. 10:1) that even the poor are obligated to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The first is for Kiddush (קידוש), the second is for \'Magid\' (מגיד), the third is for Birkat Hamazon (ברכת המזון) and the fourth is for Hallel (הלל). The Four Cups represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God Exodus 6:6-7: \"I will bring out,\" \"I will deliver,\" \"I will redeem,\" and \"I will take.\" The Vilna Gaon relates the Four Cups to four worlds: this world, the Messianic age, the world at the revival of the dead, and the world to come. The Maharal connects them to the four Matriarchs, Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel, and Leah. (The three matzot, in turn, are connected to the three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.) The Abarbanel relates the cups to the four historical redemptions of the Jewish people: the choosing of Abraham, the Exodus from Egypt, the survival of the Jewish people throughout the exile, and the fourth which will happen at the end of days. Therefore it is very important. Seder Plate The Passover Seder Plate (ke\'ara) is a special plate containing six symbolic foods used during the Passover Seder. Each of the six items arranged on the plate have special significance to the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The seventh symbolic item used during the meal—a stack of three matzot—is placed on its own plate on the Seder table. The six items on the Seder Plate are: Maror and Chazeret; Two types of bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt. For maror, many people use freshly grated horseradish or whole horseradish root. Chazeret is typically romaine lettuce, whose roots are bitter-tasting. Either the horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder. Charoset; A sweet, brown, pebbly mixture, representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt. Karpas; A vegetable other than bitter herbs, usually parsley but sometimes something such as celery or cooked potato, which is dipped into salt water (Ashkenazi custom), vinegar (Sephardi custom) or charoset (older custom, still common amongst Yemenite Jews) at the beginning of the Seder. Z\'roa; A roasted shank bone, symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Beitzah; A roasted egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.

The Georgian Jews (Georgian: ქართველი ებრაელები, Hebrew: יהודים גאורגים‎) are from Georgia, in the Caucasus. Georgian Jews are one of the oldest communities in Georgia, tracing their migration into the country during the Babylonian captivity in 6th century BC.[2] Prior to Georgia\'s annexation by Russia, the 2600-year history of the Georgian Jews was marked by an almost total absence of anti-semitism and a visible assimilation in the Georgian language and culture.[3] The Georgian Jews were considered ethnically and culturally distinct from neighboring Mountain Jews.[4] They were also traditionally a highly separate group to the Ashkenazi Jews in Georgia, who arrived following the Russian annexation of Georgia. As a result of a major emigration wave in the 1990s, the vast majority of Georgian Jews now live in Israel. Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins1.2 Middle Ages1.3 Georgian annexation into the Russian Empire1.4 Anti-Semitism under the Tsarist Government1.5 Revolution and independence1.6 Contemporary Georgia1.7 Independence and Georgia today1.8 Demographics 2 Language3 Diaspora4 References5 Resource6 External links History The Georgian Jews have traditionally lived separately, not only from the surrounding Georgian people, but also from the Ashkenazi Jews in Tbilisi, who had different practices and language. The community, which numbered about 80,000 as recently as the 1970s, has largely emigrated to Israel, the United States (US), the Russian Federation and Belgium (in Antwerp). As of 2004, only about 13,000 Georgian Jews remain in Georgia. According to the 2002 First General National Census of Georgia, there are 3,541 Jewish believers in the country.[5] For example, the Lezgishvili branch of Georgian Jews have families in Israel, Moscow, Baku, Düsseldorf, and Cleveland, Ohio (US). Several hundred Georgian Jewish families live in the New York tri-state area, particularly in New York City and Long Island. Origins Georgian-speaking Jewry is one of the oldest surviving Jewish communities in the world. The Georgian Jews have an approximately 2,600-year history in the region. The origin of Georgian Jews, also known as Gurjim or kartveli ebraelebi, is debated. The most popular view is that the first Jews made their way to southern Georgia after Nebuchadnezzar\'s conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BCE and exile in Babylon. This claim is supported by the medieval Georgian historical account by Leonti Mroveli, who writes: Then King Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. The Jews who fled thence come to Kartli and requested from the mamasakhlisi [local ruler] of Mtskheta territory in return for tribute. He gave [a place] and settled them on the Aragvi, at spring which was called Zanavi, which was later renamed as Zanavi, the quarter of Jews.\".[2] Another version offered by Mroveli, was the settlement of the Jews in Georgia during the Roman period of Emperor Vespasian. He wrote that Jews lived in Georgia long before 1st century AD. According to Mroveli: During their [Bartom and Kartam\'s] reign, Vespasian, the emperor of the Romans, captured Jerusalem. From there refugee Jews come to Mtskheta and settled with the old Jews.\"[2] The ancient Georgian historic chronicle, The Conversion of Kartli, is the oldest and only Georgian source concerning the history of the Jewish community in Georgia. The chronicle describes a version similar to that offered centuries later by Leonti Mroveli, but the period of Jewish migration into Georgia is ascribed to Alexander the Great: ...the warlike seed, the Honni [Jews], exiled by the Chaldeans, [came to Kartli] and requested the land for tribute from the Lord of the Bun T\'urks [suburb of Mtskheta]. And they [Jews] settled in Zanavi. And they possessed it...[2] Ancient Georgian capital Mtskheta, where Jews lived for thousands of years Georgian sources also refer to the arrival of the first Jews in Western Georgia from the Byzantine Empire during the 6th century AD. Approximately 3,000 of the Jews fled to Eastern Georgia, which by that time was controlled by the Persians, to escape severe persecution by the Byzantines. The existence of the Jews in these regions during this period is supported by the archaeological evidence, which shows that Jews lived in Mtskheta, the ancient capital of the Eastern Georgian state of Iberia-Kartli.[citation needed] According to the Georgian hagiography, Jewish communities existed in Georgia in the 1st century. A Georgian Jew called Elias was said to be in Jerusalem during the Crucifixion and brought Jesus\' robe back with him to Georgia. He had acquired it from a Roman soldier at Golgotha. The Jews spoke Georgian, and later Jewish traders developed a dialect called Kivruli, or Judaeo-Georgian, which included a number of Hebrew words. In the second half of the 7th century, the Muslim Empire conquered extensive Georgian territory, which became an Arab caliph province. Arab emirs ruled in the Georgian capital Tbilisi and surrounding territory for nearly 500 years, until 1122. Genetic studies carried out on Georgian Jews as part of a wider survey showed close genetic links with other Jews, and in particular with Iraqi and Persian Jews. This seemed to prove the historical accounts of Jewish migration from Persia into Georgia.[6] Middle Ages A Judeo-Aramaic inscription of Abraham, son of Sarah, from Mtskheta from the 4th to 6th centuries There is not much documentation about Georgian Jews under the Arab domination. In the late 9th century, Abu-Imran Musa al-Za\'farani (later known as Abu-Imran al-Tiflisi) founded a Jewish Karai sect called the Tiflis Sect (\"Tiflisites\"), which lasted for more than 300 years. The sect deviated from halakhah in its marriage and kashrut customs. This sect did not represent the great majority of Georgian Jews who adhered to the traditional rabbinical Judaism while maintaining strong religious ties with Baghdad and other Jews of Iraq.[citation needed] The Mongols swept through Georgia in 1236, prompting many of the Jews of Eastern and Southern Georgia to move to the western region, which remained independent. There they formed small communities along the Black Sea, and eventually their poverty forced them into serfdom. For 500 years, beginning in the end of the 14th century, the Jews of Georgia belonged to the kamani, or serf class, under the Georgian elite.[citation needed] Their situation worsened in the 15th and 16th centuries due to constant military conflicts and invasions by Timur, Ottoman Empire, and Muslim Persia. By the end of the 15th century, Georgia had fragmented into three separate kingdoms and five feudal territories. Jewish serfs were sold from master to master as a family or individuals as debt payments or gifts.[citation needed] The Jewish communities were torn apart and Jewish communal life was nearly impossible to maintain. Isolation and lack of a religious and spiritual center led to a decline of Jewish knowledge.[citation needed] An endless string of wars and rebellions characterized the late 18th and early 19th centuries, leaving the region decimated. Jewish property was often confiscated and Jews were forced to seek the protection of the local feudal lords. Instead of finding security, many Jews became enslaved by these lords. The serfs, including Jewish ones, were divided into three categories according to Georgian law: the King\'s serfs, Feudal serfs, and the Church\'s serfs.[citation needed] During this period, large migrations of Jews took place, either voluntary or forced. In the 15th and 16th centuries, a large number of Jews left for Crimea, and many Jews in that region are still of Georgian descent. In the 17th and 18th centuries, tens of thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish Georgians were forcibly relocated to Persia by the Islamic Persian invaders.[citation needed] Georgian annexation into the Russian Empire Georgian Jews of Tbilisi in 1800s In 1801, the Russian Empire annexed Eastern Georgia. The King\'s serfs became the Treasury\'s serfs, and were obliged to pay taxes to the Tsar. In 1835 there were 1,363 Jews with 113 Karaites living in the town of Kutais (Kutaisi) and its surroundings: 1,040 in Gori, 623 in Akhaltsikhe, and 61 in Tiflis (Tbilisi). The total Jewish population of Georgia and the region beyond the Caucasus was 12,234.[citation needed] In 1864-71, the Russian authorities abolished serfdom, and Jewish former serfs moved to towns and villages where free Jews were already settled. Finally the Jews of Georgia began to develop Jewish communities. Each group moved together to the same towns and established their own respective synagogues. They were usually made up of a number of extended family groups spanning three or four generations. Each community had a gabbai who served as a rabbi, shohet, mohel, and Cheder, and oversaw religious and communal affairs. These small communities developed into the Jewish quarter of their particular towns. In the beginning of the 19th century, Ashkenazi Russian Jews were forced to move to Georgia by the Russian government. The Ashkenazi Jews and the Georgian Jews began establishing contact with each other, but relations were strained. Georgian Jews viewed the Ashkenazim as godless and secular, while the Ashkenazim looked down on the Georgian Jews. Zionism was a uniting cause for the two groups. Ashkenazim joined Zionist organizations and began to spread their ideas to the Georgian Jewish communities. In 1897, the first Zionist organization was established in Tbilisi. On 20 August 1901, the First Congress of Caucasus Zionists was held in Tbilisi. Rabbi David Baazov led Georgian Zionism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1903, Baazov attended the Sixth Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. In 1918, the All-Jewish Congress in Tbilisi took place and included representatives from every Georgian and Russian Jewish community in the country. Beginning in 1863, groups of Jews began making aliyah, mostly for religious reasons. By 1916, 439 Georgian Jews lived in Israel, mostly in Jerusalem near the Damascus Gate. Most Jews who made aliyah were poor and worked as freight-handlers in Jerusalem. Other more prominent Georgian Jews served as financiers and carpet merchants. Prominent Georgian Jewish families in the holy land before 1948 were the Dabra (Davarashvili) and Kokia (Kakiashvili) families.[citation needed] Anti-Semitism under the Tsarist Government The tradition of the relationship between Jews and other Georgians has no signs of anti-Semitism, excluding the Tsarist Government. For many centuries, the Church in Georgia did not incite against the Jews, and the Georgian Jews were visibly assimilated in the country\'s rural life and culture.[3] In the second half of the 19th century, there were some outbreaks of anti-Semitic acts, perhaps stemming from the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.[citation needed] Anti-Semitism was supplemented by the end of serfdom and the urbanization of the Jewish population. As Jews became traders instead of field hands, Georgian workers began to see them as competitors and economic threats. Anti-Semitism had been active in Russia for centuries and, under the annexation, began to influence non-Jews in Georgia. Six blood libels have been recorded as having taken place in Georgia. The first blood libel was in Surami in 1850. A little boy from Gori disappeared while on a visit with his parents. The child was found dead after four days, and the Jews were blamed for his death. The guberniya doctor examined the dead child and concluded that he was drowned. The people blamed the Jews and started riots against the Jews. Only the intervention of the head of the Viceroyalty avoided more problems. The worst and most infamous case was in the village of Sachkhere in 1878, when nine Jews were accused of partaking in the ritual killing of a Christian child to use the blood to make matzah for Passover. The highly publicized trial occurred in Kutaisi, and was called the Kutaisi Trial. The accused were found not guilty, but the blood libels continued. Revolution and independence Old Jewish cemetery in Kutaisi Old Synagogue (20th century) in Bandza, Martvili Municipality After the October 1917 Russian Revolution threw out the Tsar\'s government and replaced it with the Bolsheviks, Georgians clamored for independence from their occupiers. On 26 May 1918, the Georgian Republic declared its independence. With independence came freedom of speech, press, and organization, which improved the economic situation of the Jews of Georgia. This newfound freedom did not last long. The Red Army invaded Georgia in February 1921, prompting a mass exodus from the region. Approximately 1,500–2,000 Jews left Georgia, 1,000–1,200 of whom settled in Israel. The remainder fled mainly to Istanbul, where a Georgian Jewish community had been in existence since the 1880s. Initially, the Soviets allowed the Jews to maintain their religious customs, but after a Georgian rebellion in 1924, the Bolshevik government terminated all Zionist activity, imposed economic restrictions, and generally discriminated against the Jewish community. As a result, many Jewish businesses were bankrupted and 200 families applied for exit visas. Only 18 were allowed to emigrate. In the mid-1920s, the Soviets focused on industrializing and secularizing the Jews of Georgia. Mass numbers of Jews were forced to work in factories or to join craft cooperatives and collective farm projects. In 1927–1928, OZET, the organization for settling Jewish workers on farms, established a number of Jewish collective farms. These small homogeneous communities became isolated Jewish communities where Jewish learning was continued. Recognizing this, the Communists disbanded the communities in the 1930s, scattering the Jews among various farms and destroying Jewish communal life. Meanwhile, blood libels continued in full force, with occurrences in Sachkhere in 1921, Tbilisi in 1923, and Akhalzikhe in 1926. Due to Soviet persecution and the declining economic situation, Zionist leaders focused on increasing aliyah efforts. The Soviets firmly opposed Jewish emigration and, during the 1930s, cracked down on Zionist organizations, arresting or murdering many members. In 1937-38, the authorities stifled participation in Jewish religious services or cultural activities. In September 1937, nine hakhams, two of whom were Ashkenazi, were arrested in Tskhinvali (Staliniri at the time), and sent to prison without trial and murdered. The only surviving Jewish institution was the History and Ethnography Museum, but it too was soon closed down. Its director, Aharon Krikheli was arrested in 1948, and the museum closed in the early 1950s, thus signifying the annihilation of Jewish culture in Georgia, which the Soviets had built up during the prewar years. Contemporary Georgia Old Synagogue in Oni During World War II, thousands of Georgian Jews served in the Red Army. After the war, the authorities arrested Jews and closed or destroyed synagogues, and anti-Semitic acts of violence erupted. But despite their attempts, the Soviets could not completely annihilate the practice of Judaism and, even in the late 1960s and 1970s, most Georgian Jews managed to observe their traditions. Georgian Jews were able to preserve their identity better than Jews in European parts of the Soviet Union, and assimilated and intermarried less. Throughout Soviet rule, Jews remained society\'s scapegoat. They made up the majority of Georgians convicted for economic crimes, and were punished more severely than the rest of the population. blood libels continued with incidents in Tskhaltubo in 1963, Zestafoni in 1964, and Kutaisi in 1965. After the Six Day War, huge numbers of Soviet Jews began protesting for the right to immigrate to Israel, and many applied for exit visas. Georgian Jews made up a large percentage of this number. They were among the very first to begin protesting, and were among the most militant of campaigners. In August 1969, eighteen families wrote to the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations demanding permission to make aliyah. This was the first public insistence by Soviet Jews for immigration to Israel. The Israeli government and the Jewish world campaigned heavily on behalf of the plight of the Soviet Jewry. In July 1971, a group of Georgian Jews went on a hunger strike outside a Moscow post office. The determination of Soviet Jewish activists and international pressure led the Soviets to lessen their harsh anti-Jewish policies. During the 1970s, the Soviets permitted limited Jewish emigration to Israel, and about 30,000 Georgian Jews made aliyah, with thousands of others leaving for other countries. Approximately 17% of the Soviet Jewish population emigrated at this time. In 1979, the Jewish population in Georgia was 28,300 and, by 1989, it had decreased to 24,800. While most Soviet Jewish emigration was individual, Georgian-Jewish emigration was communal. Due to Georgian-Jewish traditions of strong, extended families and the strict, patriarchal nature of Georgian families, Georgians immigrated as whole communities, with emigration of individuals causing a chain reaction leading to more emigration, and brought their community structures with them. For example, nearly the entire population of at least two Georgian towns made aliyah. At the time the emigration started, Israel had a policy of scattering the population around the country, and was experiencing a housing shortage, with the result that Georgians were assigned housing in different parts of the country. The Georgians began demanding that they be concentrated together, and the crisis reached a fever pitch when several families threatened to return to Georgia, and new immigrants, forewarned by predecessors, began demanding to be placed in specific areas upon arrival. Although Prime Minister Golda Meir criticized the Georgians\' desire to \"isolate themselves into ghettos\", the Israeli Immigrant Absorption Ministry eventually bowed to their demands, and began to create concentrations of around 200 families in twelve areas of the country.[7] In Israel, Georgian immigrants successfully integrated into society, but faced certain problems. Georgian immigrants were usually able to find jobs with ease, and often worked in light industry jobs, such as dock workers, porters, and construction workers, but faced certain issues. One major issue was religion; the Georgian Jews were often devout and had fiercely clung to their traditions in the Soviet Union, and were stunned to discover that Israeli Jews were mostly secular. As a result, Georgian immigrants demanded their own separate synagogues to continue their unique religious traditions, which the government agreed to, and enrolled their children in religious schools rather than regular schools.[7] Independence and Georgia today Israel\'s 60th independence day celebration in Tbilisi, Georgia attended by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili After the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia declared her independence in 1991. Since independence, the country faced continuous military conflict, leaving the region in political and economic turmoil. The situation of the Jewish community of Georgia improved dramatically due to the end of the Soviet occupation. In 1994, President Shevardnadze issued a decree to protect Jewish religious, cultural and historic monuments. In addition, the Jews of Georgia have successfully maintained their Jewish identity and traditions despite the oppression they faced under the Soviets. Intermarriage has always been low and levels of Jewish knowledge are significantly higher than those of other CIS republics. In 1990, the Rachamim Society was established, which supplies financial and medical support to the Jews of Tbilisi and maintains Jewish cemeteries and synagogues. It functions as an umbrella organization for Ashkenazi Jews. The Association of Georgian Jews (Derekh Yehudi) focuses on regaining Jewish property confiscated during the Soviet era. The Jewish community still faces acts of violence and obstacles in the return of property rights to a 19th-century Ashkenazi synagogue stolen by the Soviets. The Chief Rabbi of Georgia from Chabad Lubavitsch is Rabbi Avraham Michaelshvili, who has been there since the early 1990s hosting the Georgian community and many guests with fervor and devotion. There is a further Chief Rabbi Ariel Levin. There is no umbrella organization for all Jews in Georgia, but more than 30 Jewish institutions are in existence, in addition to one Jewish day school and four supplementary schools. Three Jewish newspapers are published - Menora, Shalom, and 26 Century, and there is also a Jewish radio and television station. Tbilisi Synagogue, Hanukkah prayer The Jewish population of Georgia has steadily decreased over the years due to aliyah in response to the political and economic issues since independence. Overall, since 1989, 21,134 Jews have moved to Israel. Once numbering as many as 100,000, today the Georgian Jewish population is approximately 13,000. Tbilisi has the largest Jewish population at 11,000 out of 1.5 million. Jewish communities are located in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Oni, Akhaltikhe, Akhalkalaki, Surami, Kareli, and Stalin\'s hometown of Gori, and synagogues are located in most of these cities. The provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are virtually devoid of Jews due to the military conflicts in these areas. Many Abkhazian Jews emigrated to Israel from Abkhazia during the war in the 1990s there, while the few who stayed are mostly elderly. A synagogue is still active in Sukhumi. There is one Jew left in South Ossetia (see articles History of the Jews in Abkhazia and History of the Jews in South Ossetia). In January 2001, in a first step toward establishing relations, the Georgian Orthodox Church and the Jewish community of Georgia signed a cooperation agreement of mutual respect and support. In 2002, Georgian Orthodox Christianity was established as the state religion, and since then there has been concern for all religious minorities in the country. Relations between Georgia and Israel are warm, however. The Israeli embassy is located in Tbilisi and also serves Armenia; the Georgian embassy is in Tel Aviv. Israel has supplied humanitarian aid to Georgia a number of times, including drought assistance and aid for earthquake victims. The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) both have permanent representatives in Georgia. JDC and Hesed Eliyahu distribute food and medical aid to the Jewish elderly, who make up more than 50% of the Georgian Jewish community. As a result of the 2008 South Ossetia War, some 200 Georgian Jews immigrated to Israel with assistance from the Jewish Agency.[8] During that war, the Jewish Quarter of Tskhinvali was destroyed during the Battle of Tskhinvali.[9] Demographics Georgia\'s population almost doubled between 1926 and 1970, then began declining, with dramatic declines in the 1970s and 1990s, when many Georgian Jews left and moved to other countries, especially to Israel.[10] Historical Georgian Jewish population Year Pop. ±% 1926 30,534 — 1939 42,300 +38.5% 1959 51,589 +22.0% 1970 55,398 +7.4% 1979 28,315 −48.9% 1989 24,834 −12.3% 2002 5,000 −79.9% 2010 3,200 −36.0% Source: [11][12][13]The Jewish population data includes Mountain Jews, Georgian Jews, Bukharan Jews (or Central Asian Jews), Krymchaks (all per the 1959 Soviet census), and Tats.[14] Language The traditional language of the Georgian Jews is Judaeo-Georgian, a variant of Georgian, characterized by a large number of Hebrew loanwords, and written using either the Georgian alphabet or Hebrew alphabet. Besides speaking Judaeo-Georgian, the Georgian Jews speak the languages of the peoples surrounding them. In Georgia, these include Georgian and Russian; in Belgium, Dutch; in the United States and Canada English; and in Israel, Hebrew. Diaspora Main article: Georgian Jews in Israel Many Georgian Jews now live in Israel. In the United States, the principal Georgian Jewish synagogue is the Congregation of Georgian Jews in the Forest Hills section of Queens, New York City. In Belgium, most Georgian Jews are member of the Antwerp Jewish community. One notable Georgian Jew is the Tamir Sapir, born Temur Sepiashvili, an immigrant taxi driver turned businessman from New York. Another notable Georgian Jew is Dr. Yuri Busi (born Yuri Busiashvili), who was known for being the physician for the actress Lucille Ball.[15] Dr. Busi developed a successful career as a Cardiologist serving mostly the emigrant Soviet community in Los Angeles. In Israel, most Georgian Jews settled near the coast in cities such as Lod, Bat Yam, Ashdod, and Holon. There are Georgian Jews in Jerusalem as well, with several prominent synagogues.