Mizrahi Heritage Month
To conclude Mizrahi Heritage Month, we highlight the Syrian Jewish Community and the wider Sephardic Custom of Baqashot.
The Great Synagogue of Aleppo
The Syrian community is so unique, as many Sepharadim arrived to Syria following their expulsion in 1492, eventually adapting a distinct Mizrahi identity.
The Sephardic Syrians quickly took leading positions; five successive Chief Rabbis of Aleppo were drawn from the Laniado family. The classic collection Likdosim Asher Baaretz by Rabbi David Laniado lists hundreds of notable Syrian scholars, each of whom contributed to the advancement of Torah education.
For hundreds of years, Syrian Jews have woken early on winter Shabbat mornings to sing Baqashot - prayer supplications. While many Baqashot are Syrian, some were composed by the Sephardic Kabbalists and are sung by the various Mizrahi & Sephardic communities.
The singing of Baqashot reached the Sephardic communities of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Rhodes, Greece, Yugoslavia, Egypt, and Turkey. The Turkish tradition, known as Shirat Hamaftirim, has a unique sound based on Sufi and Ottoman classical music. This tradition flourished in cities like Adrianople, and Salonica and Istanbul.
“Baqashot are special testaments to the rich Mizrahi & Sephardic musical traditions that encourage notions like education and community.”
