Jews of Iran in the Nineteenth Century (paperback)

David Yeroushalmi, Ph.D. (1986) in Iranian Studies, Columbia University, is associate professor of Iranian Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History and the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel-Aviv University. His main area of research and publication is the history and heritage of Iranian Jews. His previous book, The Judeo-Persian Poet Emrani and His Book of Treasure (Brill) was published in 1995.

• CONTENTSSECTION I: LEGAL POSITION AND GENERAL CONDITIONSource 1 Regarding the Legal Position of Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians (Ahl-i Kitab) within the Shiʻite State, according to Jamiʻi-i ʻAbbasi Source 2 The Condition and Disabilities of the Jews in Iran in the 1850s, according to the Jewish Explorer I.J. Benjamin, Known as Benjamin II Source 3 On the Legal and Actual Condition of the Jews of Iran in the Year 1873, as Reported in The Jewish Chronicle of London on September 12, 1873 Source 4 The Jews of Iran in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, as Observed by Dr. Jacob E. Polak Source 5 The State of the Jews in Iran in 1876, as Reflected in the Report of the Anglo-Jewish Association (1876–7) Source 6 The Jews of Iran in the Year 1888, as Reported by Morris Cohen, Educator and Communal Officeholder in the Jewish Community of Baghdad Source 7 Regarding the Proper Manners of Association with Unbelievers and Adversaries Source 8 Jews in the Eyes of the City Mob, as Reflected in a Street Song that was Chanted in Tehran towards the End of the Nineteenth Century Source 9 The Jews of Yazd Being Forced to Dispose of the Charred Bodies of the Followers of Bāb, Massacred in 1891 SECTION II: DEMOGRAPHY AND GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFUSIONSource 10 The Jewish Population of Iran in the Year 1868, according to a Report Submitted by the British Legation in Tehran on April 28, 1868 Source 11 The Demographic Size of the Jewish Communities and Settlements of Iran Following the Great Famine of 1871–2, as Reported by the Anglo-Jewish Association in 1875 Source 12 Estimates and Figures on the Jewish Population of Iran During the Years 1889–1903, according to European Sources SECTION III: ECONOMY AND MATERIAL EXISTENCESource 13 Jewish Trades and Occupations in Nineteenth-Century Iran According to Contemporary European Sources Source 14 Recollections of an Itinerant Jewish Physician of Gulpaygan, Regarding the Year 1811 Source 15 Jewish Minstrels and Dancers of Shiraz in 1888, as Witnessed and Described by the Late Professor E.G. Browne Source 16 Details of a Commercial Partnership and Dispute between Two Jewish Merchants of Yazd, ca. 1880, Referred for Judicial Decision to Rabbi Yosef Hayyim of Baghdad SECTION IV: COMMUNAL ORGANIZATION AND INNER COMMUNAL RELATIONSSource 17 The Old Synagogue in the City of Hamadan in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, as Described in the Year 1850 by Dr. Abraham de Sola, Chief Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation of Montreal, Canada Source 18 Standard Formula Used for the Appointment of the Head of the Jewish Community (Heb. Nasi ) in the City of Urumia, ca. 1898 Source 19 Communal Agreement Signed and Issued by the Religious Leaders of the Jewish Community of Sanandaj on 22 of Tevet 5635 (December 30, 1874) SECTION V: CULTURE AND EDUCATIONSource 20 Jewish Culture and Education in Iran in the Nineteenth Century, according to the Late Professor Ezra Sion Melammed (1903–1994) Source 21 The Educational System in the Jewish Community of Hamadan in the 1840s, according to Dr. Abraham de Sola’s Account, Published in 1850 Source 22 A Passage from a Judeo-Persian Homiletic Commentary on Leviticus, Composed by Commentator and Poet Binyamin, Son of Eliyahu of Kashan, ca. 1824 Source 23 Song of Praise and Prayer for Sir Moses Montefi ore SECTION VI: RELIGION AND SPIRITUAL LIVESSource 24 From the Memoirs of a Learned Rabbi of Shiraz: Mulla Rahamim Melammed ha-Cohen (Sept. 16, 1864, Shiraz–Jan. 12, 1932, Jerusalem) Source 25 An Account of Pilgrims on Their Way to the Tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel (Located about 15 Kilometers to the North of Al-Najaf, in Southern Iraq ), in the Year 1809 Source 26 A Question in Matters of Family Law, in the Jewish Community of Tehran, Addressed to the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Palestine in 1898 SECTION VII: ASPECTS OF LIFE AND HISTORY IN THE LARGER COMMUNITIESSource 27 The Jewish Community of Yazd in the Nineteenth Century, according to Azaria Levy, Scholar of Jewish Communities of Iran Source 28 The Jews of Shiraz in the 1890s Source 29 The Jewish Community of Isfahan in the Year 1888, as Depicted by the Heads of the Community in the Hebrew Weekly Habazeleth, January 25, 1889 Source 30 The Jewish Community of Kashan during the Great Famine of 1871–2: Testimony of Asher, Son of Yusef, a Native of Kashan (ca. 1872) Source 31 On the Jewish Community of Tehran in the Year 1875, as Reported by the Chief Rabbi of that Community to Isaac Adolphe Crémieux, President of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, ParisSource 32 The Jewish Community of Tehran and the Cholera Epidemic of 1892, Reported by Mirza Nurullah Hakim, in the Jewish Missionary Intelligence, London, March 1893, pp. 44–45 Source 33 On the Condition of the Jewish Community of Hamadan in the Year 1864, according to a Letter by the Heads of that Community to Jewish Leaders and Organizations of Western Europe Source 34 Letter from the Community of Urumia with Regard to the Condition of the Jews of Western Azerbaijan in the Years 1888–1893 Source 35 Letter by the Heads of the Jewish Community of Tehran to Jewish Organizations of Europe with Regard to the State of the Community of Barfurush, Following the Pogrom in that Community in May 1866 SECTION VIII: MAJOR EVENTS AND PROCESSESSource 36 Earliest Reports in the Jewish Press of Western Europe Concerning the Jews of Iran and Their Hardships: The Voice of Jacob, London, April 25, 1845 Source 37 Report of the British Consul in Jerusalem Concerning the Condition of Persian Immigrants in Ottoman Palestine in 1892. FO 195/1765, No. 6 Source 38 The Great Famine of 1871–2 in Iran and the Beginning of Organized Activity Abroad on Behalf of Iranian Jews. From the Report of the Persian Famine Relief Fund, Published by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, London 1873, pp. 8–16 Source 39 Presentation of Addresses to the Shah on Behalf of the Jews of Persia, The Jewish Chronicle, June 27, 1873, pp. 213–214 Source 40 Situation of the Jews in Hamadan, in October 1892, as Reported by AJA, 22 (1892–1893), pp. 55–63