Who are the Bukharian Jews?

Answer 1

The Bukharian Jews are a community of Jews that historically lived in the old Kingdom of Bukhara (which is roughly the area of modern Uzbekistan). During Islamic Rule, they were subject to the whims of the given monarch and were treated, on average, as second-class citizens. With Russian Imperialism and the conquest of Bukhara by Russia, Russian Anti-Semitism began to permeate the area and the Bukharian Jews were generally treated the same way that Jews elsewhere in Russian Empire and later Soviet Union were treated. In 1991, with the independence of Uzbekistan, most Bukharian Jews fled to Israel or the United States.

In terms of their particular customs, they used to have unique form of dress, but this has disappeared both because of Russian Imperialism and because of integration pressures in Israel and the United States. Their cuisine is similar to that of Muslim Uzbeks. They have a distinct nusach or prayer melody when praying, but there nusachim are relatively similar to other Mizrahi (but not Yemeni) melodies. Like the Mizrahim, Bukharian Jews use "Sephardic-Style" Torahs, which has a circular metal casing around the central scroll, as opposed to the "Ashkenazic Style, which has no such casing.