Bené Roma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bene Roma | |||||||||
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| Total population | |||||||||
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50000 (est.) |
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| Languages | |||||||||
| Judeo-Italian languages, Hebrew | |||||||||
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| Judaism | |||||||||
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| Sephardi Jews, Ashkenazi Jew |
Bené Roma (Hebrew בני רומא, "Children of Rome") are a community of Jews who have resided in Italy for over 2000 years; another name is Italkim (Hebrew for "Italians"; pl. of "italki", Middle Hebrew loanword from the Latin adjective "italicu(m)", meaning "Italic", "Latin", "Roman"; italkit is also used in Modern Hebrew as the language name "Italian"). They are regarded as separate from both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews, though there are also Sephardic and Ashkenazic communities living in Italy: see Italian Jews.
The Italian Jewish community as a whole has numbered no more than 50,000 since it was fully emancipated in 1870. One of the most famous of Italy's Jews was Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746) whose written religious and ethical works are still widely studied.
During the Second Aliyah (between 1904 and 1914) many Italian Jews moved to Israel, and there is an Italian synagogue and cultural centre in Jerusalem. (There is also an Italian-rite synagogue in Istanbul.)
The Bené Roma, as well as those from other communities with long histories of residing in Italy, have traditionally spoken a variety of Judeo-Italian languages, sometimes collectively referred to in academic literature as Italkian.
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[edit] Religious traditions
The customs and religious rites of the Bené Roma are in some ways a bridge between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, showing similarities to both; they are closer still to the customs of the Romaniotes (native Greek Jews).
In matters of religious law, Italian Jews generally follow the same rules as the Sephardim, in that they accept the authority of Isaac Alfasi and the Shulchan Aruch as opposed to the Ashkenazi customs codified by Moses Isserles (the Rema). However their liturgy is different from that of both these groups. One reason for this is that Italy was the main centre of early Jewish printing, enabling Italian Jews to preserve their own traditions when most other communities had to opt for a standard "Sephardi" or "Ashkenazi" prayer-book.
It is often claimed that the Italian prayer-book contains the last remnants of the Judaean/Galilaean Jewish tradition, while both the Sephardi and, to a lesser extent, the Ashkenazi rites reflect the Babylonian tradition. This claim is quite likely historically, though it is difficult to verify textually as little liturgical material from Eretz Yisrael survives. Additionally, some Italian traditions reflect the Babylonian rite in a more archaic form, in much the same way as the prayer-book of the Yemenite Jews. Examples are the use of keter yitenu lach in the kedushah of all services and of naḥamenu in Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals) on Shabbat, all of which are found in the Siddur of Amram Gaon.
[edit] Pronunciation of Hebrew
The Italian pronunciation of Hebrew is similar to that of conservative Spanish and Portuguese Jews. Distinguishing features are:
- ayin is pronounced /ŋ/ (like English "ng" in "sing"). In some dialects, like the Roman, this sometimes becomes "ny";
- final tav is pronounced "d";
- vav is normally "v" as in most Hebrew dialects, but can become "w" in diphthongs (as in the family name "Anaw"). Thus, in construct masculine plurals with male singular possessive suffix יו-, the pronunciation is not [-av] but [-au];
- "he" is often silent, as in the family name "Coen";
- beth raphe is pronounced /v/ (unlike Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who pronounce it as /b/);
- speakers in communities south of the the La Spezia-Rimini isogloss, and Jewish communities transplanted north of this, pronounce dagesh forte as a true geminate sound, in keeping with the pronunciation of double letters in Italian.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ Elia S. "La pronuncia dell'ebraico presso gli Ebrei di Italia." in Scritti in memoria di F. Luzzatto. Rassegna Mensile di Israel 28 (1962): 26-30.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Siddùr Benè Romì (in Italian)
