Boris Zubry - The Jewish Nation of Mongols

We know that Khazaria welcomed and willingly hosted the merchants and the craftsmen from all over Asia and Europe. It was a desirable destination, and everyone wanted to trade with the Khazars . That was a good trade. The Khazars were skilled in science, medicine, crafts, art, architecture, agriculture, weaponry, and war. Khazaria was a prospering place. This kingdom was a jewel amid slowly developing, somewhat backward Muslim kingdoms. It was rich, strong, and powerful, and it definitely influenced the development of the society in that region. And, everyone wanted to conquer it, but not to destroy. The Khazars were too precious to be killed or just enslaved. That was not a good policy, and the conquerors of the time had realized it fast. They were brutal but never stupid. Even the bloodiest butchers of the time understood that the Khazars had to be incorporated into any other society, almost willingly, to survive, and to satisfy the newly emerging powers. And, new powers were emerging rapidly and always with a bang. That was the time of permanent turbulence. Something was brewing somewhere all the time. So, what happened to the Khazars ? Could that be Islam? Another big accomplishment of the false prophet? Possible, but unlikely. For hundreds of years, Khazars had the monotheistic, one-god, religion already, and Islam was only making its way in, but it did not carry anything new for the Jews. Actually, Islam was offering less, and it was more mystical thus, not as much desirable. Islam could not compete with them, not yet.

Could that be the Mongols and the Tatars ? The timing was right. Could the Khazars become the Mongols or the Tatars ? When did it happen? How? Did they integrate completely with one of those cultures or both? Were both cultures so flexible to allow for that? Was that how the Mongols and the Tatars were able to rule the known world for five hundred years? Was that the secret of such a bloody success? Then, they paved the way for the Ottoman Empire and another bloody success. It could very well be, but we do not know that for sure. Anything was possible if God was willing. Boruch Hashem! (Hebrew: Praised be God!). Allahu Akbar! (Arabic: Allah is the Greatest!). Mirtseshem! (Hebrew: God willing.). Inshallah! (Arabic: God willing.).

So, they (Aaron’s lovely ancestors) met somewhere somehow, and suddenly, became bashert (betrothed). History does not elaborate on this subject much. For all we know, it happened, and that’s the fact. Naturally, their parents arranged for that. How else it could have been done? But, there was love somewhere amid things. However, he or she (whoever was the Bukharan Jew or the Khazar , or any kind of a foreigner) was quite a catch if the other side went through this kind of problems. After all, where was that Bukhara, and how did one find the Jews in there? They all were a lookalike, and they all were dressed alike, and they didn’t speak good Yiddish. Any Yiddish? Oi, Vai! (Dear me!). So, what was good of them? The Jews in there did not look like Jews at all to any Jew outside Bukhara. That was a strange place; a foreign place. And, what did the Jews do over there? Go figure, and what would you know? And, what would you find out? Bubkes (small, useless, and worthless things), if nothing else. What else could it be? God forbids. It could be much worse. He could marry a Shiksa (a none Jewish female), and she could marry a ganef (a thief). Then what? Umglik — disaster. This was better, maybe. So, it was done and accepted, but that’s the kind of mishpocha (the extended family, including the in-laws) one may get marrying outside the own shtetl . Let me tell you: keep your adventures and the logical conclusions within the shtetl boundaries. It is much safer and more predictable but, if you were so adventurous, such a lady man, and a grossier potz (big prick), at least stay within your gubernia . Be smart; it pays. Troubles do not grow on trees, but more problems could arise from the ones you planted already.

So, at one time, the Aaron mother’s side went astray, outside of any conservative boundaries and that produced a wild beast from no one knows where, as an ancestor. A new saga just started. A wild one… What a story. What a tale. What an adventure that may take you a thousand years back, a time before time in terms of the Williamsburg Jewish population, and that’s the center of the world. Was it good, or was it bad? Well, it all depends on how you look at it. Maybe it was not that bad. No matter how you slice it, but Aaron was the result of that experiment. Can you change what happened so long ago? Do you want to change it? Do we really need it? The change? It was not too bad so far. So, what’s the problem? Women start crying, and men take to a drink when they hear a bubbe meise (an old woman tale) like that, and that happens often. Well, no matter what but that was the story, and that’s how we know it. The newlyweds did not move out the beautiful and so familiar Mogilev Gubernia. They stayed there with the family and the friends, and the pain of the Russians and the Byelorussians being in charge and ordering them around. Oi, gevald! (Oh, help). What a tsuris (Yiddish — trouble, aggravation).

The Russian Tsar! The Russian nobles! Even that must have been better than whatever they had in the wild, wild East of Bukhara. How far was it from the shtetl of Lubavichi? Mogilev Gubernia? Was not that the Muslim reign by then, and that did not promise much. Still, often, Muslims were better than the Russians. Go figure or stay and try to survive. You better stay and don’t go anywhere. It is safer that way, and you may use some safety. The Muslims mit (with) the angry characters, mit the dark constitution, mit the horses, mit the swords, mit constant running around, mit no one knows where, mit the harems, and mit the deserts and the sand. Harems — that’s nice, but could not be good for your soul, and did they eat kosher? The angry characters? Well, the harems were not too bad of an idea, but you cannot have one without another. It’s either the Muslims mit the swords and mit the harems or no Muslims mit the pain and the aggravation, and mit no harems for your delights. It was too appalling to pass, but we must sacrifice the most intimate desires to stay pure, and whole. Yes, we must, and that is not easy at all. God is demanding that, and we must obey. God is one! And he is in charge.

“My boychik , my kaddishel (baby boy), Aaron, he is like a lion. Do you know that he is one inch taller than I am, and three inches taller than his mother, Miriam? May she live for one hundred and twenty years. He is so big and strong.” Yossel, Aaron’s father would tell it to anyone who listened and not sped away at the earliest convenience. People use any excuse and often, none to disappear. Well, Yossel liked to repeat himself when he told these stories, and that was okay but boring. “Aaron would fight anyone and win. He is so big and powerful. Look at his chest? A regular barrel. He could stop a train in its tracks, but where would he find one. He could’ve been a soldier, but why. We are peaceful people. But, if needed, he would’ve been one. Do you know what we did when he was a little boy? I fixed a horizontal piece of pipe in the hallway. That was my neighbor advice. The neighbor was as strong as a bull himself, and his chest was like a barrel as well, if not bigger. He was a butcher. He could kill a bull with the bare hands, but why. He was a good man and very strong, but he died. He drank like a Goy (non-Jew) and was hit by a car. What can you do? Sad, but it happens. God rest his soul. Anyway, every time the boychik would pass it, the horizontal bar in the hallway, he would jump up, and hang there by the pipe with his little hands. Just hang there, for as long as he could. That made him grow tall and strong, and his chest is like a barrel. Aaron is a CPA, you know. That’s a very responsible position. He was second in his class. It was the Baruch College here in New York. Great school, many Jews. What is your son doing? My kaddishel battles the IRS every single day, and he wins. He knows that stuff, the money, and the taxes. He knows many things and can argue his point. He is a protector of honest workers. It is almost like David and Goliath. My Aaron is like David, you know, and he fights for anyone, even the Goyem (non-Jews). The IRS is the ganef — the crook, the thief, the burglar, the swindler, the racketeer, the government, the Goliath. It takes from us, the hard-working people, and spends it mostly on the useless stuff. The politicians — the biggest of the thieves. They have an army of lawyers and even more crooks. And, all we have is my son, Aaron. That is not much, but he is a fighter and an honest man.”