גיור הכוזרים
לפי מה שאני מבין, כל אדם שמתגייר הופך להיות חלק מן העם היהודי, ומוותר על הזהות הלאומית הקודמת שלו("עמך עמי..."). אז למה אצל הכוזרים היה במצב שונה? הנה ציטוט(באנגלית) של מכתב ששלח יוסף מלך כוזר בתשובה לרבי חסדאי מספרד: You ask us also in your epistle: "Of what people, of what family, and of what tribe are you?" Know that we are descended from Japhet, through his son Togarmah. [In Jewish literature Togarmah is the father of all the Turks.] I have found in the genealogical books of my ancestors that Togarmah had ten sons. These are their names: the eldest was Ujur, the second Tauris, the third Avar, the fourth Uauz, the fifth Bizal, the sixth Tarna, the seventh Khazar, the eighth Janur, the ninth Bulgar, the tenth Sawir. [These are the mythical founders of tribes that once lived in the neighborhood of the Black and Caspian Seas.] I am a descendant of Khazar, the seventh son. I have a record that although our fathers were few in number, the Holy One blessed be He, gave them strength, power, and might so that they were able to carry on war after war with many nations who were more powerful and numerous than they. By the help of God they drove them out and took possession of their country. Upon some of them they have imposed forced labor even to this very day. The land [along the Volga] in which I now live was formerly occupied by the Bulgarians. Our ancestors, the Khazars, came and fought with them, and, although these Bulgarians were as numerous as the sand on the shores of the sea, they could not withstand the Khazars. So they left their country and fled while the Khazars pursued them as far as the Danube River. Up to this very day the Bulgars camp along the Danube and are close to Constantinople. The Khazars have occupied their land up till now. [The Khazars, known since the second century, dominated southern Russia during the early Middle Ages. ] אז השאלה שלי, מדוע מלך כוזר התגאה כל-כך במוצא הלאומי המקורי של אבותיו, ולא הזדהה כלל עם בני ישראל "המקוריים", למרות שאבותיו התגיירו והיו אמורים לראות בעצמם כחלק מעם היהודי ה"אתני"? תודה מראש.
לפי מה שאני מבין, כל אדם שמתגייר הופך להיות חלק מן העם היהודי, ומוותר על הזהות הלאומית הקודמת שלו("עמך עמי..."). אז למה אצל הכוזרים היה במצב שונה? הנה ציטוט(באנגלית) של מכתב ששלח יוסף מלך כוזר בתשובה לרבי חסדאי מספרד: You ask us also in your epistle: "Of what people, of what family, and of what tribe are you?" Know that we are descended from Japhet, through his son Togarmah. [In Jewish literature Togarmah is the father of all the Turks.] I have found in the genealogical books of my ancestors that Togarmah had ten sons. These are their names: the eldest was Ujur, the second Tauris, the third Avar, the fourth Uauz, the fifth Bizal, the sixth Tarna, the seventh Khazar, the eighth Janur, the ninth Bulgar, the tenth Sawir. [These are the mythical founders of tribes that once lived in the neighborhood of the Black and Caspian Seas.] I am a descendant of Khazar, the seventh son. I have a record that although our fathers were few in number, the Holy One blessed be He, gave them strength, power, and might so that they were able to carry on war after war with many nations who were more powerful and numerous than they. By the help of God they drove them out and took possession of their country. Upon some of them they have imposed forced labor even to this very day. The land [along the Volga] in which I now live was formerly occupied by the Bulgarians. Our ancestors, the Khazars, came and fought with them, and, although these Bulgarians were as numerous as the sand on the shores of the sea, they could not withstand the Khazars. So they left their country and fled while the Khazars pursued them as far as the Danube River. Up to this very day the Bulgars camp along the Danube and are close to Constantinople. The Khazars have occupied their land up till now. [The Khazars, known since the second century, dominated southern Russia during the early Middle Ages. ] אז השאלה שלי, מדוע מלך כוזר התגאה כל-כך במוצא הלאומי המקורי של אבותיו, ולא הזדהה כלל עם בני ישראל "המקוריים", למרות שאבותיו התגיירו והיו אמורים לראות בעצמם כחלק מעם היהודי ה"אתני"? תודה מראש.