Historical Roots and Language of the Descendants of the Khazars
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Question
Hello, esteemed Rabbi. My ancestors are from the Khazar Khaganate. I live in Azerbaijan. My late paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather were brother and sister and were Jewish. Due to fear of political persecution of Jews, they changed their passports, origin, and data to disappear. They were Ashkenazi, but it is strange to me that they did not speak Yiddish, but a mixed Jugut and Tat language. Why? Thank you in advance, dear Rabbi. Shalom Aleichem.
Answer
Shalom!
Thank you for your question.
The history of the Khazars is quite enigmatic, and scholars debate what kind of people they were, whether they truly converted to Judaism, and if they existed at all!
But even if we assume that the Khazars converted to Judaism, there is nothing surprising in the fact that they did not speak Yiddish.
Imagine a non-Jew converting to Judaism in an Ashkenazi community in Brooklyn, Toronto, or London. Does that mean they will start speaking Yiddish? This is highly unlikely. Yiddish is not part of the conversion program.
Moreover, there is evidence that the Khazars were under Arab and Sephardic influence. Naturally, Yiddish is expectedly absent in this picture.
Therefore, there is no need to worry that the descendants of the Khazars do not speak Yiddish. Some believe that they did not convert to Judaism at all (which rabbi or court would have conducted their conversion?). Others claim that only the Khazar nobility converted to Judaism. Finally, there are those who deny the fact of their conversion altogether.