Rabbi Shimon Hakham Stamp

During the middle of the 18th century, the Jews of Bukhara (a city of Uzbekistan) were forced to convert to Islam. In 1793 the Rabbinical Messnger “Shadar” Rabbi Yosef Maman left Safed on a mission to the Jews of the Middle East and reached Moslem Bukhara in Asia. Rabbi Maman imbued the Bukharan Jews with the love of Zion and instructed them in the observation of Judaism. He also taught them about the divine commandments of inhabiting and settling the Land of Israel. 11,500 of the 16,000 people living in Bukhara emigrated to Jerusalem voluntarily during 1868 to World War 1, and here they established the Bukharim Quarter. One of the founders of the Bukharim Quarter was Rabbi Shimon Hakham, a great-grandchild of Rabbi Yosef Maman. He was born in Bukhara in 1843 and later encouraged the teaching of religious studies to the poor and founded a Talmud Torah for the needy. In 1890 he, his wife and family emigrated to Israel and settled in Jerusalem. He dedicated himself to writing and translating after the death of his wife and 18 year old son. He wrote 32 books and translated part of the Bible into the Judeo-Tajiki dialect. He was a very active leader of the community, as a Zionist and as an author. He has been described as “one of the greatest figures of the Jewish people in the period of the national revival”.

The stamp with an information sheet are enclosed in a plastic protection sheet.