Jews In Samarkand

One of my first visits was to the Jev?ish rabbi. I was pleased to hear from him that his coreligionists in Samarkand are not onder the sanie objectionable smnptuary laws as in Bokhara. In Russian Turkestan the Jew enjoys almost equal privileges with the Sart. For instance, a Sart ïaay open a shop iu the Russian part of Samarkaud, but a Jew may uot. Over a pleasaut nieal of pistachio mits, rasins, bread and salt fish the rabbi told rae much about the Jews of central Asia. They are Sephardim, it appears, not Ashkinazim, as in Rnssia and Poland. The rabbi and all his people in Samarkand are of the tribe of Judah. When I ventured tospeak tohim of the hypothesis advanced by 50111e misguided people, that the Jews of central Asia were remuants of the 10 lost tribes, he scouted the idea. "We all know," he said, "that we are of the tribe of Judah. " -