Raḥamim (, 'mercy'), also known as Rakhamim, was a Bukharian (Judeo-Tajik) language weekly newspaper published from Skobelev (present-day Fergana in Uzbekistan) between 1910 and 1913, and from Kokand (Turkestan Krai) between 1913 and 1916. It was the first newspaper published in Judeo-Tajik and it was printed in Rashi script.
History The founder of the newspaper was Rahamim Davidbayev, a wealthy businessman in the Skobolev. He brought costly printing equipment from Lublin at his own expense in order to launch the newspaper.David Ochilʹdiev, Robert Pinkhasov, Iosif Kalontarov. A History and Culture of the Bukharian Jews. Club "Roshnoyi-Light" & authors, 2007. pp. 62-63 The name of the newspaper alluded to the name of its founder. The first issue came out on .Ehsan Yar-Shater. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. 4. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982. p. 538 Raḥamim was distributed among Bukharian Jewish communities in cities across Central Asia. It was the first newspaper published in Judeo-Tajik: a Judeo-Persian dialect.Durmuş Arık. Buhara Yahudileri. Aziz Andaç, 2005. p. 71 It was printed in Rashi script: a 15th-century Sephardic semi-cursive handwriting. The weekly newspaper was published from Skobelev (present-day Fergana in Uzbekistan) between 1910 and 1913, and from Kokand (Turkestan Krai) between 1913 and 1916.I. S. Dvorkin. Евреи в Средней Азии: прошлое и настоящее : экспедиции, исследования, публикации : сборник научных трудов. Петербургский еврейский университет, Институт исследований еврейской диаспоры, 1995. pp. 190, 287Роберт Пинхасов. Бухарские евреи: очерки. Изд. "М+", 2010. p. 76
Issues of the newspaper contained two or four pages. The newspaper consisted mainly of correspondent telegrams.Александр Павлович Ярков. Евреи в Кыргызстане: историко-культурологический очерк. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, 2000. p. 58 Local news stories as well as reporting on world events were translated from Russian language.Исраэль Барталь, Илья Лурье. История еврейского народа в России. Том 2: От разделов Польши до падения Российской империи. Litres, 2022. p. 231Yad Ben Zvi. עיתונות יהודית בשפה הטג’יקית־יהודית Hitherto Judeo-Tajik had not been used much as a written language, and the newspaper frequently employed Russian loanwords to fill gaps in vocabulary. Raḥamim also covered Jewish community affairs to some extent, including both private and official correspondence. There were translations from Hebrew of works from the Haskalah movement by Eastern Jewish publicists. The publication sometimes carried religious and fictional stories. The newspaper would carry adverts for local businesses, train schedules and a financial supplement with foreign currency exchange rates.
Davidbayev recruited a number of gifted young men to work on the publication and the editorial office of Raḥamim soon became a hub for Bukharian Jewish intellectual life. The staff included Nisim Tadzhir, Rafael Galibov (writer and translator), rabbi Shlomo ben Pinkhas Babadzhan and Mulla Azare Yusupov.Меер Рахминович Беньяминов. Бухарские евреи. с.н., 1983. p. 14Семен Исаакович Гитлин. Национальные меньшинства в Узбекистане: прошлое и настоящее, Vol. 1. Гибор, 2004. p. 282 Tadzhir and Galibov served as the editors of the newspaper.David Ochil'diev. Istorii︠a︡ bukharskikh evreev: s drevnikh vremen do serediny XIX v. : knigi I-II. Mir Collection, 2001. p. 315 Khie Batchaev (father of the poet Muhib) was the correspondent of Raḥamim in Mari.Muḣib. La vie de Yaquv Samandar, ou, Les revers du destin: nouvelle en tadjik. Indiana University, Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1992. pp. 2-3
The last issue published from Skobelev was dated . The newspaper reappeared, published from Kokand on June 26, 1913. Per secondary sources publication of Raḥamim continued from Kokand from 1914 to 1916, albeit sporadically.. Елена Коровай: иной взгляд. Бухарские евреи в русской культуре. Litres, 2022. p. 255
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