Romaniotic Greek Judaism and its special form of prayer
The Romaniote Jews lived in the Greek-speaking area since the 4th century BC, as shown by the archaeological evidence from the floors of the ancient synagogues found in this area, as well as distinct Jewish symbols such as a menorah on a stone slab with an inscription in Greek underneath.
They got their name - "Romaniot" from being part of the Eastern Roman Empire, which is Byzantium, whose capital was Constantinople ("City of Constantine").
With the shrinking of the Greek political space over the years, the space in which Greek-speaking Jewish communities existed also shrank.
The huge wave of Sephardic Jews after the expulsion from Spain turned the Romaniote Jews into a minority within Greece, a minority concentrated in a small number of communities. Most of these communities, with their ancient linguistic, musical and human traditions were destroyed during the Holocaust.
As a Romaniot Jew, it is important to me to preserve and spread a little of this colorful, rare and special tradition, which is very dear to my heart.
Probably because of this, this is one of the interesting lectures in Hebrew that I know how to give :)
 יאנינה, יוון |  שימו לב לצורת הישיבה - פנים אל פנים |  קישוט ובו סמלים ושמות קבליים להגנת התינוק |  קישוט ובו סמלים ושמות קבליים להגנת התינוק |  יאנינה, יוון |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 יאנינה, יוון |  לתליה על פרוכת בית הכנסת |  טריקאלה, יוון |  יאנינה, יוון |
The story of the book of Esther in Greek and Hebrew
Piot for Shabbat evening
The Romaniotic prayer form
The Roman Eniotic text is an ancient and special text. It is known and sung in depth by two people around the world - Rabbi Gabriel Negrin, rabbi of Athens, and cantor Haim Yitzhakis. Parts of it are recognized by various trustees who accompanied them over the years. The version is still sung in the "Beit Shalom" synagogue in Athens.
As mentioned, the majority of Greek Jewry before the Holocaust was Sephardic, and its formulas are close to Spanish tunes in the other countries of the Mediterranean basin, and to neighboring-conquering Turkey in particular. Therefore this version was preserved as a branch of the Spanish version. The Romaniot version, on the other hand, was almost completely erased with the erasure of its communities, since it had no cultural "backing" on safe shores.
As a descendant of Romaniotic Judaism and as a public emissary for chapters, it is important for me to preserve this text within me for its melodies and meanings. That's why I try to collect his tapes, both from public sources (such as the National Library collection) and from private sources (such as the tapes of Mrs. Allegra Matza, Rabbi Negrin, my cousin Marko Battino and Mr. Yitzhakis).
I hope to record sections of the text myself, so that it will be available to the Israeli public on social networks, perhaps in this way parts of it will find a new life and existence outside of the components and the two dwindling and diminishing numbers in Greece.
I wanted the place and was privileged to study at the Beit Midrash for Rabbis named after Shechter, where as part of my studies I was given the opportunity to explore, glimpse and get to know the theoretical side of this text, and in particular - to focus on the Romaniotic sacred poetry, poetry written in Judeo Greek. A language that I have partial cultural and linguistic keys to, being my mother's language.