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v1 of my thread on Sicilian Jews:
The historical Sicilian Jewish community at its height was one of the most numerous in the world relative to its host population (at ~5% of Sicilians, about twice as dense as old Sepharad). They arrived 1st/2nd cent CE, or maybe pre-Roman exile.
The historical Sicilian Jewish community at its height was one of the most numerous in the world relative to its host population (at ~5% of Sicilians, about twice as dense as old Sepharad). They arrived 1st/2nd cent CE, or maybe pre-Roman exile.
They had their own distinct minhagim, although with similarities to those of the Italkim and Romaniotes. They spoke a variety of Arabic that would be somewhat mutually intelligible with modern Maltese and North African Arabic languages.
Even after Arab rule over Sicily ended, for centuries under Norman and Aragonese/Spanish rule they maintained that language and a culture similar to many North African Jews (though with increasing Renaissance influence) up until the expulsion of 1492/1493.
The expulsion and the ensuing chaos of war, pogroms, and disease in southern Italy resulted in about 2/3 of the population going into exile (especially to Rome and northen Italy, Greece, Anatolia, northen Eretz Yisrael, and Syria) , while about 1/3 were nominally converted to…
Many B'nei Anusim (descendents of forced converts) still live in Sicily and the southern Italian provinces, while others arrived in the US during the waves of Italian immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries (Hi! 
).
).
Slowly but steadily some of us are starting to return to normative Judaism. We're not as numerous as the descendents of Spanish & Portuguese Anusim, but we're here!
As for the exiles, some communities maintained a distinct Sicilian identity as recently as the 20th century, with certain practices such as the observance of the Purim Katan Saragossa (Little Purim of Syracuse) being restricted to the Sicilian community.
Others assimilated into the local Sephardi and Romaniote communities and even came to think they were of Spanish and Portuguese descent.
In all cases (except I suppose for Syria?), they all lost their original Arabic language, becoming Ladino or Yevannic (Judeo-Greek) speakers.
Even those who knew they were Sicilians often adopted Sephardi nusach because of a lack of siddurim and/or chazanim who knew the original nusach/melodies.
In many cases, the exiles were initially despised in their host communities, even by Spanish and Portuguese exiles, being looked down upon as dirty, strange, and fractious.
While I know some descendents of the exiles survive today, most eventually lost their Sicilian identity and/or perished in the Shoah.
As far as our historical practices and culture...so much has been lost.
As far as our historical practices and culture...so much has been lost.
Some of what I know:
I did already mention our special holiday Purim Katan Siracusa/Saragossa, a 'little Purim' celebrating a legendary salvation of the Jews of Syracuse, Sicily from the wrath of the local king.
The story is recorded in a special megillah (read in the same trope AFAIK as the Esther megilah), which is linked below. https://opensiddur.org/readings-and-sourcetexts/festival-and-fast-day-readings/jewish/purim-sheni-readings/megillat-saragossa/
In the exile communities in the Ottoman Empire, the observance of the chag was sometimes restricted to those of strictly Sicilian lineage - if a woman married a non-Sicilian, her children were no longer able to observe it.
As I understand it, the foods and festivities largely mirrored those of the "real" Purim, though some communities sung a special song about the story of the megilah in Yevannic set to the same tune as the Purim song 'Kina Glossa'.
Some original poems in Sicilian Judeo-Arabic survive in a manuscript discovered at the Vatican library (I have a PDF of a transcription w/French translation), and there was also a Judeo-Arabic kinah for Tisha B'Av comemorating a deadly 15th century pogrom in the towns of Noto…
…and Modica.
I know that wedding practices were similar in a lot of ways to what I understand of Tunisian and Morroccan Jewish weddings. There was a bridal procession, henna ceremony, etc.
I know that wedding practices were similar in a lot of ways to what I understand of Tunisian and Morroccan Jewish weddings. There was a bridal procession, henna ceremony, etc.
Sicily is possibly the distant origin of the latke, in the form of a pancake made of ricotta or soft-curd cheese, like many Sephardi Jews we eat dairy for 7anukka to comemorate the story of Judith and Holofernes.
Sicily was not AFAIK subject to the anti-kabbalah trend of some Sephardi communities. I believe there were for some time schools that taught kabbalah alongside halacha and 'secular' studies.
Some mystical folk practices persist among B'nei Anusim, such as the tying of a red string around the wrist of a baby as protection from ayin hara (or possibly above the crib or the bed of a sick adult?).
Sicilian exiles brought some of their cuisine to northen Italy and especially to the Roman ghetto, such as cassole (fried ricotta pancakes, though I think there is a larger baked version too), concia (fried zucchini with vinegar), and possibly carciofi alla giudia (deep fried…
…artichokes) - I'm not as sure about that last one.
Any Italian Jewish food with pine nuts probably has Sicilian Jews to thank.
Any Italian Jewish food with pine nuts probably has Sicilian Jews to thank.
On the night of Hoshana Rabbah, Sicilian Jewish women would bring their children to the scola/meskita (synagogue) to kiss the Sefer Tora and sit in front of the ark. The Sicilian Tora scrolls had hard cases of wood or metal like many Sephardi communities.
There's also this weird account of a Sicilian Jewish woman collapsing on the ground and asking to be covered in a taleth, and then writing supposedly appeared on her skin? Weird shit, wish I knew more.
^
(I read it in an academic paper from Nadia Zeldes, it was in hebrew so I had to rely on auto translation and I might not have it all clear.)
(I read it in an academic paper from Nadia Zeldes, it was in hebrew so I had to rely on auto translation and I might not have it all clear.)
Well...that's all that's on my mind for now. If you have questions or want me to elaborate on something please reply! Just keep in mind I'm not an academic! I don't even have a bachelor's degree! I'm just motivated to learn about the history and practices of my people.
Also, for any reconnecting B'nei Anusim reading this, I started a Discord sever for us (as well as reconnecting Zera Yisrael/patrilineal Jews and anyone else with a complicated Jewish status). Shoot me a message and I'll invite you!
Oh also I forgot to say: the date of Purim Katan Siracusa seems to have varied between communities, falling somewhere between the 16th and 19th of Shevat with a fast traditionally observed on the preceding day.
There's more I could go into on Jewish-Muslim-Xian relations in Sicily, the exact origins of the community, common occupations, Jewish migrations to and from Sicily, etc, but my brain needs a break and this is twitter lol. But ask and I'll try to answer!
