Jews of Aden

The history of the Jews in Aden, Yemen, are mainly those Jews who were born in, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Aden, on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, bordering in Hadramaut—akin to Biblical Chatzar-Mavet. Aden is a seaport on the Red Sea, previously belonging to Great Britain. The Jews were among the earliest settlers. Some five hundred years ago, the great Rabbi Obadiah of Bartinuro wrote that there had come to Jerusalem "Jews from the land of Eden . . . They are not much acquainted with the Talmud, but only with Rabbi Alfasi and Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon". Virtually the entire population emigrated from Aden between June 1947 and September 1967. Most now live in Israel, with some others in the United Kingdom, and fewer elsewhere.

In 1489, Rabbi Obadiah di Bertinora encountered Jews in Jerusalem who had come from Aden, and who described for him their polity and settlement in the land of Yemen, as also knowledge about Moses' progeny who were settled some fifty-days' walking distance from their place as one journeys in the desert, and that they were encompassed by the river Sambation. He says that the Jews of Aden were only knowledgeable in the writings of Rabbi Alfasi and Maimonides, in the latter work of which they were especially well-versed.

The Cairo Genizah (discovered in 1896) contains amazing letters from an earlier period of the sages which reveal connections between the Jewish communities of Egypt and Aden, and trade to India via Aden. Some of the letters were sent by the heads of rabbinical academies to the Adeni and other communities seeking financial support for their institutions. Digs at Beit She'arim in Israel provide proof that Jews were settled in Aden,Yemen during the mishnaic period (2nd and 3rd centuries CE). A hall was discovered there containing tombs of the Jews from Yemen. These Jews had been brought from Himyar for burial in the holy land. Tombstones were also found in Jewish cemeteries in Aden, dating as far back as the 12th century.

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