The Miraculous Story of the Zionist Sephardic Jews of Bulgaria

By Joshua Marks, JNS.org

less than a two-hour drive from and southeast of the capital, Sofia, lies Plovdiv, a remarkable ancient Bulgarian city. Plovdiv, known as Europe’s oldest, continuously inhabited city—and one of the oldest cities in the world—is nestled among the famous seven hills along the banks of the Maritsa River. It is here that our Jewish journey begins.

During the Roman imperial period in the 3rd century C.E., the city was called Philippopolis. It is in Plovdiv that the only ancient synagogue in Bulgaria was discovered. At the archaeological museum, visitors can admire a fragmented mosaic floor adorned with a menorah and Greek inscription.

However, the Jewish presence in this region and its surroundings can be traced back even further, as mentioned in the book Bulgarian Jews: Living History by Clive Leviev-Sawyer and Imanuel Marcus. Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria, in his letter “On the Embassy to Gaius,” written around 41 or 42 C.E., refers to Jews residing in Thessaly, Boeotia, Macedonia, Aetolia, Attica and Argos.

In the northern part of Bulgaria, specifically in the city of Oescus, which was part of the Roman province of Moesia Inferior, a Latin inscription from the late 2nd century C.E. was discovered. This inscription features a menorah and mentions the archisynagogos (head of the synagogue).

Joseph Benatov, a Hebrew teacher at the University of Pennsylvania who grew up in Sofia’s Jewish community, shared insights with JNS on the history of Jewish communities in Bulgaria. He stated, “The oldest known communities date back to the Roman Empire, the so-called Romaniote Jews, who are the Greek-speaking Jews. And we have clear evidence of organized Jewish communities from that Roman period when Bulgaria was part of the Roman Empire.”

Following the Romaniote Jews, Ashkenazi Jews arrived in Bulgaria during the 13th and 14th centuries, migrating from central Europe, as explained by Benatov, who conducts tours of the area through his travel agency Sephardic Balkans.

“It was only after these two groups that a significant wave of Sephardic Jews arrived and settled in the region, being embraced by the Ottoman Empire following their expulsion from Spain and Portugal in 1492 and 1497,” noted Benatov, who is of pure Sephardic descent. “Upon the arrival of the Sephardic Jews, they essentially assumed control of Jewish life in the region.”

According to Benatov, many Ashkenazi Jews learned Ladino and adopted Sephardic prayer customs, leading to a rise in Ashkenazi-Sephardic marriages, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nonetheless, there were still distinct Ashkenazi communities in Bulgaria in the early 1900s, constituting around 5% of the Jewish population, while the vast majority, 95%, of Bulgarian Jews in the 20th century until World War II were Sephardic. The Sephardim largely absorbed the Romaniotes, unlike the Ashkenazim who maintained a minor presence.

Benatov highlighted the fact that the Bulgarian-Jewish identity is a relatively new development, stemming from Bulgaria’s independence in 1878. Throughout the previous 400 years that Sephardic Jews resided in the region, they primarily identified as Ottoman Jews, considering themselves subjects of the Ottoman Empire, and were closely tied to their respective hometowns.

My wife’s DNA is particularly interesting, as it reflects the historical encounters between the Ashkenazi and Sephardic communities in Bulgaria. On her maternal side, her family is of Sephardic descent. However, the genetic analysis also revealed a percentage of Ashkenazi ancestry, which can be attributed to her great-great-grandfather, Mr. Berenstein.

In April, we embarked on a journey from Tel Aviv to Sofia to explore Bulgaria’s Jewish sites. We were fortunate to have a highly recommended tour guide, a knowledgeable local named Philip Stanimirov, who was recommended by Joseph. Accompanying us on the tour were family members from my hometown of Washington, D.C.

One of the initial highlights of our tour was the awe-inspiring Central Sofia Synagogue. This magnificent house of Jewish worship is not only one of the largest Sephardic synagogues in Europe; it’s also the largest in the Balkan Peninsula. It is an absolute must-visit for any Jewish traveler exploring Bulgaria.

The Moorish Revival synagogue in Sofia, designed by Austrian architect Friedrich Grünanger, was constructed on the site of the previous Ahava ve Chesed synagogue. Completed in 1909, this architectural masterpiece stands as a testament to the Bulgarian people’s renowned tolerance. The Square of Religious Tolerance, located in the heart of Sofia, evokes the ambiance of Jerusalem’s Old City. Within close proximity, one can find the synagogue, the Banya Bashi Mosque, the Eastern Orthodox Hagia Nedelya Cathedral and the Roman Catholic St. Joseph’s Cathedral, which showcase the diverse religious landscape of the area.

Benatov highlighted the significant role that the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church played in condemning discrimination against Jews and protecting the community from persecution during World War II and the Holocaust. Metropolitan Kiril of Plovdiv and Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia spearheaded efforts to rescue Bulgaria’s Jews, and both were recognized in 2002 as Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem. They are buried at the Bachkovo Monastery just south of Plovdiv.

In a remarkable act of civil disobedience, Kiril, who would later become the patriarch of the Bulgarian Church, led a group of 300 church members to the train station in Plovdiv. This station was where thousands of Jews were being forcibly packed into boxcars, awaiting transportation to Treblinka. Despite the presence of Nazi SS officers, Kiril fearlessly pushed through and attempted to enter one of the train cars. However, he was prevented from doing so by the guards. Undeterred, he proceeded to walk to the front of the train and made a bold declaration that he would lie down on the tracks if the train were to start moving.

It is worth noting that Stephan, the bishop of Sofia, fully supported Kiril’s actions. In fact, he even sent a letter to the king, warning that if the Jews were deported, he too would lie down on the train tracks as a form of protest.

Benatov stated, “This is something that I think Bulgarians are rightly very proud of, that even on the religious level, the Bulgarian East Orthodox Church as a national institution was adamantly pro-Jewish and defensive of its Jewish neighbors and friends in the country.”

The remarkable story of Bulgaria’s nearly 50,000 Jews who were spared from the horrors of the gas chambers during World War II, despite the country’s alliance with Nazi Germany, distinguishes it from many others that willingly handed over their Jewish population for deportation to death camps.

This story continues at jns.org/the-miraculous-story-of-the-zionist-sephardic-jews-of-bulgaria.