Re: Who was talking about Khazaria?

On Fri, 25 Oct 2002 12:21:55 -0500 Peter Clark <peter-clark@...>
writes:
> Quoting Steg Belsky <draqonfayir@...>:
> > Well, technically the Franco-German Jews were already "Ashkenazic"
> > (Ashkenaz = the Rhineland) before they migrated into Eastern
> Europe and
>     Ah! Interesting, I never knew the origin of the term.
> > bumped into whatever remained of the Khazars.  Before that
> migration, if
> > i remember correctly, Eastern Europe was known as Kena`an
> according to
>     Was this a positive or negative term? As in, "land flowing with
> milk and
> honey" or "land of the pagans"?
-

I don't know, i only know that's what they called it, i don't know why.
But since "Sefarad", "Ashkenaz", and "Tzorfat" (Provence) are all neutral
terms, i'd assume "Kena`an" is neutral too.

> > the Jewish habit of renaming DIasporan regions after Biblical
> places in
> > the Eastern Mediterranean.  Until the medieval period, Spain was
> known as
> > "Ispamya" before it was renamed "Sefarad".  Which is why it's
> still
> > "Ispamya" (or something similar) in Judajca.
>     "Ispamya" sounds a lot like "Hispanya," so I'm guessing those
> are related
> terms. But what does "Sefarad" mean?
>     :Peter
-

I don't know what it means, or if it means anything at all.  It's a
placename somewheres in the Eastern Mediterranean area, if i remember
correctly on (or near) the coast, north of Israel.


-Stephen (Steg)
 "as long as you're healthy, you can be happy too."
     ~ 'abi gezunt'