With all due respect, you don't honestly believe that Abir is authentic, do you? It seems to me that at the very least the use of Chinese swords and fans, as depicted on the Abir website, should have given the game away.

This is not a comment on Mr. Sofer's skills as a martial artist. Assuming that the statements regarding his rankings in various Korean arts are true, I imagine that he can fight.

However, that is not the same thing as claiming that he is privy to the secrets of the lost fighting arts of the ancient Israelites, if such a thing ever existed.

I am, however, quite intrigued by the claim that King Abdullah had Jewish bodyguards. That would be quite something, if true.

I keep telling you, you can't go on and on watching the Hebrew Hammer over and over and....

B"H

I have been looking into this Abir thing for a little bit of time. What I have gathered is the following.

1) The claim is not exactly to have an unbroken tradition of ancient Israelite martial arts. The claim seems to be that there is an attempt to reconstruct a form of martial arts based on what has been left over from Torah, Hebrew language, and various elements of Judaic culture. I think the claim is that Jews in various ways kept certain elements of the ancient combat systems in the forms of dancing and such. Similar I believe to how Capoeira is not in its modern form "strictly" African from one particular culture. It is a mixture of techniques from a number of African cultures that met in South America due to slavery, and it was advanced into its current form due to social and musical needs.

2) The use of elements of Asian fighting forms actually makes sense for a couple reasons. We know that the Egyptians had a number of hand to hand and weaponized fighting techniques. They left paintings of them. We also know that contact between varioius cultures was wide spread and common. So essentially no culture would be able to claim to have a system of anything that didn't have influence from a foreign source. Good example in the Torah when Moshe Rabbeinu was given advice by Yithro who was a Kohen from the Midyanim. That advice as we know was pivital in the formation of a Beith Din Gadol (Sanhedrin).

3) I have met a gentleman on a military base when I was recently in Israel who is an accomplished Tai Kwan Do master who met Sofer. His words were that Sofer's skills are definately real. The style that he is calling Abir is an attempt at a recreation of a Torah centered fightning technique. I.e. instead of Buhdism or such being the central focus, Torah is the focus. The gentelmen also mentioned that Sofer's style of teaching is to say, "Here are a group of tools (techniques) now you take them and put them together." If a person can do that with Torah as the guiding principle on how they use it then it could be valid to say that one is practicing martial arts the same way Melekh David did for example.

4) We know from the Tanakh that men like Levi, Shimon, Samson, David, Gideon, Baraq, etc. all were skilled fighters and in many cases took on armies that outnumbered them. Did ancient Israelites develop a new fighting method after being in the land of Israel? More than likely not, they most likely knew some thigns that they picked up from their time in Canaan, Egypt, and even afterwards they more than likely learned from the peoples they fought and had trade relations with.

Now mind you I am not saying that I know everything about Abir, but from what I have been seeing and hearing about it this is what I have peiced together I do like the idea of practicing something that has Torah as a central focus. Now whether or not King Abdullah had Jewish bodyguards, I don't know. I have seen a picture with three men behind him and one with what looked like Teimani Simonim (Peoth). Some of the various claims I have seen about Abir's exact historical origins, as it relates to the claims made about it, I can't vouch for either. If it truly is a set of techniques constructed from Sofer's experience in Asian Martial Arts such as Korean Kuk Sool Won, Hapkido and Tuk Gong Musool then mixed with Torah principles and movements from dances done by Mizrahi Jews then it could be considered Jewish in nature.

Think of it this way. I recently saw a terrorist training video from Afganastan where the terrorist were training everyday in Martial Arts and using Islam as the focus for doing it. They don't see any comprimise, especially since at one time the Arab world had a fighting technique it developed and was lost. So the question then becomes what does a religious Jew do when he/she wants to be able to defend themselves in a method in line with Torah free of Avodah Zara.

Just some things to consider.

Ehav Ever

If you want to say that Mr. Sofer just made up something of his own by taking the Korean arts he had learned and kashering them by replacing the Asian cultural/religious elements with Torah, that's fine. But the impression given is that he is transmitting an authentic ancient Israelite martial tradition. This seems quite implaubsible, if not utterly fantastic.

As I said, this has nothing to do with whether or not Mr. Sofer can fight.

I am not sure, but it looks like I lost my entire response.

Here is the short version of what I trying to write. Kuk Sool Won, Hapkido and Tuk Gong Musool are not "religious" martial arts. They are recent developments and were created free of religious ties to their use. All them are also modern recreations of mixtures of ancient techniques. It seems like what Sofer is claiming to have created is something similar using Judaism, the ancient Hebrew script, and some techniques from Mizrahi Jews who were known to be fighters.

Also, the Abir web-site does not seem to lay claim to the techniques that Sofer created as being exactly "passed down." The site seems to suggest that his experience in the martial arts as well as his research into Jewish communities who had maintained fighting skills, as well as dances that resemble fighting techniques were his source for Abir.

If you read Ken Brady's book Jewish Communities in Exotic Places it talks about several Jewish communties who had maintained a fighting technique and were often used as warriors. Examples Habbani Jews and the Mountain Jews of Daghestan. Both of these groups were recorded to have descended from Jewish soldiers from antiquity. The Sultans of South Arabia going back centuries often used Habbani Jews in his army because of their combat prowess.

One of the reasons that these kind of things aren't known is mainly because Sephardic and Mizrahi topics are often left out of Jewish education. The Abir web-site seems to suggest that if you were to call ancient Israelite combat methods a name Abir is what they would call it. Some elements of it have survived and he was able take those and other elements and create his system.

The Abir web-site states the following.

"After 42 years of rigorous dedication and training in combative arts he built and refined an effective system from a wide variety of mixed martial arts based on Abir® principles and his decades of research and development in the field."

"The Grandmaster has developed his system of (RSD) Tactics which has been tested in combat by elite units of the IDF and in assisting some other countries who have approached Israel for help.

RSD is a trimmed down simplified version of Abir® for elite security/military /police personnel. RSD is NOT for the public!

Yehoshua Sofer is the creator of Abir® Israelite Warrior Arts (in its modern form) which is the result of his life long study of martial arts. Abir® includes Sofers' strategies and unique concepts of motion, energy, placement or spaciality, use of balanced force and his use of the Hebrew alphabet and the symbols of the 12 Tribes of Israel to classify or categorize martial arts training into a very clear digestible "user friendly" format. Sofer has a school and is presently looking for talented people who can assimilate his Abir® system in an intensive program designed to fill the demand for qualified instructors to teach his system with its instructional methodology."

So it seems like Sofer's approach is the following. Take:

1) Torah
2) Historical references to warriors in the Tanakh
3)Ancient Hebrew letters as methods of categorizing the techniques.
4) Modern Jewish communities who are known to have had a figting style (Habbani Jews and Daghestani)
5) Jewish dances from various exotic of ancient communities.
6) A knowledge of 3 martial styles that are not religious in nature that are themselves recreations of more ancient forms.

Now to the question of did Sofer have information handed down to him by Habbani Jews or Daghestani Jews? The other question is are there people mis-represting the information that the Abir web-site presents? Maybe. These are different questions. When I have time I will post the info have about these communities.

Kol tuv,

Ehav

Shrug.

Just seems like another guy who took a bunch of stuff he learned over the course of his life, created his own "system", and called himself the "Grandmaster", being sure to trademark the name. The MA world is replete with such people.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this, of course. It is just that the traditional Jewish element seems quite speculative, to say the least. I am quite aware that back in the day the Jews had a reputation for being fighters of no mean prowess. The Egyptians hired soldiers from the community in Elephantine as mercenaries, for example.

However, the Abir website takes great pains to present Mr. Sofer's art as an authentic and traditional Jewish fighting art. Mr. Body's post presents it in the same way ("Ancient Jewish Fighting Arts? Who Knew?"). This seems like false advertising to me, that's all.

I think you are both right. On closer study, there appear to be discrepancies between the reportage of Abir on the various websites. Lazer Brody suggests that the GM's uncles were the very same Jews guarding King Abdullah in Jordan. But I can find no shred of confirmation about this on the Abir website, or in the supporting docs. So either this was a private communication, suitable for a religious audience. Or Lazer Brody got some of the details incorrect. I assume they met at Uman, during Rav Nachman's website, because he states they spent a week together. But I could be all off there on my assumption.

It's unlikely, of course, that these are direct traditions from antiquity. Without being that old, they could be, however, very old traditions indeed retained among the Habbani Jews, which in itself would be extraordinary.

On the other hand, though, I do think it is possible for an interpreter, whether of the word, or of physical movement, to look at a bit of phrasing that would befuddle most peopole, yet if they have sensitive enough perception, they are able to unpuzzle it, parse it, and thus read a great deal of technical information from it.

I've had such a teacher myself on the textual level able to unravel exegetical puzzles from the pre-rabbinic and early rabbinic period - I don't see why physical extrapolation is not similarly possible for someone so singularly gifted. Of course there would be no perfect proof of whether or not the interpretation was correct. So it would remain in the realm of hypothesis - but interesting none the less for that.

Ehav, thanks for the tip about Ken Blady's book - I reserved it at the library - I definitely want to read the sections you mentioned. And I would appreciate hearing, when you get the chance, about the communities.

Greetings,

I agree with you that some of the information about Abir sounds fantastic in nature. After reading through the official web-site it seems that there are some people out there who are making claims about Abir that aren't the same as what is on the official web-site. The web-site in several places mentions that the Abir that Sofer is advertising is his on creation and is new, but based on a number of traditional sources or a a Masorah if you will that was passed down to him and that he studied. Also, I get the impression from the web-site that most of the Abir form is based on the following, most of which seems like it is clearly spelled out in the Q&A PDF.

Page 3, http://www.abirwarriorarts.com/BACKGROUND%20AND%20FAQ.pdf
Yehoshua Sofer has searched out the massive amount of material available in ancient texts like the Pentateuch, Megiloth (the Scrolls),
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, the Talmud, the Midrash and others such as the Book Of Yashar and the diaries of the first century historian Flavius
Josephus that recall the battle prowess of the tribes of Israel and prove that they were Masters of armed and weaponless martial arts and had tremendous strength which they gathered in the lower abdomen (referred to frequently as 'loins' in the Hebrew Bible of the Jews as translated into English. Flavious Josephus, the first century historian
wrote that The Israelites developed combat techniques by studying the tactics and movements of wild beasts of the forest. Gideon defeated
120,000 Medianite and Amalekite warriors with 300 men.

Page 3, http://www.abirwarriorarts.com/BACKGROUND%20AND%20FAQ.pdf
An interesting point to be noted is that ABIR® makes use of many martial and combat forms that tell a story pictorially with a language rich in its mimicry of biblical beasts of the wild and the mystical that occupy the heavens, the sea, the ground beneath us and it's constant recounting of biblical feats of Israel's ancestors and symbolism.

The question then becomes, what aspect of what Sofer is calling the "Ancient Abir" techniques or philosophy is he saying was "passed down" to him? If he is saying the techniques were passed down, then the question is where did his family come from to get them passed down to them? For example was his family connected the Habbani Jews that the web-site references? One of the segments on the web-site makes the following statement.

Page 1, http://www.abirwarriorarts.com/BACKGROUND%20AND%20FAQ.pdf Sofers' Grandfather Nachman is said to have played with him from the age of three indoctrinating him with games based on the elder mans' old
Hevron/Hejaz Abir ; Shootnah, Karkour, Paziza, heavkuth, kunfoon, Keshet, Herev Rahav (Middle Eastern Broad Sword), slingshot, javelin,
nabuta, maagal and the maaraf. Saba Nachman acquired wrestling and Korean ‘Jujitsu’ while serving in an infantry/horseman's unit of the
Russian Army after being accosted while on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. He was held against his own free will for five years until his escape. These were the skills he sought to pass on in secret as tradition dictated until a proper time in the future.

Now here is the thing to consider in terms of the validity of such a claim. The Jews of Yemen have a legend that the first Jews came to Yemen 40 years before the 1st Temple was destroyed. It was because of this that they say they were able to maintain a large majority of the pronuncation of ancient Hebrew from the time of the 1st Temple period. Many scholars feel that they are either 90% to 95% in line with the traditional thinking of what Hebrew was like during the time of Solomon. So if they are saying that they have faithful handed down 90% of the dialect from ancient Israel then this can be counted as a similar kind of claim.

http://www.abirwarriorarts.com/bio1.htm
"The Grandmaster has developed his system of (RSD) Tactics which has been tested in combat by elite units of the IDF and in assisting some other countries who have approached Israel for help. RSD is a trimmed down simplified version of Abir® for elite security/military /police personnel. RSD is NOT for the public!

Yehoshua Sofer is the creator of Abir® Israelite Warrior Arts (in its modern form) which is the result of his life long study of martial arts. Abir® includes Sofers' strategies and unique concepts of motion, energy, placement or spaciality, use of
balanced force and his use of the Hebrew alphabet and the symbols of the 12 Tribes of Israel to classify or categorize martial arts training into a very clear digestible "user friendly" format. Sofer has a school and is presently looking for
talented people who can assimilate his Abir® system in an intensive program designed to fill the demand for qualified instructors to teach his system with its instructional methodology."

It also seems clear that they the Abir is stating that a vast majority of what may have existed as an "Israelite" form of martial arts doesn't not exist today.

http://www.abirwarriorarts.com/history.htm
While it is correct that the vast majority of the ancient Israelites descendents did not continue Abir® training as they were dispersed in exile across the globe, it is a fact that bits and pieces of this art were retained in various forms by many diverse segments of world Jewry.

This statement alone seems to suggest that what he is calling Abir was the past was an entire system that no longer exists. It then seems that he is claiming that if you look in the right places there were elements of this Abir Atiqah (Ancient Abir, not to be confused with the system that he created as mentioned before from the other link)

Later he states:

http://www.abirwarriorarts.com/history2.htm
Much of the bulk of what was left intact was kept alive by a group of nomadic Jews who roamed the Hejaz desert.

Page 2, http://www.abirwarriorarts.com/BACKGROUND%20AND%20FAQ.pdf
Sofer achieved a level of exposure for his Korean Grandmaster who he reveres with ultimate respect while creating a bit of history for himself as
Gm Seo expressed agreement and praise for Sofer's proposal to create an effective new fighting system based on traditional Abir themes with a
teaching methodology to fit today’s needs. Sofer’s ‘’new’’ Abir would be designed as an effective form of martial art for the Jewish nation based
on it's own ancient martial heritage, language, culture, history, religious beliefs, customs and ceremonies.

Although basically a totally modern system of martial art/combat Sofer's ''ABIR®'' is deeply rooted in ancient Israelite (Jewish) traditions, spirituality and reintroduces its alphabet, internal energy concepts, healing arts, breath
cessation and other meditation techniques mentioned in the Holy Torah along with a format that includes and is interwoven with the study of it's unique calendar, holidays, rituals and celebrates it's people's true heroes from throughout it's illustrious past, therefore making it a ''traditional'' martial art without a shadow of a doubt.

This statement sees to suggest that Sofer is saying he created a "NEW" Abir based on what he has learned from a number of sources. One of the premises seems to be based on the Rambam's words in the Moreh Nevuchim concerning fitness.

"Thus those who accomplish acts of exercising their body in the wish to be healthy,
engaging in ball games, wrestling, boxing and suspension of breathing . . . are in the
opinion of the ignorant engaged in frivolous actions, whereas they are not frivolous
according to the Sages."

(Moreh Nevuchim 3, 25; Pines ed. vol. 2 pg. 503)

The words used in Hebrew for boxing are "meshikhat hayadayim" which literally means the pulling or stretching of hands.

In a number of places in the Q&A Sofer calles Abir a "reconstruction." So it seems as if he is being honest about the fact that Abir is not some unbroken method of Israelite fighting, it is a matter reading between the lines and reading all the informaiton on the site. Also, as I mentioned earlier I think there are people making claims about Abir that don't jive with the web-site.

Kol tuv,

Ehav Ever

Greetings alcibiades,

Concerning Ken Brady's book Jewish Communities in Exotic Places check the following pages when you receive it.

The Habbani Jews, pages 31 to 41
The Mountain Jews of Daghastan, Pages 158 to 168

You may want to look for a book called Halikhoth Teiman by Rabbi Yoseph Qafahh. If you go to http://www.chayas.com they sell it. There are some pictures of Jews who were guards for the king of Yemen.

Kol tuv,

Ehav Ever

That's very interesting, Ehav, that the quote you cited appears in Moreh Nevuchim, of all places, considering that the ultimate goal of Moreh Nevuchim is the closest possible relationship with God, and in discussing that theme, makes use of esoteric Hekhalot imagery.

"Thus those who accomplish acts of exercising their body in the wish to be healthy, engaging in ball games, wrestling, boxing and suspension of breathing . . . are in the opinion of the ignorant engaged in frivolous actions, whereas they are not frivolous according to the Sages."

And, he leads us to draw the conclusion, that if they are not frivolous, then they must be understood, in fact, as good and excellent actions aimed at a higher purpose.

It's easy enough to extrapolate, because of the chapter in which this is embedded, which next addresses that nothing that God made is frivolous, all is good and excellent, (a philosophic principle, by the bye, that Maimonides also utilizes in the composition of Guide to the Perplexed by paying strict heed only to include what is necessary, good and excellent), that Rambam thinks of exercises and correct breathing as one form of stepping stone to the higher purpose of man, which is the contemplation of God. Etc.

Greetings Alcibiades,

I agree with you wholeheartidly. Interesting analysis. The Rambam's words also makes one wonder if there was maybe a particular martial art that he was referencing in his statements. The idea of a combination of wrestling, boxing, and breathing techniques together. Makes one wonder.

Ehav

In response to the impact on Western culture of Asian martial arts which can boast authentic, documented and unbroken traditions of many hundreds of years (such as the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu, a school of Japanese swordsmanship that can document its lineage from the founder up the the present 22nd generation, for example), a sort of counter-reaction has set in among Westerners who have begun searching their own culture for something similar. A "Western Martial Arts" movement has sprung up with people reconstructing and teaching medieval and Renaissance European fighting traditions based on various "fechtbucher" (fighting books), such as the Flos Duellatorum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flos_Duellatorum). It's pretty interesting, actually. There are oodles of websites (http://www.thearma.org/) for these things. Many of the instructional texts are as arcane, abstruse, and seemingly mystical as anything one could find in any Asian art.

Abir seems to me like a Jewish attempt to do the same thing. There may very well have been some sort of authentic Jewish martial arts back in the day, and I quite agree that various tantalizing references in Jewish texts are most intriguing indeed. However, we really don't know what they might mean. The true mesorah has been lost. A reconstructed tradition is not a genuine living tradition, and much of what we "know" must be seen as speculative.

But it's a comforting idea, I guess.

Greetings Ephraim,

I think the Abir web-site agrees with what you typed. The web-site, as I showed earlier, is clear that the Abir system that Sofer is teaching is something that he created from a variaty of Judaic sources. His web-site doesn't appear to make the claim that it has a "unhindered" or "pure" Masorah on the various ancient Israelite methods of fighting.

"Although basically a totally modern system of martial art/combat Sofer's Abir is deeply rooted in ancient Israelite (Jewish) traditions, spirituality and reintroduces its alphabet, internal energy concepts, healing arts, breath cessation and other meditation techniques entioned in the Holy Torah along with a format that includes and is interwoven with the study of it's unique calendar, holidays, rituals and celebrates it's people's true heroes from throughout it's illustrious past, therefore making it a ''traditional'' martial art without a shadow of a doubt."

It seems to only make the claim Sofer had a family member who taught him the Habbini traditions of their fighting method which was an Abir, as they knew them. He seems to posit that he took elements of a number of things from his historical and martial arts experience and created a "new" system based on what has been left.

The FAQ page also doesn't make any claim that there are not older systems of Martial Arts from Asia out there with an unbroken chain to their origins. It seems to simply say that most or many are not with an unbroken chain (some for examples have introduced old and newer elements) and some of the ones that are are problematic to a Jew for a number of reasons.

It is only the non-Abir web-sites that seem to be making other claims about his system as well as other things.

At the same time there may be a Masorah out there on techniques that Jews used in combat. That all depends on if there were communities that have a claim similar to the way the Yemenites claim to have a almost pure Masorah in terms of their pronunciation of Hebrew and elements of their Nusahh. At the same time what techniques the ancient Israelites used to defeat the various armies the Tanakh says they defeated more than likely all the cultures in the area were privy to the same information. The tactics seemed to be what set armies apart, and even that was learned and studied by other armies.

All in all there more than likely was a knowledge of how to fight in Israel, yet the key to any system that would set a Jewish system apart would be Torah and Qiddush Hashem. That seems to be the only point of the Abir system.

Kol tuv,

Ehav Ever

Sorry, there's no such thing as a "new tradition", and dressing up Korean karate in tallis and tefillin doesn't make it Jewish.

The paragraph you quoted is self-contradictory in so many ways I don't even know where to start. If you've got a Gemara head, just try parsing it a little bit. It claims that Abir is a "totally modern system" while also being a "traditional martial art". Which is it? Both things cannot be simultaneously true.

Of course, if one wants to define "traditional" as "having the appearance or trappings of tradition" then, OK, it's "traditional", sort of like "Ye Olde Ayle and Pye Shoppe" at a Renaissance Faire is "traditional". "Traditionalish" let us say. Or, a bit closer to home, it's like the mix-and-match instant "traditions" of certain aspects of the Jewish Renewal movement, where Jews who have grown up with little or no genuine Yiddishkeit pick and choose which traditions (or, should I say, which of their self-taught interpretations of traditions they don't really understand) "resonate" with them.

A real tradition, on the other hand, is just that, a tradition. The lineage can be traced from master to master and there will be a body of teachings developed over time which define that tradition. Abir has none of this. It is Mr. Sofer's unique creation.

Like I said, I see no problem with someone synthesizing a system from various elements. This is how new things are created and how things evolve, change and develop. I just think we should call a spade a spade.

In a few hundred years, if Abir survives and is passed on, it may very well become a real tradition. It just isn't one now (yet), that's all.

B"H

Greetings Ephraim,

With all do respect I would have to disagree with you that there is no such thing as a "new tradition." All traditions start somewhere and if it is being passed on then it is a tradition none the less, albeit the tradition of such and such. For example the Baladi nushh of Teiman was at one time a new minhag that started to settle the whole Dor Daih vs. Shami debate over the Zohar. As soon as the Maharitz created it and people followed it it was a minhag. The question is whether or not a tradition is ancient is based on whether not as you stated there has been a proven transmision. I still think that there are a few ways that affect whether the word english word "traditional" is an accurate word to use or not. As you stated it depends on how one defines traditional. For example the on a couple of dictionary and encyclopedia web-sites I found the following definations of the english word tradition.

[QUOTING FROM DICTIONARY AND ENCYCLOPEDIA]
adjective 1. of or pertaining to tradition.
2. handed down by tradition.
3. in accordance with tradition.
4. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of an older style

On a more basic theoretical level, tradition(s) can be seen as information or composed of information. For that which is brought into the present from the past, in a particular societal context, is information. This is even more fundamental than particular acts or practices even if repeated over a long sequence of time. For such acts or practices, once performed, disappear unless they have been transformed into some manner of communicable information.

Although traditions are often presumed to be ancient, unalterable, and deeply important, they are often much less "natural" than is often presumed. Many traditions have been deliberately invented for one reason or another, often to highlight or enhance the importance of a certain institution. Traditions are also frequently changed to suit the needs of the day, and the changes quickly become accepted as a part of the ancient tradition.

[END QUOTING FROM DICTIONARY AND ENCYCLOPEDIA]

So I think a group of techniques could be a valid traditional Jewish Martial art based on Habani and Daghesni inspired Jewish fighting techniques IF the follwing were true.

1) If the claim is a connection to Habbani Jews or Daghastani Jews that can be varified by members of said groups (Both of which have a long history of being skilled at combat)

2) If said techniques were directly learned from someone within these groups.

3) If said techiques were updated or supplemented using a number of techniques from fighting skills. (Maybe to compensate for weaknesses in the technique or holes.)

4) Updates to the culture of the art based on a combination of Jewish cultures that were not initially a part of the system.

In terms of Sofer's claim I think it depends on whether he is saying that he has received a minhag from his grandfather Nachman, that his grandfather for example called Abir. He then took elements of what his grandfather taught him and added to it, thus coming up with his own system.

Once again I think this all goes back to whether it is true that his grandfather taught him some form of Hevron/Hejaz fighting techniques such as Hevron/Hejaz Abir ; Shootnah, Karkour, Paziza, heavkuth, kunfoon, Keshet, Herev Rahav (Middle Eastern Broad Sword), slingshot, javelin, nabuta, maagal and the maaraf. If this is the case, and if there is a Minhag from Teiman/Habban/Daghestan with regard to combat that was passed down from a number of generation, and then Sofer took what was passed down to himand added elements from his own experience I think we end up at the same point where we started. I think your major issue with Abir is on whether this point is true or not. (Correct me if I am wrong) If this point is not true then I would agree with you that it is false advertising to in terms of the angle they seem to say about where certain elements of Sofer's system came from. I think the test for this is whether or not his grandfather or any member of his family that he says taught him was either from or ever traveled to the Hejez region and if said Jews who may have been there have any such tradition.

I do know that there were Yemenites, Habbani, and North African Jews who have had an tradition of having ancestors who left Eretz Yisrael quite early 1st Temple and 2nd Temple. In these places there were Jews who had been known as warriors for centuries and some claimed ties back to soldiers in Melekh David's army. Whether this is true or not is another topic. As I mentioned before according to Minhag Teiman their mesorah on the pronunciation of Hebrew is considered by many one of the oldest (although the Jimmal and Goof used by some Baladim seem to have recent). They also were known to be very skilled in combat and for centuries were used by the Sultans in their militaries.

All of this isn't so hard to believe if one looks into the fact that the Mesakin and Kao Nuba of the Sudan they still practice a fighting form similar to the Nuba form found on walls of ancient tombs in East Africa. In the Middle East there were a number of fighting styles that mainly exist today in dance or in bits and peices. In Yemen there is a fighting technique called Raks Al-Khanjar, literaly “Dance of the blade”. Yemen has one of the most well preserved traditions of “man and knife” in the Middle East. By far the most developed Martial Art in the Middle East is “Moussarra” i.e. grappling in Arabic, in Persian they are called “Koshti” and in Turkish “Yagli Gures”.The history of grappling arts in the Middle East goes back many centuries and is deeply ingrained into the society and culture of the people.

On a similar note, I noticed the Silat Mubai International Islamic Military Arts and Warrior Culture web-site had the following definition for a Muslim Martial Art: "What is a Muslim Fighting Art? Any combative art made by Muslim people which follows the chivalry and ethics of traditional Muslim Warrior Culture is what we consider a Muslim Fighting Art."

I think the same would apply to a system created by Jews using Jewish ethics and tradition. Many of the moves that I have seen Sofer teach in various videos look similar to a number of Middle Eastern martial art grappling styles that I have seen used by Arabs.

Some of the moves that I have seen him teach as Abir are similar to dances done by Yemenite Jews during the Nashid segments of the singing of songs from the Diwwan, so again I don't think that he simply took everything he is teaching from the Korean arts he learned. Some of the things in his system are traditional Habbani and Yemenite dance moves made into movements for grappling. In a similar way to how some forms of 1980's breakdancing looks like Capoeira moves such the Jinga, Piao de cabeca, Piao de mao. etc.

I think we both agree that the Abir web-site doesn't define itself in a way that makes it completely clear. Whether or not that is intentional or not is also the question. In any case I sent a email to Sofer asking him about some of his claims, and also I am sending some emails to Yemenite experts I know to see if the Habbanim had a Mesorah on some kind of fighting techniques. I will let you know what responses I get.

Kol tuv,

Ehav Ever

Hi Ephraim,

You wrote: The paragraph you quoted is self-contradictory in so many ways I don't even know where to start. If you've got a Gemara head, just try parsing it a little bit. It claims that Abir is a "totally modern system" while also being a "traditional martial art". Which is it? Both things cannot be simultaneously true.

I disagree with this semantically.

I think you can have an entirely modern system which systematizes formerly unsystematized traditional fighting skills.

In other words, if the Aluf actually received all the traditional elements of the Habbani Jews, he may have been the first to take these traditional elements and use them to help create his system. In that case, it would be both traditional, in the sense of containing traditional elements, and a modern system, in that these elements were no longer - or perhaps never had been - systematized.

It seems likely however that the traditional elements have been hugely bolstered by the modern elements, so that they predominate in the system.

I think what Mr. Sofer is doing is similar to grafting fruit, say, or creating a hybrid berry like a Boysenberry, named after the man who first created it by combining two different species.

For example, etrogim created by grafting etrog branches onto a lemon tree (as I understand it; I'm not a scientist) are most definitely etrogim, yet all poskim have paskened that they are not kosher for use on Sukkot.

Why? Because they are not genuine, kosher, traditional, 100% unadulterated etrogim. They have been artificially created and therefore are not pure, real etrogim, at least for the purposes of the Arba Minim. For an etrog to be kosher for use on Sukkot, it must have the required yichus, so to speak.

So, when I question whether Mr. Sofer's Abir is really traditional, what I am really doing is questioning its yichus, so to speak. Abir may very well contain traditional Jewish elements, albeit clearly grafted onto a base of Korean karate. As such, there is simply no way that Abir, as Mr. Sofer has constructed (or "reconstructed") it, can be a traditional Jewish fighting art that has been traditionally practiced by generations of Jews. Until such time as it can be proved to me that there is a genuine mesorah of Abir, I think it should be considered what it appears to be: a fighting art created by Mr. Sofer from elements of Korean karate and his interpretation of disparate elements and techniques from Jewish and Arab sources.

I agree that all traditions have to start somewhere. Like I said, in a few generations, Abir may very well establish itself and become a tradition, or a minhag if you prefer. It just isn't one yet, that's all.

Good to know about grafting etrogim. I wasn't aware of that law, although it certainly makes sense.

That's how it has been explained to me. An etrog must come from a real etrog tree in order to be kosher for Sukkot.

Needless to say, I am not a posek, so check with your rabbi. That is my understanding, though.

I put in an email to a few Yemenite friends to see if they know anything about the claims made on the Abir web-site concerning the Habbani having some form of martial art minhag. I also asked if they know anything about Sofer's grandfather and his family. As soon as I hear back I will post.

On the subject of Etrog and grafting. The following is a excert of the Teimani minhag.

Ehav Ever

----------

Parashat Emor 5758-1998

The "Four Kinds" in Yemenite Tradition
*Includes aspects of the B'ladi, Maharis & Shammai traditions

Dr. Aharon Gimani

Interdepartmental Jewish Studies

The Talmudic discussion of the requisite size of the etrog contains the following story (36b): "Rabbi Jose said: Once Rabbi Akiva came to the synagogue carrying his etrog on his shoulder." Rabbi Yoseph Kafih, in his discussion of the requisite size of an etrog, cites halakhic sources affirming that an etrog can be quite large. On the Talmud's remark just cited (cf. his edition of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, Zemanim, vol. 2, Laws of Lulav, ch. 7, hal. 8, n. 24, pp. 586-587) he comments:

Such specimens are only found among our etrogs [i.e., Yemenite ones], for they are natural as Hashem created them, and some even weigh as much as three kilograms. But among the grafted ones, whether single grafts which they [Ashkenazim?] call "not grafted'', or double and triple grafts, one does not find such large specimens, not even one "which can be held in two hands" [another Talmudic description]. For the second partner, the lemon, is of smaller dimension and stunts the development of the other part...

Only Yemenite etrogs, according to Rabbis Yosef Qafihh and Yizhak Ratzhabi, are sure to be from non-grafted trees. They consider such etrogs more suitable [kasher, mehuddar] than others on the market for fulfilling the commandment (cf. Rabbi Y. Kafih, ibid., p. 587; Rabbi Y. Ratzhabi, Shulhan Arukh ha-Mekutzar, 3, 117.8).

In the Name of HASHEM, G-d Eternal

Dear bloggers considering the authenticity of Abir,

A small introduction: I am a Torah scholar, university graduate in Anthropology, former student of Shotokan and Universal Fighting and enquirer into other arts over the years, and a student of Abir for the past six months. I have stayed out of the fray here because I am much too busy for these discussions, but I cannot hold back any longer.

As a student of Yemenite moris with many Yemenite friends, and a student of history, I initially had the same healthy skepticism as some of you. My joining Abir came about after a year of discussions with the Aluph Abir Yehoshuwa' and considerable research on the subject. The Aluph Abir even gave a lecture at my small beith midrash in Ramath Beith Shemesh.

As a result of my Abir training, I feel physically like a new person, and I never cease to be amazed, from lesson to lesson, as I gain new insights into its authenticity and greatness.

What has brought me to enjoy these blessings is that despite my initial doubts, I never had the cynicism or even concealed hate I sense in some bloggers on the net, discussing Abir. I am amazed how much people will speak so convincingly about something they know nothing about.

In brief, I will share with you a few lines of regarding authenticity of Abir. It can't be more, because the subject deserves an entire book, and full-length video documentary. I don't expect the cynical "Hakhamim be-`eineihem" to be convinced. After all, they don't have any of the necessary keys to recognize Abir for what it is:

1) At least a wide background in Tanakh, and Sepher HaYashar la-Qadmonim, and Talmud. Sepher HaYashar in particular has direct references to and descriptions of this hand-to-hand combat tradition in the house of Ya`aqov our forefather.

For example, when Yoseph's police force is helpless in their attempt to incarcerate Shim'on, Yoseph finally calls Manashe his son to strike Shim'on. After Menashe's single blow, Shim'on defeated. As he is led away, he tells his brothers, "Let no one say he is an Egyptian youth--This can only be a blow from the house of my father!"

Later, in parashath WayiHi, Ya`aqov avinu on his deathbed commands his son Yuhudhoh that he teach this art, as well as every weapon of war, to his children throughout the generations.

There are other hints of this surviving massorah throughout Tanakh and Talmud.

2) A second key, is a full understanding of the Bin Awel Sopher clan from Habban.

Today the Yemenite community is dominated by the Bal`adim mainly from San`a. Persecuted city Jews, they were cut off for many generations from the combat art that allowed their Habbani cousins in Habban, Najran and Baida to live a life of freedom. The fear of the Habbanis was on the Arabs for centuries. Their dhimmi status held little meaning: they proudly and outwardly wore what Jews were forbidden to wear: jambiya (knife), maSnaph (turban) and avne`t (sash).

Perhaps the cynics here believe that they were preserved all these centuries purely by Torah study and regular readings of Tehillim...

I have been entrusted with private family photographs of the Sopher family that the Aluph Abir has requested that I not post at this time. They are waiting for an exhaustive book to be written that will include them. They include the Aluph Abir's uncles (personal bodyguards to the Khaliph `Abdullah Ibn Hussein and the first king of the Sa'udi dynasty), and his grandfather's brother, personal body guard to the son of the Sultan of Oman. His grandfather was personal bodyguard to Lawrence of Arabia and the British brass in pre-partition Yemen.

"He who wants to lie should distance the witnesses"

3) The third key is, from a place of familiarity with Far Eastern combat arts, COMING IN PERSON to an Abir training class (in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv), and witnessing for oneself how fundamentally unique, authentic, and inherently superior the Abir tradition is on every level. It is easy to see through the standardization and adaptation of the art by the Aluph Abir, to its unique and distinct nature.

4) Abir was not only preserved in Teiman. One of the Abir's senior students, Nir David, of Kurdish descent, shared with us an amazing story. When he just joined Abir a few years ago, and casually shared what he was learning with his grandparents from Kurdistan, they instantly broke into tears. His grandfather explained that they have a childhood memory from their native village: They remember his grandfather and other elders gathering late at night in a central place, far from the eye of the muslims, practicing this exact fighting tradition according to the Hebrew letters.

I personally hope to interview Nir's grandparents personally as part of my ongoing research.

To be brief, I will share five unique characteristics of Abir that stand alone among the warrior arts:

1) The curved motion of all arm and leg movements. This is especially noticeable in the leg strikes, which are circular in motion. This is unlike any fighting system that exists.

2) The exactly parallel treatment of arms and legs, as opposed to the dichotomous way the upper and lower limbs are viewed in foreign systems.

3) The continual, fluid, dance motion in Abir, rooted in a spirit of pure, simple joy and humble surrender of one's will before G-d. As opposed to the arrogant focusing of one's own energy, common in other forms, the Abir warrior strives to become a perfect vessel of Divine Will, and a conduit of the energy of Creation.

4) A fighting system devised of the distinct shapes of an ancient alphabet. A tradition from time immemorial, the Hebrew warriors fight according to the distinct, sacred shapes of the modern and paleo-Hebrew letters. No other system is comprised of anything like it.

5) A received tradition from the Abir's ancestors through the ages is a repeated cry of praise to G-d that punctuates our workout: "Adonenu, Borenu, YoSrenu, Rophenu!" "our Master, our Creator, our Maker, our Healer!" These and other Hebrew call-and-response cries between the Abir trainer and warriors-in-training are entirely unique in the world.

Although I have not studied Korean art forms, I know that Kuk Sool Wan is a modern, more diverse form of Hapkido. A general adaptation of the fighting arts of Northeast Asia (Japan Korea, China), with a Korean approach.

Abir is far softer and internal. Joint locks and throws are done by wrapping of the limbs without use of the hands to grab the opponent. This leaves the Abir's hands free to flow into another expression. More importantly, as an element of the practice of Judaism, it a way of life.

Claims that the Abir must have grafted his own art onto a Korean base because he mastered Korean arts are fraudulent. It is as if to say that because Yemenite Arabic was his mother tongue; when the Abir speaks English or Hebrew, he must be grafting those languages onto a base of Arabic grammar. How ridiculous--he is fluent in a few languages! That being said, know that "Abir" was Grandmaster Sopher's first fighting language and the only one that ever mattered to him.

Why, then, did he study these other forms? Against his will. Groomed and trained in the art of his ancestors from the age of three, his father and grandfather forbade him to reveal the art until he would become at least Dan 6 in three other art forms. Why?

As immigrants to the United States, theirs was the first generation ever to see centuries-old national fighting traditions of different peoples available to the masses to choose from and learn. They understood that the Abir massorah would need to contend with these competitors in order to survive. They wanted to ensure that the next torch bearer would be able to adapt the art to the modern world accordingly. Just as our ancient language of Hebrew needed to be adapted to fit the needs of the 20th century so its speakers to express anything they might need to.

In conclusion, I will share an insight from my Anthropology days back at UCSD, where I studied about the !Kung tribe of Namibia, the Yanomamo of the Amazonian rainforest, and other indigenous tribes.

If a new article reported the discovery of a hidden fighting tradition among these tribes likely to stretch back 10,000 years in time, I doubt most people blink an eye. Given our Western "ethos of the 'noble savage'", half-naked primitives get our benefit of the doubt as to the hoary age of their traditions. Yet, when news of a 3,000+ year fighting tradition is revealed among Jews of a remote Yemenite clan (well-known for their prowess in war) the same people shake their head in disbelief. Jews are only supposed to bear traditions of old languages, books, and Gefilte fish.

Consider the oral tradition of the Jewish People with no practical value, such as the unique conditions at the Mishkan (tabernacle) at Shiloh (see Mishnah ZevaHim, Ch.14 from "ba'u la-Shiloh"). These were committed to writing only 1,200 years after Shiloh was destroyed and abandoned, and the same laws hadn't applied since the First Temple was erected! If such traditions can be accurately preserved, why not a combat art that Jews held on to for their very survival in one of the most hostile places on earth?

There is much more to say, but I hope this will suffice for now.

Sincerely,

Michael Shelomo Bar-Ron

(Note to the head of the forum only:)

Kindly post the second, corrected version of the letter I posted, and not the first.

Thank you,
Michael Shelomo)

B"H

Greetings Michael Shelemo,

Thank you for your post. I believe it helped answer the questions that existed about Abir. I don't think that all of the skeptism about Abir is rooted in distrust of the information about it, although some skeptics are. I think some of the questions revolve around having clear information about the pre-Yehoshua Sofer Abir.
Much of what you have pointed out I have heard from various Yemenite and Habbani sources, but it is often hard to find these things in print. So a book about Abir would definately help settle the issue.

I also think that there are some things that could be added to the web-site to make the connection between numerous communities who had passed on the minhag. This was my question, not as much a disbelief about whether the possibility of Abir existing amongst certain communities, but more of how did said communities see things. I knew about the Habbani and even the Daghestani, but the history about what exactly their fighting techniques were or what they were called is scarse.

If you don't mind is it possible for me to quote parts of what you wrote? I am writing an article about Abir on Wikipedia. The information you posted helped and if you have time it would help if you could help edit anything I have added to Wikipedia in order to make things clear. I had hoped to stop an Abir class a few weeks ago, but I didn't have time. When I come back to Israel I hope to.

Kol tuv,

Ehav Ever

What I meant to say in that last two sentences was that I had wanted to stop by an Abir class when I was in Israel a few weeks ago, but I didn't have time. I am coming back in a few months and I hope to check out a class then.

Kol tuv,

Ehav Ever

ba-Shem HASHEM E-l 'Olam

Dear Ehav,

I agree that not all of the skepticism is based on distrust. In my letter I even identified with those who are skeptical from lack of information, which was my own case originally.

Feel free to quote any part of what I wrote. The Abir has authorized me a spokesman for the organization. There are a couple of small corrections and an addition to what I wrote last night.

Please note the changes to the fifth paragraph from the bottom:

"Why then did he study these other forms? Against his will. Groomed and trained in the art of his ancestors from the age of three, he longed to practice Abir only and make it known. However, his father and grandfather forbade him to reveal the art until he would become at least Dan 7 in three other art forms, and reach the age of forty. Why would they insist that he master foreign combat arts, being that they considered them to be forbidden to Jews (and possibly even to non-Jews), being that they are rooted in idolatry and denial of HaShem?"

Kindly replace the existing paragraph with the above.

I am happy to edit anything you write about Abir, and would appreciate it if you could send it to me preferably before it is posted, to my email address.

By the way, the Aluph Abir is impressed by your breadth of knowledge of Yemenite Jewry; it is quite rare among Westerners. Please let me know how I can help you.

With regards,

Michael Shelomo

ba-Shem HASHEM E-l 'Olam

Dear Ehav,

I agree that not all of the skepticism is based on distrust. In my letter I even identified with those who are skeptical from lack of information, which was my own case originally.

Feel free to quote any part of what I wrote. The Abir has authorized me a spokesman for the organization. There are a couple of small corrections and an addition to what I wrote last night.

Please note the changes to the fifth paragraph from the bottom:

"Why then did he study these other forms? Against his will. Groomed and trained in the art of his ancestors from the age of three, he longed to practice Abir only and make it known. However, his father and grandfather forbade him to reveal the art until he would become at least Dan 7 in three other art forms, and reach the age of forty. Why would they insist that he master foreign combat arts, being that they considered them to be forbidden to Jews (and possibly even to non-Jews), being that they are rooted in idolatry and denial of HaShem?"

Kindly replace the existing paragraph with the above.

I am happy to edit anything you write about Abir, and would appreciate it if you could send it to me preferably before it is posted, to my email address.

By the way, the Aluph Abir is impressed by your breadth of knowledge of Yemenite Jewry; it is quite rare among Westerners. Please let me know how I can help you.

With regards,

Michael Shelomo

Regarding the Wikipedia article in the works: Although it is merely phonetic and shouldn't matter, the Aluph Abir's last name is spelled "Sofer", not "Sopher" (my mistake)

Shalom shalom,

Michael Shelomo

Hello Michael Shelomo,

Thanks for your lengthy and informative reply about the history of Abir. I find it all very fascinating and, God willing, next time I am in Israel, I would love to come and visit and observe it for myself.

What is the Abir equivalent for dojo, by the way?

Does the Abir teach classes with women?

As his father appears to be a Bretslover, was the Abir's mother from a Yemenite family with this tradition?

I was just reading today of a tradition about Jewish Guardians of the Temple Mount among the Waqf officials:

"It is known also that most of the first guards of Al Aqsa when it was built were Jews. The Muslims knew at that time that they could not find any more loyal and faithful than the Jews to guard the mosque and its compound. They knew that the Jews have a special relation with this place."

Of course, after our discussion here and assuming this tradition is true, I immediately wondered whether these Jews from the Medieval period were also trained in this tradition of fighting.

Hello again Ehav,

I had meant to ask you something about this that you cited above:

The "Four Kinds" in Yemenite Tradition
*Includes aspects of the B'ladi, Maharis & Shammai traditions

It made me wonder whether Yemenite tradition had a particular relation with Shammaite traiditon.

And thanks for that citation. It's kind of neat to think of etrogs so big they need to be carried in two hands or on one's shoulder.

B"H

Greetings Michael,

Thanks for your response. The article on Wikipedia was already there, someone else created it. I have been going in and editing based on what is on the Abir web-site and citing the areas where the web-site quotes come from.

The article is at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abir_%28martial_art%29

Because articles on Wikipedia can be edited or changed by anyone feel free to edit or revise anyting that is currently there.

Kol tuv,

Ehav Ever

B"H

Greetings Alcibiades,

Baladi means means "of the country", i.e. Yemen. The Lurianic-Sephardic ritual by contrast was known as Shami (literally "northern", meaning Palestinian or Damascene). If you go to Wikipedia and look up Yemenite Jews and Dor Daim there are list of the perspectives. In a nutshell it was a debate if you will about whether Zohar was real Kabbalah or not. That is somewhat simplifying it, but the articles can give you more.

Kol tuv,

Ehav Ever

In the Name of HASHEM, G-d Eternal

Dear Alcibiades,

* Until a year-and-a-half ago, there was a "beith Abir" (equivalent of "dojo", lehavdil) in Yarusholoyim, until the building became unusable due to shoddy construction. Today we train in an open park. Although it may sound austere, I personally find it exhilarating. The Aluph Abir is continually scouting out a new local address for a "beith Abir". (To me, however, nothing can be superior to training directly on the soil of Yarusholoyim, under the open heavens.)

In Tel Aviv the "banei Abir" train as an officially-recognized martial art at the Hadar Yoseph stadium complex, an Olympic-grade sports center.

* Currently, there are no classes for women, but the Abir is certainly open to the possibility, given the right circumstances.

* Concerning your question regarding the Abir's mother and his father's skin color, I will quote from an email the Abir personally sent me:

"Breslovers come in absolutely every Judeo-ethnic grouping the globe has to offer. Many, many Yemenites are Breslovers today, which does not contradict complete adherance to strict Yemenite tradition. Unlike other hassidic groups that don't accept baalei teshuvah or mizraHim, Breslov's MizraHim and baalei teshuva have become the vast majority of its followers.
Breslov prayer in the Yemenite Minyan on Rosh Hashana is beautiful and unique in that a multitude of Temanim from every NusaH' share the tefiloth in harmony: The shammis and balladis exchange and share the role of "shaliaH Sibur" to insure fairly that everyone has equal representation. In other places it is hard to find such harmony in a beth keneset of the same nussaH'.

"The area of Habban is eastern Aden, which includes cities like Baidha, which are known to have lighter-skinned Jews among them. They even on occasion have fair hair and eye color. Baidha is famous for it's lighter skinned people in general. "Baidha" actually means "white" in Yemeni arabic.

"In my family, half of the males have a condition of the skin which we inherited that causes a loss of pigment.

"Our family is from both Yemen and ereS Yisroel for many generations, with part of the Yemenite portion having moved freely between the two places, since the Turkish and British mandates governed both localities."

[The Sofers have a tradition that, following the wars of Bar Kokhba, his family lived in Tiberias for one thousand years, and at the time of the Crusades, moved to Hevron, where they lived for another one thousand years, some of them moving back and forth between Israel and Yemen all the while. This is substantiated by two photographs the Abir has: one is that of his uncles in the 1920's, who lived in Hevron, in service of the Khalif of Jordan (not far away). The other, from only a few years earlier, is of his grandfather's brother, was in Oman (just next to Habban), in service of the son of the Sultan.

[* This is an answer to your question regarding the Jewish giborim (who must have been Abirim), employed by the local rulership to guard the Temple Mount, by your account.

[Now the Abir's grandfather and youngest son, the Abir Roiim (Abir Ya`aqov Mosha) left the region for Jamaica (another former British colony) following the Hevron massacres of 1929, in which two of his uncles were murdered. From there they would move to the United States. This is to stuff the mouths of those who have a problem with his happening to be born in Jamaica, and with his strong command of American English language, spoken and written. The Abir's words continue:]

"My father's father had raven-black hair and a dark complexion with blue eyes. Having several wives, my father's mother of blessed memory was of Ukrainian Jewish stock. She was a direct descendent of Rabbi NaH'man of Breslov's older brother Yisroel. This means that she was also a descendent of the Baal Shem Tov.

"In fact, pigmentation irregularities in Habbani Jews, where lighter and darker extremes in skin pigmentation occur among siblings from the same parental set, have been a source of study at the Weitzman Institute.

"Like ereS yisroel, Yemeni Jewry consists of several ethnic groups. Families like the Sayeedi's, Adhani and Hallel clans in Habban, came to Yemen from Iraq about four hundred years ago. The 'Aragi (Iraqi) kohanim from the north were brought to supplement the priestly population in Yemen from Iraq. (''Iraqi'' is pronounced "A'airogi" by the San'ani's.

"Aden being a major international sea port, Jews of Syrian, Egyptian, Italian, Portuguese, and British backgrounds lived in the region for generations. Sometimes they took local Jewish women as wives. Habbani's are famous for travelling to and from Indonesia, Malaysia, Java, Ethiopia and Singapore.

"I walked into a supermarket recently. Now I've often said that if I was only given a riyal yamani [the currency in Yemen] for every time a non-yemeni says I don't