Hebraca: It turned out, Belarusian was also written with a fourth alphabet, and it was used by necromancers
It turns out that, in addition to the familiar Cyrillic and Latin scripts, as well as the Arabic script used by our Tatars to write in Belarusian, there was yet another, completely unknown, but all the more interesting graphic variant — the Hebrew alphabet.
A sheet with Belarusian incantations, written in Hebrew script. Photo: nli.org.il
The tradition of writing Slavic words in Hebrew script dates back to ancient times. Already in the Middle Ages, Jewish scribes and editors of religious texts made notes (glosses) in local languages to explain certain incomprehensible terms. These were the so-called «Canaanite» glosses, which reflected the spoken language of the Jewish population of Slavic lands at that time.
One of the most famous early examples of the use of Hebrew script in Rus' is the famous 10th-century «Kyivan Letter,» found in the Cairo Genizah, where the name Kyiv is mentioned for the first time, though not in Slavic, but in Hebrew.
Canaanite glosses refer mainly to Czech and other West and South Slavic lands, while the use of Hebrew script for recording specifically Belarusian texts long remained an understudied topic.
As researchers of the Belarusian language noted, there is a scarcity of Hebrew materials for its study, especially compared to the rich heritage of Belarusian kitabs, written in Arabic script.
Necromancer's discoveries in William Gross's collection
Recent findings shed new light on this problem.
Researcher and writer Yoel Matveyev drew attention to interesting manuscripts from the private collection of William Gross (Tel Aviv), digital copies of which are available at the National Library of Israel.
These documents, tentatively dated to the 19th century, are collections of short magical texts, incantations, and conjuration formulas.
What makes these manuscripts unique? Among the texts written in Hebrew cursive, entire pages and extended fragments in Belarusian are found! Belarusian translator Siarhei Shupa cites several such texts:
«In a clear field stands a golden pine, and on that pine a golden chair, on that chair sits a golden maiden, as the sun is dear and beloved to that maiden, and so when…»
«… one golden, and the second silver, and the third that pulls out a tooth, and in a clear field stands a golden pear tree, on that pear tree a golden nest, in that nest a serpent-queen asks all of you: both field ones, and mossy ones, and forest ones, and swampy ones, and pine forest ones, and…»
This text, despite some phonetic and grammatical peculiarities (for example, confusion in cases), is undoubtedly a Belarusian incantation. Moreover, one can even find in folklore materials which specific incantations these are.
In the volume «Incantations» from the book series «Belarusian Folk Art,» one can find incantations against snakes and their bites:
«In a golden field stood a golden pear tree, on the golden pear tree a golden nest, and in that nest a king and queen spoke words, conjuring away swelling from every reptile — from black, from spotted, from white.»
«There is an island in the sea, in the ocean, on that island stands an ancient, rugged oak. In that oak is a golden nest; in that nest lies a serpent, queen of all serpents. I beg you, serpent-queen, queen of all serpents, restrain all your snakes-skin-shedders, and snake-serpentlings, and lizards-lizardlings — both swamp ones, and under-the-logs ones, and forest ones, and mossy ones, and bushy ones, and field ones, and border ones, and path ones, and barn ones, and manure ones. Restrain them, and drive them away from this brown wandering cow, and remove the sting from its two-layered wool, and extract the venom, and heal these wounds, and provide help. If I cannot beg you, if you will not restrain all your skin-shedding snakes, and drive snake-serpentlings away from this cow, and remove the sting, and expel the venom, and heal the wounds, and give her aid — I will beg Saint Michael the Archangel. Saint Michael will descend from heaven to earth with his golden sword and will cut and chop you, serpent-queen, with his sword, and give you to Kuzma-Demyan in the golden forge. Kuzma will heat his staff and bake your teeth, lips, and sting, forever and ever, amen.»
The long list of snakes is not just an artistic device, but a strict formula, because it was believed that to neutralize the venom, it was necessary to name every single snake according to its habitat, otherwise the incantation would not work.
How Jews used the Belarusian language
The discovery of these texts sparked a discussion among researchers about the status of the Belarusian language in the Jewish community of that time.
On the one hand, Siarhei Shupa notes that, unlike the kitabs of Belarusian Tatars, for whom the Belarusian language was a language of daily communication and religious literature, in these Jewish manuscripts it has more of a functional character. It is the language of magic, of incantations, which were possibly borrowed from the local population along with the rituals themselves. The standard situation for Jews of that time was Yiddish-Hebrew diglossia, and the Belarusian language, though familiar, remained the language of the «surroundings.»
Rabbi from Mogilev Governorate. Photo taken during Vyacheslav Kostka's expedition. 1903-1904. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
On the other hand, Yoel Matveyev suggests that the situation might have been more complex and profound. He refers to the testimonies of the Mogilev rabbi Meyer Katz Ashkenazi (16th century), according to which many Belarusian Jews at that time spoke Slavic, not Yiddish.
Matveyev paints a picture of the complex internal multilingualism of the Jewish community: for studying the Talmud and Kabbalah, Aramaic was used; for prayers and serious books — Hebrew (Lashon Kodesh); in the family for everyday conversations — Yiddish; and with the «outside world» — the Slavic language («raysish»).
According to Matveyev, in small villages and hamlets, Jews might have known the local Slavic language even better than Yiddish. People engaged in «Kabbalistic affairs» and magic were on the border between the written culture of the shtetl and the oral tradition of the Belarusian village.
Thus, the use of the Belarusian language in magical texts is not merely a mechanical borrowing, but evidence of close interaction and belief in the special effectiveness of local words in the sacred sphere, which is also confirmed by the presence of Slavic texts in Hasidic nigunim.
The manuscripts from the Gross collection are further proof of the multifaceted nature and interpenetration of cultures in Belarusian lands. They not only expand our knowledge about the history of the Belarusian language and its graphic variants, but also open new pages in the study of the traditional culture and daily life of the Jewish population of Belarus. It remains to be hoped that further research into these and, perhaps, other as yet undiscovered manuscripts, will allow a more precise definition of the role and place of «Hebraca» in the cultural landscape of our region.