" Jewish Scriveners and Arab Lawyers in Ottoman Jerusalem
Michael Talbot, University of St. Andrews
Arzuhalcis (scriveners) gave many people a written voice. They took dictations of letters, drafted documents, and phrased petitions in the correct and standard form. They could be similarly useful for translating documents from a vernacular language to an official one.
For Jewish immigrants to Ottoman Palestine needing to participate in official processes, their European mother tongues were often of little use when dealing with the provincial bureaucracy, and their adopted language of Hebrew arguably even less so. They were therefore particularly in need of arzuhalcis who could speak their language, and lawyers able to understand and represent them.
We find the need for an arzuhalci addressed in an advertisement in the Hebrew-language paper Ḥavatselet of 10 Adar 5658 (4 March 1898):
I have the honour to inform the esteemed public that for anyone who has anything to do with the exalted government, I am ready to write for them in fluent Turkish [and] to copy everything from Turkish to French or vice versa. Also, for anyone who desires to learn the Turkish language, I am ready to teach them the spoken and written language as well as grammar, all in the best way, and I guarantee to provide what is required of me. My residence is in [the Jerusalem neighbourhood of] ’Even Yiśra’el.
Nissim Ben-Mikha’el
It would appear from an editorial comment underneath that Nissim Ben-Mikha’el was among the first Turcophonic scribes to serve the immigrant Jewish community in this manner:
Publisher’s note. We have already noted once before that the coming of the honourable teacher Mr Nissim Ben-Mikha’el (may God give him life and preserve him) filled the deficiency of a Turkish scribe among our people, which was very much felt here. We will further add that we now know and are familiar with this scribe and teacher, that he is very talented, a master of his craft, and an extremely trustworthy man.
However, more specialised legal advice and assistance were needed when matters went to the courts. One notice, from the 30 Nissan 5665 (5 May 1905) issue of Ḥavatselet, stands out as a testament to the advertiser's impeccable professional and moral record.
After I worked for thirteen years in the scribal office of our exalted government here in the holy city [of Jerusalem], in the capacity of chief scribe in the commercial court of Jaffa, and then in the commercial bureau here in the holy city (may it be rebuilt and re-established), I then worked for the last twenty years as a member of the qadi court here, as the certified documents from the necessary places [show]. I have just recently resigned from this job, and decided with God's help to open a special office across from the government house. I am prepared to be a lawyer for all the affairs that shall come to my hands, and I hope to satisfy the needs of all those who bring me their business with integrity and justice. I am also willing to make applications to all the courts of our most exalted government here in the [holy] land and elsewhere in the Arabic or Turkish languages, to make notices of protest and appeal against the rulings of all courts according to the level of legal judgement emanating from the courts, to translate from Arabic to Turkish and to write all kinds of bills, promissory notes, and partnership contracts etc., and everything will, God willing, be pleasantly explained to each and every person. I will also represent for free the cases of poor people who truly cannot afford to pay.
All who seek me will find me in my said office everyday from two in the morning until ten in the evening [Ottoman time] except for Friday.
It is not clear whether or not Dawud ‘Azmi actually spoke Hebrew. However, it is interesting to note that in its translation into that language, his advertisement adopted a few Jewish twists, such as the Messianic prayer for Jerusalem, 'may it be rebuilt and re-established' (tibaneh ve tikunen).
It is above all notable that an experienced Ottoman official was placing professional notices in the Hebrew press. Although Nissim Ben-Mikha’el’s language skills would have been useful for routine and simple matters, Dawud ‘Azmi’s legal expertise would have been invaluable for the more complex situations that would have necessarily arisen. This need on the part of the Jewish immigrants evidently meant a new market for Ottoman lawyers. And it is good to know that at least one of them was willing to work pro bono for Jerusalem’s poorer clientele.
Source: Ḥavatselet, available from the Historical Jewish Press online archive.
I have the honour to inform the esteemed public that for anyone who has anything to do with the exalted government, I am ready to write for them in fluent Turkish [and] to copy everything from Turkish to French or vice versa. Also, for anyone who desires to learn the Turkish language, I am ready to teach them the spoken and written language as well as grammar, all in the best way, and I guarantee to provide what is required of me. My residence is in [the Jerusalem neighbourhood of] ’Even Yiśra’el.
Nissim Ben-Mikha’el
It would appear from an editorial comment underneath that Nissim Ben-Mikha’el was among the first Turcophonic scribes to serve the immigrant Jewish community in this manner:
Publisher’s note. We have already noted once before that the coming of the honourable teacher Mr Nissim Ben-Mikha’el (may God give him life and preserve him) filled the deficiency of a Turkish scribe among our people, which was very much felt here. We will further add that we now know and are familiar with this scribe and teacher, that he is very talented, a master of his craft, and an extremely trustworthy man.
However, more specialised legal advice and assistance were needed when matters went to the courts. One notice, from the 30 Nissan 5665 (5 May 1905) issue of Ḥavatselet, stands out as a testament to the advertiser's impeccable professional and moral record.
After I worked for thirteen years in the scribal office of our exalted government here in the holy city [of Jerusalem], in the capacity of chief scribe in the commercial court of Jaffa, and then in the commercial bureau here in the holy city (may it be rebuilt and re-established), I then worked for the last twenty years as a member of the qadi court here, as the certified documents from the necessary places [show]. I have just recently resigned from this job, and decided with God's help to open a special office across from the government house. I am prepared to be a lawyer for all the affairs that shall come to my hands, and I hope to satisfy the needs of all those who bring me their business with integrity and justice. I am also willing to make applications to all the courts of our most exalted government here in the [holy] land and elsewhere in the Arabic or Turkish languages, to make notices of protest and appeal against the rulings of all courts according to the level of legal judgement emanating from the courts, to translate from Arabic to Turkish and to write all kinds of bills, promissory notes, and partnership contracts etc., and everything will, God willing, be pleasantly explained to each and every person. I will also represent for free the cases of poor people who truly cannot afford to pay.
All who seek me will find me in my said office everyday from two in the morning until ten in the evening [Ottoman time] except for Friday.
It is not clear whether or not Dawud ‘Azmi actually spoke Hebrew. However, it is interesting to note that in its translation into that language, his advertisement adopted a few Jewish twists, such as the Messianic prayer for Jerusalem, 'may it be rebuilt and re-established' (tibaneh ve tikunen).
It is above all notable that an experienced Ottoman official was placing professional notices in the Hebrew press. Although Nissim Ben-Mikha’el’s language skills would have been useful for routine and simple matters, Dawud ‘Azmi’s legal expertise would have been invaluable for the more complex situations that would have necessarily arisen. This need on the part of the Jewish immigrants evidently meant a new market for Ottoman lawyers. And it is good to know that at least one of them was willing to work pro bono for Jerusalem’s poorer clientele.
Source: Ḥavatselet, available from the Historical Jewish Press online archive.
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