The Stateless Central Asian Merchant: The Life of Haim Aghajan Abraham Based on his Journal 1897-1986

Haim Abraham, born in 1897 in Turkmenistan, wrote out his memoir in a spiral-bound notebook covering a period of ninety years. After he passed away in 1999, the journal was discovered in his home, written in an ancient language: Judeo-Farsi. Years later, the journals were translated, unearthing a time capsule nearly lost.

The former years of Abraham's life had a recurrent theme of Russian Tsarist, Bolshevik, and Soviet violence, which heavily affected his family's viability. Abraham's family were not nationals anywhere. They were forced to move from country to country in search of religious freedom and the economic opportunities that often went hand in hand as merchant class Jews. What Abraham did have, which was central to his endurance, was a community of relatives and friends in every city he traveled. The mutual responsibility inherent within the Jewish community was essential to establishing worldwide business ties and mobility.

Abraham came from an enclave called the Jewish Triangle, which stretched across large parts of Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. Due to continued persecution and spotty educational access, much of their history is not written down and barely part of the Jewish historical lexicon. Presented is an invaluable memoir into a fascinating time period.

Author: Dahlia Abraham-Klein
Publisher: Shamashi Press
Published: 09/15/2025
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.44d
ISBN: 9798218677282

About the Author
Khaimov, Manashe: - Manashe Khaimov is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SAMi which focuses on the Leadership Development of under-served Jewish communities on college campuses and in their communities in North America. Manashe is a fourth-generation community organizer, serial entrepreneur, and social innovator who builds and consults organizations on Jewish diversity. Manashe is an Adjunct Professor in Jewish Studies, with a specialty in the History and Culture of the Central Asian Jews at Queens College. Manashe is the founder of the Bukharian Jewish Union, he sits on the National Sephardi Advisory Committee at JIMENA. In his previous role as a Director of Community Engagement and Development at Queens College Hillel, he focused on creating Sepharadi and Mizrahi Leadership at five CUNY Hillel campuses. Manashe sat on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee at Hillel International and served as a facilitator of the Mizrahi and Sephardi Hillel Professionals resource group. In 2022 Manashe received "Person Of The Year 2020-2021" the highest award and recognition in the Bukharian Community in the USA and Canada. In 2021 Manashe was appointed by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz as a member of the Jewish Advisory Council. In 2015, the Jewish Week named Manashe one of the 36 under 36 changemakers in Jewish life. In 2016, the TimesLedger Newspaper's named Manashe one of the borough's unsung heroes who inspired youngsters to reach their full potential, and was awarded Queen's Impact Award for his work with JCCA's Bukharian Teen Lounge, and he is an alumnus of the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship for International Jewish Visionary Leaders, and Alumnus of Ruskay Fellowship.Abraham-Klein, Dahlia: - "D A H L I A A B R A H A M - K L E I N is a writer on Central Asian Jewish history and Jewish values. Her articles have appeared on Tablet, Chabad, Jewish Journal, and The Times of Israel. She is a teacher at Partners in Torah offering a personalized learning experience on the system of life through Jewish wisdom."

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