The history of the Jews in Odesa dates to 16th century. Since the modern city's founding in 1795, Odesa has been home to one of the largest population of Jews in what is today Ukraine. They comprised the largest ethno-religious group in the region throughout most of the 19th century and until the mid-20th century.
Background
Jews have been a part of the region's economic activities for many centuries. Starting in 16th century, Jews from the Polish Crown had been settling in what is today southern Ukraine, working as merchants, importers and translators among the Cossacks in the Zaporozhian Sich. They were also active in exporting goods from Crimea to the mainland and owned a substantial share of the stores and taverns in the region. After the abolition of the Zaporozhian Sich in 1775, when Russians took control over the area, Jews moved to the newly established coastal towns, one of them being Khazhibei, which was renamed Odesa in 1795.
The early Jewish settlers in the region were possibly Sephardi Jews, who had migrated from Crimea. Several tombstones written in Hebrew dated between 1765 and 1789 have been found in the region.
Initial growth
By 1799, the Jewish population of the city numbered 317, comprising 187 males and 130 females. Around this period, there were multiple Jewish religious institutions, including a burial society, a synagogue, and a school for orphans named Talmud Torah. A hekdesh (workhouse) was built and a Kehillah (commune) was organised.
Immigration to the region happened in two distinct waves during the first two decades of 19th century, on which the remote and newly formed Jewish community relied heavily for its growth. As Steven Zipperstein argues, Jewish immigrants "looked upon Odesa, with its wide streets and limestone buildings, as a world apart from the ancient settlements to which they were accustomed, and Odesa came to represent to Jews elsewhere […] the option of a fresh start, offering a change in climate, economic possibilities, and perimeters of acceptable religious behavior".
Economic life
Jewish participation in commerce played an important role in the city, despite the number of Jews declining from 240 in 1794 to 135 in 1797. According to a report from the latter year, the Jews possessed most of the city's commercial capital and dominated commodity trade in items such as silk, cotton, wool, hardware, iron, and shoes and largely controlled the export of salt. Many Jews also worked for the Russian army as petty traders or artisans while they were stationed in the fortress. However, only two Jews were wealthy enough to register themselves under the kuptsy (merchants) category in 1801. The richer Jews lived largely in the centre of the city, while the poor were concentrated in Moldavanka and the Peresyp district.
Second wave
The second wave of settlers, who came from Volhynia, Podilia, White Russia and the town of Brody, arrived immediately following the first one. These new settlers grew aware of the potential importance of the Russian Black Sea port and were trying to profit from fluctuations on the grain market. More arrivals of Jewish families came from city of Kherson.
In contrast to the first wave, where people came individually, the second wave was characterized by arrival of families. Between 1809 and 1819, Odesa become a city of international importance, which gave the Jewish community in the region a wide range of opportunities. The process of immigration also weakened the normally strict adherence to religious activities. For example, on one evening in 1817, the city's rabbi Berish Ben Yisrael was beaten to death in the streets by a group of Jews who were unhappy with stringent observation of ritual law.
Galician Jews
Around the 1830s, Galician Jews dominated the roles of middlemen and agents in the grain trade of the city, while also being employed as bankers, merchants, and brokers, with 86% of brokers in Odesa being Jewish. Emerging as the wealthiest sector of the Jews, they took control of local Kehillah. Even after the Russian government had dissolved all Jewish Kehillah in 1844, the Odesa Kehillah continued to function as a semi-autonomous body in the region, whose meetings were held at regular intervals.
Between 1837 and 1844, the number of Jewish merchants who were members of the kuptsy category increased from 169 to 221. In 1842, 228 businesses, 67 factories and workshops, and 26 crockery stores in the city were owned by Jews. By 1850, Jews had become the fastest-growing group in city commerce and constituted its majority − out of 5,466 individuals engaged in the commercial economy in 1851, 2,907 (53.2%) were Jews.