![]() The Bene Israel were grateful to early missionaries for helping them understand the primary source of their religion, educating them, and introducing them to the English language. They gave them copies of the Old Testament in Marathi. The British and American missionaries encounter with the Baghdadi Jewish community of Mumbai was considered the ‘second awakening.’ It is said that Christian missionaries taught them not only to read but also to understand the Hebrew language. This is referred to as the “first awakening” of the Bene Israel. Bene Israel continued to hire Kochi Jews to be their teachers, scribes and ritual guides. In this way, Bene Israel and Kochi Jews’ relations were strengthened. He chose three of them and took them to Kochi and trained them in the Hebrew language and taught them the principles of Judaism. After spending some time with the Bene Israel community, he observed that their dietary habits and religious observances were influenced by Hinduism and concluded that they had lost their identity as Jews. David Rahabi, son of Ezekiel Rahabi, visited Western India on a mission with the help of the Dutch East India Company, where they encountered Bene Israel. This Jewish community neither had access to a Bible (i.e. Sartorius mentions a community of Jews in ‘Surat and Rajapore’ who called themselves Bene Israel. In one of the letters written in 1738, the Danish missionary J.A. There was no antagonism between the local Jews and the Christians. Care and trust were evident within these communities. In 900 A.D., the Jews residing in Malabar were closely associated with the Christians. It is said that the two disciples of Jesus, St Thomas and St Bartholomew, came to India because of the existence of two separate Jewish communities there in 50 A.D. They settled in Calcutta, Bombay, Pune and Surat. ![]() (c) The third group consists of Jews from West Asia, mainly from Baghdad. They stayed in this region for economic reasons. Now we hardly find any Jewish families there. (b) Cochin Jews who took shelter in and around Cochin, i.e. These Jews have resided on the west coast of India in the Konkan region of Maharashtra for centuries. (a) Marathi-speaking Jews call themselves Bene Israel (the children of Israel of the Bible). The Jews of India fall into three distinct categories. When we speak of Indian Jews, we mean Jews who were to be found settled in India much later. It records decrees of the Persian monarch Xerxes relating to Jews, dispersed throughout the 127 provinces of his empire stretching ‘from India even unto Ethiopia.’ Before the holocaust, the presence of Jews in India was based on trade, as India was well known for its spices and natural resources throughout the world. In turn, Jews contributed to India in arts, defence, culture and economy.Īccording to the Bible, as mentioned in the Book of Esther (which probably dates back to the second century B.C.) Jews had a connection with India. During the holocaust, many Indians who dwelt near the coast of Maharastra and Gujarat provided shelter to many Polish and East European Jews. As Rabbi Ezekiel Isaac Malekar, Head Priest of the Synagogue Judah Hyam Hall New Delhi, describes it,”Israel is in my heart, India is in my blood.” It is said that India is perhaps the only country in the world in which, through the long centuries, Jews have dwelt in complete security and have always been treated honourably in the social structure of the land. Paradoxically, even after their long stay in India, they maintained their identity. For long centuries, India has been the home for Jews, and they have imbibed the Indian culture beautifully.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |