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Built in 1568, the Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in India, as well as in the entire British Commonwealth. The land on which it was built was a gift from the Rajah of Cochin, Paraja, so…
These Torah finials from Cochin, India, were made around 1565. Elegant and simple, crafted from metal, their surfaces appear to be hammered, with one adorned with a Hebrew inscription. The earliest…
Moved by the fraternal love nourished in my…
“Is the Bene-Israel in India a pure Jew by descent” is the question often asked and discussed. There has been considerable literature on the subject especially by aliens, even such as can claim little…
Amulets were crafted to protect pregnant women and newborn children from the powers of the evil Lilith, Adam’s mythical first wife. Mystical texts surround this image, written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and…
Built in the early fifteenth century and rebuilt in 1614 following a fire, the Chendamangalam Synagogue served members of the Malabari Jewish community, descendants of Cochin’s earliest Jews, who are…
Tombstone of a son of Ephraim Cohen, who was buried in a Jewish cemetery in Cochin, India. The first Jewish communities in Cochin were established as early as 1000 CE, and legends claim that Jews were…
Kneseth Eliyahoo was endowed in honor of Baghdad-born Eliyahoo (Elias) David Sassoon (1820–1880), son of textile magnate David Sassoon (1792–1864), by Elias’s sons. The synagogue was constructed in…
Her mother shed a tear or two but wasn’t really
crying. It was the thing to do, so she did it
enjoying every moment. The bride laughed when I
sympathized, and said don’t be silly.
Her brothers had…
These silver, crown-shaped Torah finials engraved with an okra floral motif are from the Paradesi Synagogue in Kerala, India. A Hebrew inscription (divided into four parts) reads: “The honorable R…
