Jewish India- Day 9

The Jews in Alibag

In a small village characterized by lush greenery and beautiful mountains are the historical sights for an ancient and fascinating Jewish community.

The place called Alibag, marks the location that a group of Jews arrived from Israel following the destruction of the second temple. They were travelling west when their boat crashed with only 6 or 7 couples surviving. These people remained in India and established a Jewish community built upon the knowledge they arrived with. With no textual sources, the Jews of India maintained an oral tradition of laws that they passed down throughout the generations. Some of these included reciting the Shema prayer and ensuring that their fish was kosher with fins and scales. Throughout the centuries these customs were maintained, and beautiful synagogues were established for the community to pray together.

Fast forward a few thousand years to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.Since Jews in India had Israel (and specifically Jerusalem) as a focal point in their prayers, many Jews took the opportunity to make Aliya and continue their lives in Israel.

In Alibag over the past couple of days our group had the opportunity to visit some of the remnants of this small but fascinating Jewish community. Highlights of our time included visiting 2 Shuls (one of which is under construction), visiting the oil press of Benjamin (a local Jewish resident), hearing an elderly chazzan chant a beautiful tefila (prayer), walking through a Jewish cemetery, and viewing the sight of "Elijiah's rock."

As time progresses and the community dwindles due to assimilation and Aliya, plans are being made to ensure that these historical religious sights are preserved.

- Elise Loterman

Jewish India- Day 9

In our short time here, we've seen so many things that starkly contrast our lives back home. If one digs a little deeper it's easy to see that we are all just people and are very similar in many ways, but the immediacy with which I noticed parallels between the Jews and Jewish communities of Mumbai and Toronto really amazes me.

A first, on-the-surface connection came from our time at the Knesset Eliyahoo in Colaba on Friday night and Saturday morning. It eerily reminded me of my own shul in Toronto: Congregation Knesset Israel (aka the Junction shul, or the Maria Street shul). Both are housed in beautifully constructed relics that are over 100 years old, both are in neighbourhoods that are no longer centres for the Jewish community, and both feature a dwindling and aged population that commutes from far distances to come to shul.

I look at these amazing places, and I love their respect for history and strong sense of tradition. But I am forced to ask the same questions about their futures: what will happen to these places in the next 10 years? 20? Who will be the next generation? If these places do survive, will they look anything like what they do now? Are they worth preserving? Accounting for size would suggest that things may look more bleak for Knesset Eliyahoo due to the relatively tiny Jewish community of Mumbai, but I would still answer the last question with a resounding yes for both shuls. It's an interesting situation that both communities face concurrently, and one that will inevitably sort itself out in the very near future, for better or worse.

More parallels presented themselves upon visiting the local JCC on Sunday afternoon. We met a bunch of Mumbai's Jewish youth there, and participated in competitions in chess, table tennis, and a local game called Carom (the game is effectively billiards, but it is played with your hands on a square tabletop, and wooden discs the size of checkers pieces are substituted for balls).

The youths were very interested in us, and were eager to share their experiences of what it is like to be Jewish in Mumbai. Many seemed to be highly motivated academically and professionally; lots were either studying or young professionals, many engineers and lawyers. I fielded tons of questions that I didn't expect to, like 'what's it like for telecom engineers in Canada?' and other sector specific questions about the job market back home. On a very basic level, the impression I took away was that many of them reminded me of a lot of young people that I know back home. While these similarities are amazing and important, there were some major differences that stood out in my mind as I reflect after the fact.

Namely, I was surprised to discover that I was the first grandchild of Holocaust survivors that many of them had ever met. Moreover, some had never met anyone as closely related to someone that was effected by the Holocaust as me. One local named Effie said that he considered it an honour to have met me, but the pride in my family and heritage that I felt as I shared a few stories with him made the experience an unforgettable one for me as well.

Adversely, many of the Indian Jews said they were able to trace their roots back to the time that their families arrived in the city of Mumbai (mostly from other villages on the Konkan coast). For many, this was about 8 or so generations ago, and their families have been in the city for over 300 years (to say the very least, my family's story is very different). As an homage to their ancient, pre-Mumbai home villages, many Jews have last names that incorporate the name of their village. The formula basically works like this: [insert name of village]-kar (it's just the name of the village with 'kar' thrown on at the end. My grandfather was from Chmielnik in Poland, so if I apply this formula to myself, the name produced would be Chmielnikar... People from Chmielnik are referred to as Chmielnikers, so perhaps this concept isn't so foreign after all).

A final, notable difference relates to infrastructure associated with Kashrut. There are a few local people that are trained shoychets, but they rarely work for money and often do it on the side for family and friends. People must go out of their way to find an appropriate time (usually at odd hours due to the shoychets' jobs, families, etc) and take chickens to be slaughtered themselves. From there, they need to take the meat home and properly salt it before storing. Again, if we dig deeper, maybe this process isn't so foreign, as it was standard just a few short generations ago in Toronto. But it is an interesting sign that this small community within such a gigantic metropolis is strong, tight knit, and not going away any time soon.

-Eric

Jewish India- Day 6

Growing up in Toronto, my Jewish identity was defined by the family, friends and community around me. Although religion and faith is something so personal, it is the people around you that allow you to find yourself and find your love for God. Having such a vibrant and involved community around me back home, my perception of a Jewish community has been quite narrow minded. This past day the impact group had the opportunity and privilege to spend an afternoon at the local Mumbai JCC. We ate lunch, played ping pong, chess and Carem with Jewish Indian young adults just like ourselves. Just like myself, these are young Jewish people who came out to their community centre to enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon. The facilities were different than what I was used to as well the size of the group was smaller too, however, what spoke to me was this idea of Jewish community and how Judaism can thrive in any community. Over the past week in Mumbai I have noticed how strong the Jewish community is and how passionate the people are. It may not be big but it still has that feel of love and togetherness. It has been a true pleasure being able to spend this time with the amazing local Jews here in Mumbai. 

-Russel

Jewish India- Shabbat

United We Prosper 

To me, a synagogue symbolizes the peak of community, tradition and unity.

As a Bene Israel Jew, tradition has always been emphasized in my upbringing. Attending synagogue has always been seen as a historical, spiritual experience that goes back to the days of my ancestors. From parent to child, the Jews of India have been able to maintain their spirituality and tradition. They prove to us that the only way to do so is with a unified community. This was evident when we attended services at the Iraqi synagogue, Keneset Eliyahu.

My personal experience was filled with mixed emotions. To think this 150 year old synagogue, like many others in India, was once full and now, after most of the community members have made Aliyah, it services with just enough for a minyan. It was so beautiful to see Iraqi and Bene Israel Jews come together to maintain the spirit of the Jewish presence in the area.

It was clear that put visit had brought extra Ruach and life to this aged synagogue. With the community getting smaller with time, we have the privilege to say that we prayed with the Jewish community in Mumbai- an opportunity not many will be able to have.

My prayer for the next 6 days is for myself and the rest of the Impact India team, to take every moment in. We will be having more new experiences and it is important that we experienced it all to its fullest, so that we can take everything we have leaned, like the importance of communal unity, back home to Toronto.

-Ariella Daniels

Jewish India- Day 3

Lag Ba'Omer in Mumbai
We began our celebration with a large bonfire on the roof of the chabad house in downtown Mumbai. We discussed the symbolism of fire as pointing towards the jewish soul that is always aspiring and wanting to grow, just like the upward direction of the flames. This conversation was especially meaningful because of where we were. The roof top that we were sitting on was the same location that terrorists brutally murdered 6 people, including the chabad rabbi and his wife, in 2008. For Jews to gather at this place and sing jewish songs around a bonfire served as testimony that the Jewish people are a people of grit and persaverence. Am ha-netzach lo yipached miderech arucka-the eternal people are not afraid of a long, circuitous path. We will march forward with determination and comitment.

Our lag Ba'Omer  celebration  continued the next morning in a beautiful park overlooking the Arabian sea. We gathered with 30 kids from the slums played games, taught them a new song and shared a tastey  pick nick lunch together. We provided these smiling children with a boost of confidence and comradarei.

In short, lag Ba'Omer  in India was memory making. 

- Rabbi Noah Cheses

Assistant Rabbi Shaarei Shomayim

Jewish India- Day 2

Tonight we welcomed in Lag Baomer  at Chabad of Mumbai. The celebration included a bonfire, singing, and words of Torah. It was a great end to a long and fulfilling day.

Sitting around the bonfire, I felt the fire was symbolic of my time in India so far. Like India, it was hot and moved to its own unique and unpredictable beautiful rhythm. And just as fire sheds light on its surroundings, I hope this experience enables me to view my surrounding in a clearer and more nuanced lens.

Chag sameach!

Justin