tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90747915525759948522024-03-13T19:35:33.329-07:00Jews of MalabarThe blog discuss about the History of Jews of Kerala. Main aim is to put all the details regarding Jews of Kerala under one frame.Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-27920420728445655432016-06-02T20:03:00.002-07:002016-06-03T06:45:32.374-07:00A hidden Hebrew etching found in the pillars of Jew street, Parur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Pillars intact...</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Two columns which marks the entrance to
the Jew Street of Parur, is erroneously depicted as the symbol of their
cliquishness even though they were close to other communities of locale. It is
even believed that the King of Travancore ordered to erect those pillars. But
the historians and antiquarians were always puzzled about the origin and
existence of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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One pillar intact....</div>
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Recently </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Muziris heritage project</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> headed the renovation of the standing pillar and re-establishment of
the other one which had fallen years back, A Hebrew and English etching was
found which was hidden under the plaster all these days….it had nailed the
issue with a final answer.</span></div>
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Pillar
during the renovation...<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Hebrew inscription found in the still
standing pillar is “ </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-size: 14pt;">עירוב</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="font-size: 14pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> ” and that of English is “ERUB”. The
literal meanings of the Hebrew word are “mixture, blending, amalgamation or
intermingling”<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Hebrew inscription as seen on the pillar.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">These are not just two Columns which mark the entrance or gateway
of the Jew Street, but an aid to keep up their ritual and tradition. It is
misnamed as “eruv/ erub”, which is named after its epithet, than the name of
the object itself. It acts as a device for removal of difficulties on applying
the precepts for Sabbath and other holiday rests. It creates a symbolic
enclosure that allows observant Jews, to carry objects outdoors on the Sabbath.
In ancient times, an eruv would combine multiple residences into a walled
courtyard, but in modern times, rabbinic interpretation allows such an
enclosure to be accomplished by creating symbolic wall or fence continuously
around an area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Thus, confirmed that the pillars are not just a gateway to mark
the entrance but a ritual enclosure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Such a set of pillars existed in Jew Town
of Cochin too. It is even mentioned by Moses Pereira Da Pavia (1686 AD) in his
report Noticias dos Judeos de Cochim “<i>All living in one street with their
Herub (Eruv) is fixed with two pillars of stone crossed by an Iron bar</i>,” it
shows that it was an old tradition among the Jews of Malabar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">I remember Gamliel Salem’s once explained to me, During Sabbath it
is forbidden to carry something, such as a prayer book from one’s home along
the street and to the synagogue, and food from one house to other. To the Jews
of Cochin the solution was an "Eruv", the reason behind building
the Jew town in such a manner where most of the buildings touch each other is
to create that symbolic enclosure.... Gammy uncle remembered that there were
two pillars at the entrance of the Jew Town in Mattancherry, and a string is
tied covering the entire space and touches synagogue too which makes the entire
town symbolically one enclosure. …..any detach in the building is solved by
this eruv. He explained to me that he had seen some people
touching the prayer book to the string and walk along to the synagogue and vice
versa. The tradition was stopped post Aliyah, as the buildings in the Jew town
were sold to non-Jews. Later the pillars demolished for some reason...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">In modern world were the communities in
the civilized societies are the fights for setting eruv, here in the God's own
country it was built with no disputes....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-4214769223502290482016-01-15T17:41:00.000-08:002017-02-03T10:02:10.501-08:00Jewish King of Shingly and the Spanish poet...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>A calligraphic representation the Rabbi Nissim's poem by, Thoufeek Zakriya</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A 14th century poem נאמר שירה "Nomar Shirah" (Let us sing a song) by a Spanish Jew, ends like this </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">I travelled from Spain, </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">מספרד הלכתי נסעתי </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I has heared of the city of Shingly, </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">עיר שנגולי שמעתי </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I longed to see an Israel King, </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">ישראל מלך תאבתי </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Him, I saw with my own eyes. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">או</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">ת</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">ו יראו עיני </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Prof Nathan Katz, mentions in his book "In the fourteenth century, Rabbi Nissim ben Reuben (1310? - 1375?) of Spain not only made his way to Shingly, but composed a song to commemorate his visit. The song has been preserved in Cochin song books and is chanted on the secnd day of Shavu'oth"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">About the poet</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Rabbi Nissim ben Reuven of Girona, Catalonia (נסים בן ראובן) also refered as RaN (ר"ן) was believed to be born in 1310 A.D or 1320 A.D and died in 1375 A.D 1380 A.D. He was an influential talmudist and halakist, Head of the Yeshiva ( Jewish religious school) probably Kehillas Yaakov shul of Barcelona, court Physician, an astronomer, a poet and one among the last great Spanish medieval Jewish scholars. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">He was the greatest Halachic authority of his generation, queries were sent to him from throughout the Jewish diaspora. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">His best-known work is his commentary and explanation of Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen's "Sefer ha-Halachot ". Rabbi Nissim wrote a commentary on the Talmud. The commentary is oriented toward practical decisions as opposed to theory. The commentary has been printed only on some tractates, the rest exists in manuscript or has been lost.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Other works include, Responsa, a recently published commentary on the Bible, a work of philosophy, and a collection of sermons ("Derashot Ha'RaN").</span><br />
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<i>Torah inscribed by Rabbi Nissim ben Reuven conditionally donated to the Kehillas Yaakov shul in Barcelona in the year 1336. now in the Israel’s National Library </i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Who was the Jewish King of Shingly?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not much is known about the Israeli (Jewish) King of city of Shingly (modern day Kodungallur) but reading all the available information we could come to a conclusion that the Israel King, would be Joseph Azar, who was the descendant of Joseph Rabban. And supposed year of their meet is no later than 1340 A.D and this happened in the Jewish principality of Anjuvannam.<br /><br />Some points which concrete this claims are:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">Anjuvannam was the Jewish principality in the vicinity of Shingly which was having a leader equal to a King or Prince, inherited by the Copper Magna Carta received by Joseph Rabban.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The coinciding timeline of the Rabbi Nissim and Joseph Azar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Joseph Azar is supposed as the Prince or </span><span style="font-size: large;">the head of the principality of Anjuvannam.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The troop/ principality of Anjuvannam was dispersed after 1340 A.D after the disputes between the brothers.</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This Jewish King is believed to have finally ended up in Cochin, and the construction of </span><span style="font-size: large;">the first synagogue of Cochin,</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Kochangadi synagogue </span><span style="font-size: large;">is attributed to him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Moses pereira de paiva gives his account in Noticias dos Judeos de Cochim , that he had seen the tomb of Joseph Azar in Cochin. And also gives details of the descendants of Joseph Azar, who was residing in Cochin then. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<i>Referance:</i><br />
<i>Eben Sapir, by Jacob Sapir</i><br />
<i>Who are the Jews of India, by Nathan Katz.</i></div>
Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-60979916373805544372015-11-25T07:59:00.001-08:002017-02-03T10:01:06.794-08:00The Hebrew stone tablets of Parur synagogue, and the black mark on it<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Parur synagogue before restoration, Photo clicked in 2009</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">It was in early 2009, I paid my first visit to the Parur synagogue, since then one thing swayed my mind back to that sanctuary, and there is a reason for that. It was a centuries old Hebrew stone inscriptions which dragged my attention, initially it was just a curiosity of a calligrapher who happened to see centuries old Hebrew letters, But during my later visits, my basic instinct of questing a conundrum or a paradox </span><span style="font-size: large;">has taken it..</span><br />
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Hebrew tablet of Parur synagogue, Photo clicked in 2009</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">My first impression about it wasn't something more than it being a dedicatory stone, but my failed attempts to interpret those words made me to discern more about it. But for a long period it remained bewildered. There were few challenges in interpreting the inscription. The constrains were, the space between the words, unfamiliar words and so on...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The difficulty in deciphering was result of an undated beautification work done to highlight the verse on the tablet with black paint to make it legible, which literally made the tablet's intelligibility a real gaffe and leading the quester to end up in an erroneous interpretation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The probable date of the beautification on the stone tablet would be before 2000's, way before the renovation works under Muziris project initiated by the archaeological department of Kerala.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ni1KpnpRuhA/VlWoYkNKuBI/AAAAAAAACJg/8BzTkR3Gdd4/s1600/Jacob_Saphir_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ni1KpnpRuhA/VlWoYkNKuBI/AAAAAAAACJg/8BzTkR3Gdd4/s400/Jacob_Saphir_portrait.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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Portrait of Jacob Saphir, the Jewish traveller and the author of "Eben Saphir"</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Even though the real tablet's current condition is gaffe, fortunately those words were well recorded. First among them was the great Jewish traveller and researcher Jacob Saphir who visited Kochi in 1860. In his travel diary "Eben Saphir", he had published this verses. Followed by David Solomon Sassoon in Ohel David (1932), Aaron Grenbaum in his Journal, ‘The Cochin Jewish Community, Impressions from a Mission to India (1966) where it’s given with English translation and I.S. Hallegua in his personal records (1988). Rabbi Saphir’s version has a minor variation in the sixth line, but the rest of authors have read alike. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It reads like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">He who dwelt in Rock and Bush אשר שכן בצר בסנה</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">May He dwell for His sake in my house </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">למענו ישכון ביתי</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">May there be light in it for the House of Jacob </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">יהי אור בו לבית יעקב</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Alas, darkened in my exile </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">הכי השכו בגלותי</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Said David Jacob's Son ענה דוד בנו יעקב</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Renowned noble seed of Castile דגול יחש לקשטיאל</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the completion of the holy sanctuary נוה קדש בעת ה'ו'ש'ל'ם</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">May it be His will that the Redeemer come יהי רצון ובא גואל</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">This poem was even part of the piyyutim (Jewish liturgical poem) and still remembered by the community in Israel. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://shituf.piyut.org.il/audio/play/8471">click here</a> to hear the poem.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">This dedicatory note/poem gives the details that David Ben Jacob Castiel was the one who initiated the rebuilding of the synagogue in the Hebrew year </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;">ה'ו'ש'ל'ם ie 5376 (</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;">which is equal to the year 1616 AD</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;">), the meaning of the word </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;">ה'ו'ש'ל'ם</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;"> is " was completed"</span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: right;">. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Besides it being a dedicatory note, beauty of this verses is that t</span><span style="font-size: large;">he poet hallmarked his name which makes this poem an acrostic</span><span style="font-size: large;">, which cleverly hides the name of the poet. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The hidden name "</span><span style="font-size: large;">אליה עדני</span><span style="font-size: large;">" Eliyah Adeni, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://jewsofmalabar.blogspot.com/2015/11/eliyah-ben-moses-adeni-hebrew-poet-from.html">A 17th century Hebrew poet from Cochin — Eliyah ben Moses Adeni </a>who died in 1631</span><span style="font-size: large;">. This brilliant piece of work actually depicts the aptitude and knack of the poet.</span><span style="font-size: large;">.and the literary richness of the Jews of Malabar.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">On a detailed analysis of the tablet, we can point out the errors in the tablet according to the available records. Here is a table of comparative study which also shows the evolution of the error which occurred in it.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f32unFvDfz4/VlWo7IUDcOI/AAAAAAAACJo/kalfwkVX5FY/s1600/CRIT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f32unFvDfz4/VlWo7IUDcOI/AAAAAAAACJo/kalfwkVX5FY/s400/CRIT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">As shown in the table above few many alphabets like "<b>ו</b>","<b>ג</b>", "<b>נ</b>" are merged and appear to be entirely different alphabet like "<b>מ</b>" and "<b>ט</b>" . Few alphabets like "<b>ה</b>" ,"<b>ג</b>","<b>ד</b>","<b>ח</b>" are interchanged with similar looking alphabets. One alphabet "<b>ו</b></span><span style="font-size: large;">" is not highlighted in the 3rd line and left it as it is, a close examination will show that there is a mark of engraving in it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The intruded attempt to highlight the verse had even ruined the remarkable feature of the acrostic poem and made poet's name itself erroneous. Which could be fetched by arranging first alphabets of each lines.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXQ4y7Yzff4/VlWpL4ZNFFI/AAAAAAAACJw/0BB6a2yyadU/s1600/30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXQ4y7Yzff4/VlWpL4ZNFFI/AAAAAAAACJw/0BB6a2yyadU/s400/30.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The real name of the poet and its current status.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This stone is exhibited in the Parur synagogue which is now a Jewish Museum, visited by travellers around the globe. </span><span style="font-size: large;">From my personal experience I have met few scholars and Jewish travellers who couldn't decipher the content out-rightly, because of this above mentioned issues. As a justice to the great poet and his work, the black paint should be removed using modern technique and the words should be re-written. If it is not possible, the authority should at-least consider installing a small plaque explaining the meaning and history of the tablet, for the future generation.</span><br />
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-51376371227439285992015-11-18T08:40:00.001-08:002016-04-09T12:13:18.607-07:00 Eliyah ben Moses Adeni, A 17th century Hebrew poet from Cochin.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Newly renovated Parur synagogue bears a </span><span style="font-size: large;">eight lined </span><span style="font-size: large;">Hebrew epitaph</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">etched stone tablet, </span><span style="font-size: large;">this dedicatory note was installed after the construction/renovation of Parur synagogue in 1620-21 (1616 ?) AD, the construction works was initiated by David Ben Jacob of renowned </span><span style="font-size: large;">Castiel</span><span style="font-size: large;"> family.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It</span><span style="font-size: large;"> is hard to interpret those words of the tablet, as the</span><span style="font-size: large;"> beautification work on it with black paint had merged some of the alphabets and made it more confusing. This happened quiet recently but way before the recent renovation of the synagogue by the government in (which began in 2010). A similar mistake happened during renovation on the embossed Hebrew words in the entrance of the Synagogue which was pointed out by me and was mended. </span><a href="http://jewsofmalabar.blogspot.ae/2011/07/asi-misses-monumental-error-revised.html"><span style="font-size: large;">click here</span></a> <span style="font-size: large;">to read more about it</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">but historians and travellers had documented and preserved those precious words....</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--HlZYexdU7g/VkyenW-W3PI/AAAAAAAACIc/c_8zm5s4ayo/s1600/21032009048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--HlZYexdU7g/VkyenW-W3PI/AAAAAAAACIc/c_8zm5s4ayo/s640/21032009048.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The picture of the tablet clicked in 2009 during my first visit, before renovation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It reads like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">He who dwelt in Rock and Bush אשר שכן בצר בסנה</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">May He dwell for His sake in my house </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">למענו ישכון ביתי</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">May there be light in it for the House of Jacob </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">יהי אור בו לבית יעקב</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Alas, darkened in my exile </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">הכי השכו בגלותי</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Said David Jacob's Son ענה דוד בנו יעקב</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Renowned noble seed of Castile דגול יחש לקשטיאל</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the completion of the holy sanctuary נוה קדש בעת ה'ו'ש'ל'ם</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span><span style="font-size: large;">May it be His will that the Redeemer come יהי רצון ובא גואל</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">(Jacob Saphir, a Jewish traveller who visited Cochin in 1860, published the poem with one variant in the sixth line: "דגולות של קשטיאל"</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">. )</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The beauty is that this is not only a dedicatory note but an acrostic poem which reveals a name "</span><span style="font-size: large;">אליה עדני</span><span style="font-size: large;">" Eliyah Adeni, the author of this poem. and the year of construction. This brilliant piece of work actually depicts the aptitude and knack of the poet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Eliyah ben Moses Adeni</b>, born (date unknown) Died (Friday 27 Tishri 5392, i.e. Thu, 23 October 1631)</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">2</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Also known as <b>Eliyahu Adeni</b> or <b>Rabbi Eliyah Ha-Adeni</b>, was a native of Aden (Yemen) and was therefore called "Ha-Adeni" that is to say, "the man of Aden." He got settled in Cochin, and he is supposed to have spend his most of life there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rabbi Adeni was a scholar, and a poet. His works was a part of the Cochini Minhag, and he is the only Cochini Jews whose complete works was published.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">3</span><span style="font-size: large;"> He wrote "Azharot," didactic liturgical poems on the 613 commandments, which is read by the Jews of India and chiefly by those of Cochin on Shemini Atzeret (Eighth [day of] Assembly) or the eighth day of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacle).</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">3</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WutMmp9h-Js/VkynPnr1FNI/AAAAAAAACIw/82MCJf__HK4/s1600/s-l1600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WutMmp9h-Js/VkynPnr1FNI/AAAAAAAACIw/82MCJf__HK4/s400/s-l1600.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The title page of יד אליהו אזהרות, </span></div>
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<i>picture courtesy: http://www.auctiva.com/</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the title page the work is named as "Seder Azharot", In the second page it bears a title " העדני יד אליהו " It might be entitled by Adeni himself or by Belilio, But the work is widely known as " יד אליהו אזהרות " (Azharot yad Eliyahu), and it is counted among the finest examples of its kind.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WEsrxImFdak/VkynYmrkHUI/AAAAAAAACI4/TOb1EKfqv9I/s1600/s-l1600%2B%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WEsrxImFdak/VkynYmrkHUI/AAAAAAAACI4/TOb1EKfqv9I/s400/s-l1600%2B%25283%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The second page of יד אליהו אזהרות, </span></div>
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<i>picture courtesy: http://www.auctiva.com/</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was the visit of the Dutch emissary to Cochin Jewish community which led this legend's name and fame immortal. It was Levi ben Moses Belilio who edited the Azharot. The Azharot was brought to Amsterdam by Moses Pereyra and was printed by Uri Phoebus ben Aaron Witmund ha Levi in 1688.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">5</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Thus it became one of the first printed book of Cochin Jews. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are some source which says Levi ben Moses Belilio was the grandson of Adeni,</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">6</span><span style="font-size: large;">. But that claim doesn't have a strong proof. </span><br />
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<i>Referance:</i><br />
<i>1. The Cochin Jewish Community, Aaron Grenbaum</i><br />
<i>2. Ohel David, David Solomon Sassoon.</i><br />
<i>3. Who Are the Jews of India?, Nathan Katz</i><br />
<i>4. The Jewish Encyclopedia :A discriptive record of the history, religion literature and customs of the Jewish People from the earliest tmes to the present day , Volume 2, Apocrypha -Benash,</i><br />
<i>5. The Dutch Intersection: The Jews and the Netherlands in Modern History, Yosef Kaplan.</i><br />
<i>6. Hebrew Typography in the Northern Netherlands 1585-1815, Lajb Fuks and R.G Fuks-Mansfeld</i></div>
Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-67182895304072458452015-11-08T17:50:00.001-08:002015-11-10T15:02:09.093-08:00Targum Malayalemi : An exotic Hebrew-Malayalam manuscript from Cochin.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">The last article about the Malayalam translation of Bible and the role of a Cochin Jew in it was just an opening to explore the literary richness of the Jews of Malabar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The vibrant community gave birth to many talents, Poets </span><span style="font-size: large;">like</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Eliahu Adeni, Nehemiah ben Abraham Mota, Levi ben Moses Belilah, Ephraim Saala, Solomon ben Nissim, and Joseph Zakkai some of their works were part of Cochini Minhag which were later integrated into the liturgical books.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ONXN5_vqqDg/Vj_2AoCpInI/AAAAAAAACHo/FmfO5KRbdwY/s1600/207_India_1791_thb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ONXN5_vqqDg/Vj_2AoCpInI/AAAAAAAACHo/FmfO5KRbdwY/s400/207_India_1791_thb.jpg" width="370" /></a></div>
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"Ohel David", ( Amsterdam, 1785), by David Ben Ezekiel Rahabi</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">David Rahabi was Cochini calender maker, He is known for his work "Ohel David", ( Amsterdam, 1785), which treats on the origin of Hebrew Calendar, and its comparison with Islamic and Hindu calendar. Which aided the community to prepare their wall hanging hand made event calendar. One of such last calendar was prepared by Johnny Hallegua in 2011.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rKi1KKY8euM/Vj_2nfqUdWI/AAAAAAAACHw/gG0HyWYesnU/s1600/298N09239_7RF48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rKi1KKY8euM/Vj_2nfqUdWI/AAAAAAAACHw/gG0HyWYesnU/s400/298N09239_7RF48.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
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Manuscript wall calendar from Pardesi synagogue, by an unknown Scribe dated 1862-1863.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Historical records by Mudaliar Joseph Hallegua, Naphtali Eliyahu Rahabi and other later Jewish historians from Cochin shows an excellent chronicling nature of the community.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the community also had many unknown Soferim (Scribes) who made exquisite Torah scrolls, Megillah and Mezuzahs of Cochin and even purchased by Jews of far flung places.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were numerous manuscripts produced by such talents in possession with the Cochin Jews, those were Biblical books and commentaries, apocryphal books, liturgy poems and hymns, treaties on religious and communal topics, astrology, anthropology, medicine, history and so on. </span><span style="font-size: large;">....small but vibrant community of Cochin was so rich in the field....</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this article we will discuss about, a late 19th century Hebrew-Malayalam Targum manuscript from Cochin, which also include a small portion of liturgy poems. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">What is Targum ?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Traditionally the Aramaic translation of the Bible is known as Targum (תרגום) It forms a part of the Jewish traditional literature, and in its inception is as early as the time of the Second Temple.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But on a later context the word is also used to indicate the spoken paraphrases, explanations and expansions of the Jewish scriptures that a Rabbi would give in the common language of the listeners.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Targum Malyalemi</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The title seems to be very exotic, and it is. "Targum Malayalemi" (תרגום מליאלמי) or more specifically "עם תרגום מליאלמי" which roughly means "with Malayalam translation". </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RlwduI8L6r4/Vj_2_hdb4WI/AAAAAAAACH4/tpJPoZ_Bmic/s1600/2%2B-%2BCopy%2B-%2BCopy.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RlwduI8L6r4/Vj_2_hdb4WI/AAAAAAAACH4/tpJPoZ_Bmic/s640/2%2B-%2BCopy%2B-%2BCopy.PNG" width="454" /></a></div>
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A page from the Manuscript, Targum Malayalemi.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is one among the hundreds of the Hebrew manuscripts from Cochin, and this particular Codex in possession with The Jewish Theological Seminary, contains:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ethics of the Fathers : פרקי אבות</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Song of Songs : שיר השירים</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lamentations : איכה</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">liturgical poems : פיוטים</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Colophon</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MRKDvUnieFU/Vj_3YaPhXwI/AAAAAAAACIA/AQ4OYHy_SyU/s1600/2%2B-%2BCopy.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MRKDvUnieFU/Vj_3YaPhXwI/AAAAAAAACIA/AQ4OYHy_SyU/s640/2%2B-%2BCopy.PNG" width="435" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The colophon of this book is a brilliant example for how the information about the attributes is to be stated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Date: Tuesday 7th Elul 5652, (Tuesday, 30 August 1892)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Scribe: Eliyah Haim Hallegua</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Owner: Rachel Bat Eliyah Hallegua </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Language</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The book is compiled with vocalized Hebrew text with Malayalam translation, phrase by phrase, in parallel columns. The style of Malayalam is a non standardised version or a later version of Judeo-Malayalam, there are many Hebrew words which are transliterated as it is, some of the examples are:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> תורה(Torah)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> തൊറാ (Thorah) <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Torah</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">הצדיק (Ha Tzadik) ആസ്സദീഹ (Assadeeha)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Righteous one</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">נבי (Nabi)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> നാബി (Nabi) <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Prophet</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">יין (Yayin)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> യായീന (Yayina) <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wine</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ארזים (Arzim)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> ഏറെസ (Arese) <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> -<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Cedar</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Few Malayalam words of Dutch-Latin origin is also seen in the translation, an example is ഓടാത്ത, (odatha) its etymology is the Latin loan Dutch word "Hortus" which means Garden. This word was came into Malayalam during Dutch rule.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Only few examples are quoted here from the preliminary analysis of the book.</span><br />
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-58806106353456677962015-11-05T14:56:00.002-08:002015-11-06T11:36:25.697-08:00Untold story of a Cochin Jew and Bailey's Malayalam Bible.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The article also lists out the details of the Hebrew-Malayalam manuscripts collected by David Solomon Sassoon (1880-1942) which includes biblical portions, commentaries, occasional prayers, Jewish liturgical poems, and hymns.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">A brief history of initial translation of Malayalam Bibles.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Bible translation work in Malayalam is of unique interest, the translation being made from the Syriac, with some help from Johann Phillip Fabricius's Tamil version, by Kayamkulam Philippos Ramban and Timapah Pillay. Timapah Pillay went to Bombay, where a font of Malayalam type had been cast, and he supervised the printing. Even though translation was completed or initialised in 1807, The book was published in 1811 and was later known as Ramban Bible. Successive British residents at Travancore took a deep interest in the work, first Colonel Colin Macaulay, and then Major John Munro, who had been the means of establishing a college at Kottayam. Timapah Pillay had translated the whole New Testament from the Tamil by 1813, but there were difficulties about revising it and publication was delayed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Benjamin Bailey</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In 1817 it was resolved to translate the whole Bible and print it at Kottayam. The C.M.S. lent their missionary, Benjamin Bailey , for this work, and he was to be assisted by eight Syrian priests and some local linguists; they were to be paid by the Bible Society and supervised by Major Munro. The Calcutta Auxiliary was also considering another New Testament translation from the Vulgate, under Roman Catholic superintendence, though the vicar-general did not object to the translation already made. The Madras Auxiliary Bible Society published his translation of the New Testament in 1829. It was not in the purer Malayalam; Bailey became busy with the Old Testament and completed it. A committee revised the texts and the Madras Auxiliary published Bailey's translation as it stood, the complete Old Testament appearing in 1841-42. In 1846, he published the first English-Malayalam dictionary and Grammar of Malayalam in 1869 these books not only displaced earlier tentative efforts, but they are still regarded as standard works. Revised edition of Bailey's Old Testament was issued in 1859. He returned to England on 20 March, 1850 after 33 years of mission work in Kerala. </span><br />
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A page from the Book of Psalms, printed in 1938.</div>
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One of the first portion from the old testament translated to Malayalam.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is an untold story of a </span>Cochin<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Jew who assisted Bailey in his Old testament translation. He is another unsung legend of Cochin Jewry.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not much informations are available about his personal life but his works...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Moses ben David Sarphati, the Hebrew professor of Kottayam Christian missionary society.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The </span>surname<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Sarphati is believed to have their origin from </span>France<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as the word SARPAT is the Hebrew word for France. According to the history this family came to Cochin in 17th century. They are professional writers and are seen in communal agreements of Cochin Jewish community.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Moses ben David Sarphati was a liberally-minded Jew, who is mentioned in many missionary records for his kindness and generosity. He was one among the linguists who helped Benjamin Bailey on Hebrew language in his complete translations of Old Testament Bible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He was the Hebrew Professor of the Kottayam CMS, many of the Malpans (The Syriac word "Malpan" means teacher. Elderly </span>Christian<span style="font-family: inherit;"> priests who used to teach and train candidates to priesthood were usually referred to as Malpans) were </span>practising<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>Hebrew<span style="font-family: inherit;"> lesson under him thus he was a teacher to the teachers. Sarphati was a skilled Sofer (Hebrew scribe) and he is also considered as local historian and his Hebrew history record of Cochin Jews dated 1874, (which is a collection containing various records/data of an early date of 1663 to his time) is mentioned by David Solomon, in his Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscript catalogue book "Ohel David". </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sarphati's influence is seen in the different stages of publishing of Bailey's Malayalam bible, as the primary stage was started by publishing Psalms, followed by the 5 Books of Moses which are of high </span>importance<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in Judaism. Finally the entire books was published in 1841-42.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Biblical manuscripts with Malayalam translation</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Cochin Jews held many translated biblical manuscripts owned by different people. These clusters of Malayalam translation would have been an aid for Bailey's translations, few among the recorded Malayalam translations are mentioned in Ohel David, some with the name of the scribes and owners too.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Book of Esther, with Hebrew text and Malayalam translation.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">According to Malayalam note at the end, the text was scribed by by </span><span style="text-align: left;">Solomon ben Shalom Kindeel</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">for </span>Siniora Rahel Eliyyah Rahabi at Cochin.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">1.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Songs of Songs ( שיר השירים) (Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">2.Book of Ruth (רות) : (Scribe: Solomon ben Shalom Kindeel, Donor: Sassoon Hilali Leveroy)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">3.Lementations (איכה) : (Scribe: unknown, Donor: Sassoon Hilali Leveroy)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">4. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Book of Esther (אסתר) : (Scribe: Solomon ben Shalom Kindeel, Owner: Siniora Rahel Eliyyah Rahabi, Donor: Sassoon Hilali Leveroy)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">5. Commentaries to the Book of Lamentations (פירוש על הקינות והפיוטים) : (Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: Elijah Madai)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Commentaries to the Book of Lamentations, with Hebrew text and Malayalam translation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Jewish liturgical works with Malayalam translation</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cochin Jews had numerous manuscripts of occasional prayers, liturgical poems and hymns similar to those of Aleppo and Baghdad Jews.</span></span></div>
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Midrash Eikhah,The Pethihatha ,<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>with Hebrew text and Malayalam translation.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Cochin Jews had local Hebrew poets like David Castiel, Levy ben Moses Beliliah and Kabbalistic mystic and poet like Nehemiah ben Abraham,(Naamia Mootha), a Yemenite Jew settled in Cochin. The famous Andalusian poet and philosopher Solomon ben Yehuda ibn Gabriol's works along with, poet, physician and philosopher of Tuleda Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Levi's works were well celebrated in Cochin. Some of those poems were translated and became part of Jewish Malayalam folk songs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of the works the </span>liturgical<span style="font-family: inherit;"> works with Malayalam translations mentioned in Ohel David are:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. Lamentations</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> and Elegies (איכה וקינות) : (Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">2. The Pethihatha, Midrash Eikhah (מדרש איכה): (Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">3. Pirkei Avot (פרקי אבות) :(Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">4. The morning services (סדר תפלות) :(Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">5. The daily Amidah (תפלת י׳׳ח) :(Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">6. Full Kaddish (קדיש שלם) :(Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Selichot (</span>Penitential<span style="font-family: inherit;">) Prayers ( סליחות) :(Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">8. Poems of Simeon bar Yochai (בר יוחאי נמשחת אשריך) : (Scribe: Joseph ben Solomon Hallegua, Owner: Leah bath Moses Rahabi)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">9. Poems of Rabbi Judah Halevi (מי כמוך ואין כמוך לשבת זכור) :(Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">10. The Azharoth of R. Solomon ibn Gabirol (אזהרות לשבועות) : (Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">11. Avinu Malkeinu (אבינו מלכנו) :(Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">12. Yossipon, 90th Chapter (יוסיפון): (Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">13. A Prayer for the Royal Family, Lord Pentland, Governor of Madras, and Lady Pentland (הנותן תשועה) : (Scribe: Abraham Hai b. Joseph Hai b. Abraham Se'adyah, Owner/Donor: unknown)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">14. Fragments of Lexicographical notes on Talmudic- Midrashic words: (Scribe: unknown, Owner/Donor: Ezekiel Bgai, Date: 1739)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots of texts were lost in time, it was worth that some were preserved and recorded its </span>existence<span style="font-family: inherit;">. But unfortunately most of the above mentioned manuscripts and incunabula collected by David Sassoon mentioned above were auctioned by Sotheby's of London in Zurich and in New York, between the years 1975 - 1994, in order to satisfy the Sassoon estate's British tax obligations. what remains of David Solomon Sassoon's private collection of Hebrew manuscripts is stored at a Canadian University library.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">A later manuscript of 1892 A.D by Eliyah Haim Hallegua, which includes Pirkei Avot, Lamentations, Songs of song, liturgical poems also had Malayalam translation phrase by phrase in parallel columns. The manuscript is a bound book, and "The Jewish Theological Seminary." is the current custodian of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Referances:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"A Reply to the Letters of the Abbé Dubois, on the State of Christianity in India" </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>by James Hough (1824)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"Ohel David : Descriptive catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan manuscripts in the Sassoon Library", by David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942), </i></span></div>
Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-70785490501937050502014-04-05T11:21:00.000-07:002014-04-05T11:21:21.960-07:00Jews of Palur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Less than a kilometer
away from Chavakad there is an ancient trade town Palur, currently known as
Palayoor. Well known for its Christian pilgrimage center, Palayoor St. Thomas
church. Renovated Church, Thalikakulam, Boatkulam and newly constructed museum
are major attractions. Tradition says St.Thomas the apostle came to Palur, in
52 AD. He constructed a small wooden church. The museum holds a rock foundation
stone structure and few more stones which was found near the Thalikakulam, is
believed to be the remaining of the church built by the apostle.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Lesser known but truth is that it was
once a flourishing town which was one of the ancient Jewish settlements of
Malabari Jews. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Even though Christian tradition says that Jews were present in
Palur during the arrival of St. Thomas, Malabari Jewish tradition say that the
settlement was established in 70 AD or even later in 72 AD. </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Christian sources also refer to an early
Jewish presence there and some say the remains of a synagogue and a Brahmin
temple can be seen nearby the church. (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Brown, L. W., The Indian Christians
of St. Thomas – an Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar, Cambridge,
1956, p.54, 62-63.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">From
Kottakavu the Apostle proceeded to Palayur, one of the strongest Brahmin
centers in Kerala. A prosperous Brahmin community was living there from ancient
times. The place where the Jewish community had their residence at Palayur is
still called Jewish hill.”</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Quoted
from "A History of Christianity in Kerala" by Dr. C.V.Cherian<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It is evident from</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Jewish Malayalam folksongs that this
lost Jewish settlement was of some great significance, it is one of the
frequent names in the song, which reveals that the first Jews arrived in Palur,
and they later fled to Cranganore.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><u><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">മാള പള്ളിയുടെ പാട്ട്</span></u></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">, </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">Song of Mala Synagogue<sup>1</sup></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">“</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">കലൂർ അഴിഞ്ഞവർ കൊടുങ്ങല്ലൂർ
വന്നതെ</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">They arrived at Palur and
came to kodungalur <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">Kalur mentioned here is believed to be Palur<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><u><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പൈങ്കിളിയുടെ പാട്ട്</span></u></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പച്ചമണിമാടം</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">) <sup>2<o:p></o:p></sup></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പാലൂ കടലാരികെ</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അയ്യയ്യ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പാലുകുറ്റിമരങ്ങൾ കണ്ടെൻ</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അയ്യയ്യ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പാലൂ കടലാരികെ</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അയ്യയ്യ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">എറങ്ങികുളിച്ചാൻ കിളി</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അയ്യയ്യ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">by the side of Palur sea aiyaiah</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">(the bird) saw “palukutti”
trees aiyaiah<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> by the side of Palur sea aiyaiah<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">went down the bird and
bathed aiyaiah<sup> 3</sup><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">This view is strengthening from another version, i.e.
from Ruby Daniel’s translation of the same song in English</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">Near the seashore of palur<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">It saw the tree<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">Near the sea shore of palur<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">The bird flew and perched <sup>4</sup><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">Another version of the same
song says <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><u><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പൈങ്കിളിയുടെ പാട്ട്</span></u></span><span class="apple-style-span"><u><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></u></span><span class="apple-style-span"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">(Parrot song)<sup>5</sup><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പാലൂർ കടൽ അറിവെൻ </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അയ്യയ്യ</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പനംകുറ്റിമരങ്ങൾ കണ്ടെൻ</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അയ്യയ്യ</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">(The Bird) figured it is
Palur Sea by seeing the palm trees. </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">*</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">Or <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">By the Palur Sea (shore) aiyaiah<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">(The bird) saw the palm
trees </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">** </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">aiyaiah<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Other song mentioning palur is <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<u><span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">എവറായിയുടെ</span></u><u><span lang="ML" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></u><u><span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">പാട്ട്</span></u><span lang="ML" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">(song of evarayi)<sup>6</sup></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">കപ്പെൽ പായും വലിച്ചങ്ങു പൊകുമ്പ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">മറുതലെ ആയ പൊറൊത്തികാർ കണ്ടുതെ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">അവിടന്ന പെടിച്ചു മണ്ടിയവരപ്പ പാലുകടെയിലെ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">ചെന്ന അടത്തുതെ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">കൊണ്ടുപോയ ചരക്കെല്ലാം വിറ്റുപിരിഞ്ഞുതെ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">അവിടന്ന പെടിച്ചു മണ്ടിയവരപ്പ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">ശിഭുശ്നാട്ടിച്ചെന്നങ്ങ അടുതത്തെ</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The ship withdrawn the sail as it went,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The hostile porothi land</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">***</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> was sighted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Thence frightened they fled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And reached the paloor bay<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Disposed of all the wares brought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Thence too frightened they fled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And reached the land of shibushu</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">****</span></span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">7<o:p></o:p></span></sup></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">These songs give a hint that this
community was never a long standing community and had moved to some other place
and took their abode. Jewish tradition
say that chieftain of Palur was not favorably inclined to them because a Jewish
girl of bewitching beauty had rejected his amorous advances<sup>3.1</sup>. So
they have moved to Cranganore (as mentioned in Song of Mala synagogue). Still
controversy exists, have they moved to Cranganore or Chennamangalam or any
other place? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But all of these songs make a point
clear that this was one of the ancient and possibly the first place they
landed. But it is believed that some of the Palur Jews found peace only when
they came to Cochin, where the Rajah befriended and protected them. Perhaps the
families from the Palur would be the parental congregation of Kochangadi. It is even clear that minor Diasporas and
Aliyahs from Palur to Cochin, Cochin to Palur and again back from Palur to
Cochin. Even though it is unclear how the ancient settlement was disappeared. R</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">e-establishment of this settlement and the synagogue
is attributed to Ezekiel Rahabi<sup>8</sup>. (Probably Ezekiel Rahabi 1 who
settled in Cochin 1646 A.D or his grandson Ezekiel Rahabi 11) It is even mentioned that “remains of the
ancient synagogue are seen near the Syrian Christian church of St. Thomas on
the Chowghat – Enammakal road. There are no Jews left now in Palur.The
settlement was abandoned decades back. But the local market is still known as
“Jootha Bazaar” which means Jewish market in Malayaam”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But Palur synagogue is not counted among the
list of existing community/synagogue in “Toldot Yehude Kutzin” by Abraham Ben
Yahya Saraf Ha Levi dated 1781 AD, or even in Samuel’s Hebrew letter “History
of the Jews in land of Malabar”, dated 1790 AD. But Moses Pereyra de
Paiva in his “Notisias dos Judeos de Cochim” dated 1685 AD, It is
mentioned that <i>Palur has one synagogue and 10 well to do family.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But the strong evidence
for the existence of a synagogue in Palur is a torah finial dated </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">1565 AD, </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">from Palur synagogue is
documented by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which was brought to Israel
by the Cochin Jewish immigrants. Ruby Daniel says “But there is a rimon (a type
of ornament) from Palur used for a Sefer Torah in the Nevatim synagogue in
Israel today. This <i>rimon</i> was extricated from Palur synagogue long ago
and brought to parur synagogue. Ernakulam synagogue brought it from Parur, and
now it came to Israel”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://cja.huji.ac.il/Ritual_Objects/India/Torah_finial_India_Kerala_1935_Sc_542_3_clip_image002.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cja.huji.ac.il/Ritual_Objects/India/Torah_finial_India_Kerala_1935_Sc_542_3_clip_image002.gif" height="320" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> These
finials (pomegranate shaped ornament) are unique in their shape and are one of
the earliest dated finials known until now. The finial has a circumferential
dedicatory inscription, which reads:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">השכ</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">ה</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>
</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">שנת</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">ר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>)</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">פלו</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>
</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">הכנסת</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">בית</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>
</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">של</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">הרמון</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>
</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">זה</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">"This is the Torah finial (possession) of the
synagogue of Palu (Palur), the year 5325 (1565)"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">(The name of the synagogue of “Palu”
engraved on them, possibly relates to the synagogue of Palur.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Besides folk stories and oral traditions,
this inscription is therefore the only historical evident mentioning the
existence of the Jewish community of Palur and its synagogue. Other than </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Notisias dos
Judeos de Cochim”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Palur /Palayoor today<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">After a long drive we
reached there, from the St. Thomas Church official we came to know about Jose
Chittilapalli, a local historian. He gave details about the “St. Thomas Jew
hill monument, Palayur” which was built a decade back. Interview with him and
few localites had given more valuable points that had helped us to find out
more about the Palur synagogue. He had thrown light on the location of the
synagogue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">*</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> (The poetic word </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അറിവെൻ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> aṟiven, is blindly
translated as “<i>figured out</i>”)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">**</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> (The word </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അറിവെൻ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">aṟiven, is analyzed further. </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അറിവ്</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">a</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">ṟ<i>ivu</i> = knowledge, </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അരികെ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">arike</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> = beside. Are two words but sounds similar<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">The word </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അരികെ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">arike</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> would have orally transformed from the root word
</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അരികെ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">arike</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> to </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അരിവെ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> arive > </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അരിവെൻ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> ariven > </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അറിവെൻ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> aṟiven. So finally <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പാലൂർ കടൽ അരിവെൻ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">അരികെ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">) </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പനംകുറ്റിമരങ്ങൾ കണ്ടെൻ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> Could make sense
than </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പാലൂർ കടൽ അറിവെൻ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പനംകുറ്റിമരങ്ങൾ കണ്ടെൻ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">*** </span></span><span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">പൊറൊത്തികാർ
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">is translated as</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Porothi land by Prof. P.M Jussay were
he doubts it is Persian. Portuguese in the commentary in Karkuzhali. It could
be even simply as </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പൊറുതികാർ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> - </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">which could be roughly translated as the “dwellers”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">So the line “</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The hostile porothi land</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">was sighted</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">” could be translated as
“The (hostile) dwellers of the other shore was sighted”</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">****Land of Shibushu, a similar usage is seen in “The
Book of Buczacz”, by S.Y. Agnon(1887/8-1970) , In which Agnon in his fiction he
playfully changed town of Buczacz name to Szybusz, the word </span></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><span dir="RTL"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">shibush</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> in hebrew (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">שבוש</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><span dir="LTR"></span>) </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">meaning
“error” or “muddle”), Here in this song </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ശിഭുശ്നാട്</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">
</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">the land of shibushu</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">, the poet is telling about a unknown or anonymous land, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> Karkuzhali, </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">മാള പള്ളിയുടെ പാട്ട്</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">song no: 6, 3<sup>rd</sup> line<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> Karkuzhali, </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പൈങ്കിളിയുടെ</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പാട്ട്</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പച്ചമണിമാടം</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">) </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">song no: 2, 18 to 22<sup>nd</sup> line)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> P.M. Jussay, The Jews of Kerala, The
song of bird, page 87<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3.1.</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> P.M.
Jussay, The Jews of Kerala, page 109<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> Ruby of Cochin, page 123, 125<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">Karkuzhali </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Kartika","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">പൈങ്കിളിയുടെ പാട്ട്</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="ML" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">song no: 1, 21and 22<sup>nd</sup> lines<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;">Karkuzhali, </span></span><span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">എവറായിയുടെ</span><span lang="ML" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span lang="ML" style="font-family: Kartika, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;">പാട്ട്</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> song no: 3, 17<sup>th</sup>
to 20<sup>th</sup> line<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> P.M. Jussay, The Jews of Kerala, The
song of Evarayi, page 85<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: ML; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">8.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"> Adv. Prem Doss Yehudi, The shingly
Hebrews, Page 104.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Kartika; mso-bidi-language: ML;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-47167781600005697582014-03-15T14:57:00.001-07:002014-03-16T10:21:49.395-07:00Tamil epistles of King Ahasuerus connecting Holi and Purim<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6zC7Yo0xXWo/UyTNUFYFiJI/AAAAAAAABws/Y8EVbXVcqBE/s1600/3187645202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6zC7Yo0xXWo/UyTNUFYFiJI/AAAAAAAABws/Y8EVbXVcqBE/s1600/3187645202.jpg" height="231" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Indian streets are
ready to be filled with colour and water mixed with joyous festive atmosphere
were white costumes are going to be adorned with the colour as depicted in the
famous movie “outsourced”, while Jews have started baking “ozneyhaman” , Israeli
streets are ready to welcome the Adloyada Holon and more carnivals, private
party filled with full of festive mood ….</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">According to the Book
of Esther, Haman the minister to King Ahasuerus planned to kill all the
Jews in the empire, but his plans were foiled by Mordecai and his adopted
daughter Esther who had risen to become Queen of Persia. The day of
deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing. This day of rejoicing or
the victory of good over evil is celebrated annually as Purim on 14th of the
Hebrew month of Adar. Similarly in India Holi is celebrated at the approach of
vernal equinox, on the phalguna purnima (Full Moon). The
festival date varies every year, per the Hindu calendar, and typically
comes in March, sometimes February in the Gregorian calendar. The festival
signifies the victory of good over evil. It is a coincidence that these two
festivals fall on the same day or almost near. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Does this coincidence have
something to do with Jews of India???<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Yes it does..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In Dutch abstract of
The Chronicles of Jews of Cochin, Leopold Jacob van Dort writes <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“In charge of the above
mentioned Joseph Halogua, are preserved two epistles, which King Ahasuerus (as
it is found in the Book of Esther) sent respecting the affair of Haman and
Mordecai, and they are written in the Tamuly language.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“The descendants of the
aborigines of Malabar, who go by the name of caieryns or Cannaryns, have still,
in their pagodas, or their temples, copies of those letters , and celebrate, on
the same day with the Jews, the feast of Purim, and say that day is to be a
festive day to them, as an everlasting statue. For they were commanded by their
then prince, viz., the King of Puna and Cannara, who held the kingdom under the
dominance of Ahasuerus…</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Reading his account we
get a small clue of an Indian festival celebrated on the same day with the
Jews, the feast of Purim. Considering that day is to be a festive day of
everlasting statue. The festival falling on the same day is none other Holi. But
for me something which really strikes is the Tamil epistles send to Indian by a
Persian king.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Interestingly Richard
Treloar’s article presented to the Bible and Critical Theory Seminar held at
Monash University on August </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Adobe Gothic Std B"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">24, 2000.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Under
the title: "Rein scribing difference: translating the Scroll of
Ahasuerus" , says “<i>The manuscript was found, along with a canonical
Esther Scroll </i></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">מגילת
אסתר</span></i><span dir="LTR"></span><i><span lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">(Megillat
Esther) in one of the synagogues of the so-called 'black Jews' at Cochin on the
Malabar coast of India, in the early nineteenth century. Believed to be about 150</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">years
old at the time of discovery, it was copied (so it is asserted by the
aforementioned editor) "from an ancient Roll bearing the same title",
itself transcribed from "brazen tablets preserved at Goa".</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">One more thing
is clear that the copy in possession with Joseph hallegua was a translated /
transcribed version of it. Probably the same Scroll of Ahasuerus </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;">מגילת אחשורוש</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;"><span dir="LTR"></span> which was found in the synagogue of
Malabari Jews as mentioned above.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-language: HE;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The conclusion is made with the strong evidence ie the scroll found was having a preface of unknown scribe. Translated by Thomas Yeates</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“The Letter of King
Ahasuerus, which Impious Haman sent into all the provinces of India and Ethiopia,
in the name of the King. Translated from the Biblia, written in the Greek Tongue
by the Seventy Elders in the days of King Ptolemy. And these Chapters are contained
among the Books called Apocrypha, or hidden books, and which are not reckoned in
the Sacred Canon, whereof there is an evidence in the Talmud, that the wise Men
of Israel hid up many Books for some reason, even as is found in the Talmud, Sabbath,
Chapter, Col kithbe, that they sought to conceal and lay aside even the Book of
Coheleth (Ecclesiastes) itself”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Finally when we
read everything together we need to search for the epistle of King Ahasuerus
inscribed in a Brass/ copper plate in a temple of Goa; the temple which
celebrates festival on the same day of Purim. That’s on a phalguna purnima (full
moon) from an Indian perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Discovery of
this brass/copper plate will be another greatest achievement. Unless it is found
we may have to consider it as a mystery in History.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-76492259546156810022014-02-28T05:53:00.000-08:002014-02-28T06:15:31.027-08:00Cochin Jewish wedding in 1966, by Dr. Rahamim Melamed Cohen.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One day from the ten days long Wedding function of
Juliet Hallegua and Late Mr. Joseph (Johnny) Hallegua, was recorded by
<a href="http://www.melamed.org.il/#!home-en/c24b1">Dr. Rahamim Melamed Cohen</a> which was edited with background music of Hindi songs. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HatLPsRJKvw&list=UUtDPXo919SLO960R5vTqhdg">see it here</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KaxVSqBtaNY/UxCSCB3UpUI/AAAAAAAABv0/u-_a2LJZLBU/s1600/110420131816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KaxVSqBtaNY/UxCSCB3UpUI/AAAAAAAABv0/u-_a2LJZLBU/s1600/110420131816.jpg" height="320" width="201" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Johnny and Juliet Hallegua</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> Photo courtesy: Juliet Hallegua</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2011 i showed this video to Johnny uncle and
Juliet auntie they were so happy to see their own wedding video after years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After 48 years with Dr. Rahamim's permission video
was edited with help of my friends <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Sarathkottikkal/">Sarath Kottikal</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lemons.ChurcHill">Lemons Churchill</a>.
Original Cochin Jewish wedding songs and traditional Kerala instrumental music
were used to give life back to this video.</span></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/vkQ_SM-0PyU/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/vkQ_SM-0PyU?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/vkQ_SM-0PyU?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When the edited video was screened as a part of <a href="http://jewsofmalabar.blogspot.in/p/exhibition.html">myexhibition</a> elders from the community started singing the songs along with
video, the person who operated the video paused the video en route, Sarah Cohen
and others continued singing the song. The scene went so emotional for them...
and it was really emotional...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Special thanks to Gad Hakimi and Thaha Ibrahim for your support</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-18204015599896882482013-11-15T10:03:00.000-08:002013-11-16T08:48:52.168-08:00A Kocha from Cochin Royal family.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DokTqID3Bvo/UoZhWj1c3II/AAAAAAAABXU/2erGfqBTmuY/s1600/DSC_0156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DokTqID3Bvo/UoZhWj1c3II/AAAAAAAABXU/2erGfqBTmuY/s400/DSC_0156.JPG" width="400" /></a></i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> Photo courtesy to Thaha Ibrahim</i></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">The British royal
couple visited the Jewish Synagogue at Mattanchery, Cochin.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mNCl6pknbNs/UoZemFREb_I/AAAAAAAABXI/192cTwlFzHw/s1600/1467318_10201929049160680_1421176000_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mNCl6pknbNs/UoZemFREb_I/AAAAAAAABXI/192cTwlFzHw/s320/1467318_10201929049160680_1421176000_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px; text-align: left;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 28px;">Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles and </i><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: left;">Prince Charles of Wales with Reema Selam, Juliet Hallegua, Sarah Cohen and Queenie Hallegua.</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Photo courtesy to Praveen Chandran,</i><i style="line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anandha Kini</span></i></div>
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<i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: left;"> </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: left;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: left;"> Among the invited
guests to meet the royal couple from London was Dr. Kocha Varma and his wife
Usha Varma from Tripunithura, representing the Cochin Royal Family. Prince
Charles and his wife Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles walked up to
the members of the Jewish Community and their guests to share a few moments of
pleasantry. Dr. Kocha Varma said to the King in Waiting Prince Charles: “My
wife Usha and I Kocha Varma come here representing our family and we bring to
you warm greetings from the members of the entire Cochin Family.” </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5_ra9fh5HDU/UoZclSWajaI/AAAAAAAABXA/F02BgJkTUJ0/s1600/1424308_10201928210059703_998292340_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5_ra9fh5HDU/UoZclSWajaI/AAAAAAAABXA/F02BgJkTUJ0/s320/1424308_10201928210059703_998292340_n.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 28px;"><i>Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Bowles conversing with Usha Varma.</i></span><br />
<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Photo courtesy to Praveen Chandran</i><i style="line-height: 28px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">, Anandha Kini</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">
Prince Charles looked at them and acknowledged his appreciation while Camilla
Parker- Bowles said “We just have come back from visiting Mattanchery Palace
and it was beautiful.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Interestingly, Dr. Kocha Varma and Usha Varma were invited not by the
Government of Kerala or any such entity. They were there at the behest of the
Jewish Community who perhaps did this in commemoration of how the royal family
of Cochin stood with them in times of struggle and strife when the rest of the
world looked the other way…</span></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It’s interesting, royal
couple meeting another Royal couple but the more remarkable is the long lasting
or a ten century old relation between the Cochin royal family and the Cochin
Jewish community, established by granting the copper charter by Bhaskara Ravi
Varma to Joseph Ramban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3kxZ1G0LlGw/UoZcH5KVcoI/AAAAAAAABW0/MKdAJcuv3A8/s1600/884452_102116476647274_2129600073_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3kxZ1G0LlGw/UoZcH5KVcoI/AAAAAAAABW0/MKdAJcuv3A8/s320/884452_102116476647274_2129600073_o.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;">Dr. Kocha Varma and his wife Usha Varma.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Rama Varma Kochaniyan
Thampuran, popularly known as Dr. Kocha Varma is the founding patron, of Cochin
royal family historical and heritage society. He had visited the British royal
library in London and many other libraries in Holland and Portugal. He had fetched
more authentic historical data about the rule of Cochin under the domination of
these foreign powers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Another interesting
fact, his name Kochaniyan is shortened and he is known as “Kocha” within the
family circle, as a happenstance the same word was used to address an elderly Jew
in Cochin. But now that name is apt for him...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i>courtesy</i><br />
<i>Vijay R Varma </i></div>
Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-80974541797675886652013-08-19T15:22:00.000-07:002013-08-24T14:07:22.104-07:00The Copper plate and the big sahib<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The world renowned
<a href="http://jewsofmalabar.blogspot.in/2011/04/anjuvanam-original-brass-plate-and.html">Copper plate</a> is the greatest honor received by the Jewry of Malabar. Granted to
the Yemeni Jewish merchant Joseph Rabban, the privileges were granted to him
and his successors who took abode in coast of Malabar. It was always my long desire
to see these copper plates. I believe seeing this copperplate itself is a
privilege, ultimately I got a chance to see those copper plates. Unfortunately
I couldn’t procure a photograph of that, either explain much about the event;
as per the humble request from the present custodian of the copper plate. Might
be due to some security reasons, anyway I am bound to do so. It was a great
experience to examine the copper plates, Elkan. N. Adler’s narration about it
was similar to what I saw there.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;">Jacky Cohen with the Copper plates.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><i> Photo courtesy www.glowimages.com </i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“It consists of three
strips of copper, one of which is blank, one etched on both sides, and the
third on one side only. The characters are made legible by being rubbed with
whitening. The copper plates have a round hole in the corner, through which a
string was passed to tie them together under seal, but the seal is lost. They
are now kept together by a thin and narrow copper band, which just fits."</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This legendary scene of
grant is always shrouded with mystery and contradictions. The contradiction
would have turn out after the arrival of “Big Sahib from London.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Rev. Claudius Buchanan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It was during 1806-07,
Rev/Dr. Claudius Buchanan visited Jews of Malabar. He had collected (in 1806
AD) many manuscripts from them and deposited (in 1809 AD) in Cambridge
University. But those manuscripts, even though some are of great antiquity
could be counted along with the other Syrian manuscripts that he procured from
Syrian Christians of Malabar, worthwhile as it is preserved and well documented
in University of Cambridge.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Dr. Francis Day’s
comment in his book “The Land of perumal”, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">(Page 341)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“The white Jews possess
three copper plates,* looking as if they had been taken from a ship’s side, ¼
by</span></i><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></i><i><sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">1</span></sup></i><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">/<sub>8</sub></span></i><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">of a yard in size. The
outer one has no inscription.”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">For foot note to the
copper plate:</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“*The Rev. C. Buchanan,
states that the original plate was of brass, and engraved on both sides. He had
facsimile made from it, on two copper plates, which he deposited in the
University of Cambridge. The carving of the original, is said to have looked
very old that on the present plates, certainly does not do so. If the plate at
Cambridge is of brass, and engraved on both the sides, it may perhaps be
concluded, that Dr. Buchanan returned the new plates to Jews, and kept the old
one.”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This comment of Francis
Day makes us to rethink about the authenticity of the copper plate in
possession of Paradesi Jews.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The narration of
Claudius Buchanan in his book “Christian researches in Asia: with notices of
the translation of the scriptures into the oriental
languages.” </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">(Page 220 and Page 222)
made to think the same.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘On my inquiry into the
antiquity of the White Jews, they first delivered to me a narrative, in the
Hebrew language, of their arrival in India, which has been handed down to them
from their fathers and then exhibited their ancient brass Plate, containing
their charter and freedom of residence, given by a King of Malabar. The
following is the narrative of the events relating to their first arrival……”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> “I had employed,
by their permission an engraver at Cochin to execute a facsimile of the
original plate, on copper*”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">With a mark of foot note
added later mentioning “*<i>the original is engraved on both sides of the
plate, the facsimile forms two plates. These are now deposited in the Public
Library at the University of Cambridge.”</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The scope of suspicion
is in the usage of words “Brass” and “Copper”. And he mentions that the
original brass was forms one plate by etched on both sides and copper forms
two.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Was it purposefully used
here? To make a point that the original charter is made of brass and the
facsimile of it made at Cochin is of copper, to create an ambiguity to the
antiquity of the plate. He clearly mentions</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“<i>ancient brass plate</i>”
and</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“<i>to execute a
facsimile of the original plate, on copper</i>”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">So what with the
brass plate as mentioned by him, is that a general ignorance or any constituted
conspiracy?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Getting a lead from
this, I enquired to Cambridge University. Ms. Catherine Ansorge, Head of Near
Eastern Department, (manuscripts and printed Collections, Cambridge University
Library) replied by a personal mail about the MsOo.1.14, Charter of Jews of
Cochin, which was submitted by Dr. Claudius Buchanan.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Oo.1.14 - the texts are
all written on rectangles of copper. I do not know of any studies which have
been carried out on these”</span></i><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">thus confirmed the plate
deposited by Claudius Buchanan is also copper.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We could have consider
it as a general ignorance or confusion happened to a foreigner, as in ancient
India the grants were generally etched in copper plates, known as Tamra
sasanam, Tamra pathram, Sasanam, Cheppad etc where Tamra or</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> Tamram means
copper. Because in Michael Sargon’s note ( probably would have happened in 1820
AD) on “account of their history by an old black Jew” (From Chinotta now known
as Chennamangalam) mention the same plate as brass plate.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“that they had a brass
plate and various books, which they had preserved and kept in this (Chinotta)
synagogue, from whence the white Jews came with power and took away from them,
when the Dutch were in possession of Cochin”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Here the usage of word
“brass” by Sargon would be a general ignorance as we could not find that
neither the Jew from chinotta nor Sargon would have any benefit like Buchanan.
But Buchanan mentions about both copper and brass, in the very same book it could
not counted as a general ignorance or confusion. We have to really look into
that to understand more about his intentions…..</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But a rare Dutch
abstract record of the “Hebrew Chronicles” found in custody Jews of Cochin,
translation by Leopold Emanuel Jacob Van Dort (AD 1757), a Jewish convert to
Christian says in his note that</span><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“The ruler of land
Sheram Perimal welcomed them, and favoured them with various privileges, which
were engraven on two table of copper, which are to this day in Cochin, and are
kept by Joseph Halogua, the present Nasi among the people, which I saw
translated.”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Van Dort, had seen the
copper plate in the possession of Paradesi Jews and it was during the reign of
Dutch in cochin. We could read those lines of the Jew from chinotta and of Van
Dort together, that Joseph Halogua the Nasi/Mudaliyar came with power and took
the copper plate with them. Were in records it belonged to white Jews.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8IH6h56mIKw/UhKWRQSvNkI/AAAAAAAABRY/jfy46JIoxAc/s1600/adler-elkan-fig1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8IH6h56mIKw/UhKWRQSvNkI/AAAAAAAABRY/jfy46JIoxAc/s320/adler-elkan-fig1.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">Elkan Nathan Adler</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Concerning this
copper-plate, Mr. Adler (1909 AD) writes that “<i>the white Jews say that they
have always held it; the black Jews contend that it was originally theirs. The
title-deed is quaint in many ways</i>.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Here again Adler takes
us to a different point but concerning the antiquity of the copper plate</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“The title-deed is
quaint in many ways”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Ruby Daniel’s claim
about the plate makes us to think more about it and finally nails the issue</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Non-Paradesi Jews will
tell you that when officials visited the Paradesi synagogue it was custom to
borrow the copper plates from the other Jewish community to show off, as if the
copper plate actually belonged to the Paradesis. Thus it happened when one
British officer visited the Paradesi synagogue, he was shown the copper plate
as usual. But this fellow, unlike the others, took a great interest in them and
would not hand them back. He said that such things of historical value should
be under the direct protection of the government. He wanted the plates to be
taken to London. When Paradesis protested, he said that he would make a copy of
them and send the original back. But the big sahib (Englishman) did not keep
his word. The true owners of the plates started pressing the Paradesis, and in
turn they pressed the sahib, till at last he sent the copy to them and kept
original, which he said is in a museum in London. When Paradesis gave the copy
to the owners, the latter refused to accept the copy and insisted on the
original, which the Paradesi people could not obtain. So Paradesis kept the
copy while the true owners were left with nothing- neither the original nor the
copy. In course of time the whole affair was forgotten, and the copper plates
stayed in the Paradesi synagogue and no one challenged their authenticity or
which community was the legitimate owner of the original copper plates.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Something to this effect
was published in the book from Cochin to the land of Israel by the people of
Nevatim Moshav, when they celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of their
immigration to Israel. I heard a protest from a Paradesi family here in Israel.
They said that the official who was mentioned did not take the copper plates
away with him and that what they have got now in the Paradesi synagogue in
Cochin is the original, and the copper plates originally belonged to the
Paradesis. If there is anymore who really cares to know the truth, I suggest
they go and check”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Analyzing all these
together we could relate that British officer/Big Sahib (Englishman) mentioned
by Ruby is the very same Claudius Buchanan. And it is clear that the museum
mentioned is Cambridge University library (A catalogue titled "Hebrew
manuscripts at Cambridge university library: a description and
introduction" 1997, which had listed a Charter of Jews of Cochin as
Oo.1.14, SCR 1005, HL1000, Malayalam.).</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But why he has to
mention about a “single piece of brass plate” were Van Dort’s testimony made 50
years before him clearly mentions it is two tables of copper. Were we have to
believe Buchanan fabricated a delusion that the original plates was of brass
and facsimile was of copper, were his brass plate story is a clear trickery.
With that he created an obscurity in everybody’s mind and he have taken
the original copper plate with him and left the duplicate copper plate with the
Paradesis as narrated by Ruby Daniel. This might be the reason why Adler says</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“The title-deed is
quaint in many ways”.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But we will not come to
a conclusion unless and until the copper plates in possession of Paradesi
synagogue and one in Cambridge university is subjected to studies. I would like
to repeat what Ruby told “<i>If there is anymore who really cares to know the
truth, I suggest they go and check”</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Reference.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Castes and tribes of
Southern India by Edgar Thurston, Volume 2, 1909.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The Jew being a defense
of Judaism again, Volume 2.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ruby of cochin, An indian jewish women remembers, 2001</span></i></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-46444401379757687102013-04-21T13:46:00.000-07:002013-07-19T04:30:11.524-07:00A 19th century photograph of Jews of Cochin.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Cochin Jewish community
was always nourished by the Jewish émigré from different parts of the world.
The family history of the Cochin Pardesi Jews says there were settlers from far
including Jerusalem, Spain, Germany, Kurdistan, Syria, Portugal, Yemen, Morocco,
Bagdad, Persia and more…</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FSQEpB4z3Kc/UXVPG6TmIVI/AAAAAAAABOw/GjFw2T85D-Q/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FSQEpB4z3Kc/UXVPG6TmIVI/AAAAAAAABOw/GjFw2T85D-Q/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><i style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Photo
courtesy: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethno- logical Museum</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
A rare photograph of the unknown photographer with unknown people clicked in
1880 A.D from Jew town, Cochin is exhibited in Staatliche Museen zu
Berlin, Ethno- logical Museum. After seeing this image<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
???????????????????????????????<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Absolutely clueless, it
was my state….<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Later thousands of
questions were haunting my mind<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The image was analysed
from all the angles; their dress, facial features, background. Few had given a
convincing answer but we have to go further more to get a clear idea about this
picture.<br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This image which could
be considered as one of the most oldest photograph of cochin Jews, but they
were not wearing a cochini style costume (which is seen any where in the
existing images or photographs) and this image gives a feel of Baghdadi Jewish
family (After seeing the Sassoon family photo, Pune/Bombay); if we head forward
with that, the possibilities of the family being Bagdadi – it would be from
Sassoon clan.<br />
<br />
Thinking from another point it may be any prominent family of Cochin or
probably the elderly man in this image would be a diplomat or community leader
who would be hosting the visitors to the Cochin jewish community during
the late 19th century (like Rahabi family (Later known as Roby), Koders family
etc.). This point is made more relevant by another old art work, by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe
de Neuville dated 1883 A.D,<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0e1NeBRabm4/UXRNgfAabpI/AAAAAAAABOc/fE6I-t_AnUg/s1600/jewish%252Bwomen.jpg"><br />
</a>
</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5zZTNYpmLgY/UXVPQv7CFDI/AAAAAAAABO8/C-hwSvsvroM/s1600/jewish%252Bwomen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5zZTNYpmLgY/UXVPQv7CFDI/AAAAAAAABO8/C-hwSvsvroM/s320/jewish%252Bwomen.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> Photo courtesy: antique-prints.de<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bDv0rQ8uoCQ/UXVPqG-sN5I/AAAAAAAABPA/vKr2MPKM7Hk/s1600/Untitled-1+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
A wood engraved image of two Cochin jewish women which shows stunning
resemblance with the facial features, dressing style and a chair seen inset the
old photograph. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDv0rQ8uoCQ/UXVPqG-sN5I/AAAAAAAABPE/QSfm6OFuHh0/s1600/Untitled-1+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bDv0rQ8uoCQ/UXVPqG-sN5I/AAAAAAAABPE/QSfm6OFuHh0/s400/Untitled-1+-+Copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Image 2 Image 1</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
This resemblance may not be acceptable to some, specially the chair in the
image. But these two images are of 3 years difference. Ie 1883 and 1880….<br />
Few of my friend even said that in the image 2 they looks younger compared to
image 1 which was clicked three years back then. Rather than expressing my view
i woulld like to get the collective Comments, arguments, thoughts, opinions,
judgements, advices, proof from all those who are interested in it. So I
decided to leave this questions to an open forum to discuss about this
image....</span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-21871639137836879512012-09-12T11:10:00.000-07:002013-07-19T04:31:13.944-07:00Samuel Ben Abraham <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Polish Jew by birth, Samuel arrived in Cochin in about 1757 AD. He was one of the most prominent merchants at Cochin. He involved in the trade of timber for shipbuilding and to a lesser extent in rice, pepper, iron and paper. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He was the receiver of shipment of iron and iron cannons from a merchant of Anjengo. This expression mentioning about paper and Samuel shows the importance of both “The paper can only be found at the Jewish merchant, Samuel Abraham….” jokes apart…. The value of paper which is indispensable and cannot be bought anywhere for less and the quantity is small, the monopoly on paper were in his hand, This shows his prominence in the trade and which would have obviously reflected in social status, where he was also a diplomat to Dutch VOC and English East India Company. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He advanced large sum to the Dutch company and he continues to appear on the list of “creditors of the Company” with huge amounts all through the years, even company repeatedly apologized to him for the delay in the payment. Samuel Abraham transacted the English companies’ business at Cochin and lent them money from time to time. Thus the Tellicherry board borrowed Rs. 6000 in January 1780. In April that year he was formally thanked by the English for the care he had taken in discharging their work, James Forbes, an English merchant from Cochin who came to borrow Rs. 12,000 from Samuel described him as the “most eminent merchant at mottancheree” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With other leading Jewish merchants like Rahabi family, Rotenburg family, Daniel Cohen and his son Ephraim Cohen, Solomon Kassar and Isaac surgun ; he was also entrusted with confidential diplomatic missions by the Dutch governor even though he was a private merchant, unlike few of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">His house was a meeting place for local princes, dignitaries, and merchants. It was customary to inform Samuel in advance of the forthcoming dispatch of treasure- boxes to Cochin from Anjengo or Tellicherry to be shipped to their destinations. And likewise this polish Jew became a prominent figure of the time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">During these glorious days of Samuel, Solomon Joseph Simson a wealthy merchant hailed from New York, who was deeply interested in the Jewish communities of India and China, also engaged in foreign trade, dispatched a letter in June 1787, to Samuel in which he inquired about the possibilities of trade between New York and Malabar Coast. He replied to this letter accompanied by an outline note “History of the Jews in the land of Malabar”, a comprehensive portrayal. Samuel’s Hebrew letter dated 1790 AD, which reached via London is considered to be the first of its kind when contrasted with Dr. Buchanan’s and Michael Surgon’s accounts dated 1807 AD and 1822 AD respectively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the Hebrew letter he had forwarded to Simson of New York</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BTiqkz1IRrE/UF2-OUiX17I/AAAAAAAABGo/JOrkcxQ6Q1Y/s1600/Samuel+letter++(1)+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BTiqkz1IRrE/UF2-OUiX17I/AAAAAAAABGo/JOrkcxQ6Q1Y/s1600/Samuel+letter++(1)+-+Copy.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The following is the history of the Jews who came to the coast of Malabar</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">From the captivity consequent to the destruction of the second temple, (may it be rebuilt speedily in our days,} which was in the year three thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight of the creation, many Jews, male and female, departed thence, and came to the coast of Malabar, and settled in the four places following, namely; Cranganore, Paulore (Palayur), Madi (Madayi), and Pulota (Pulot); but the greatest part fettled in Cranganore, called Singalee. And it came to pass, under the dominion of Shiraprimael, and in the year 4139 of the creation, which answered to 379 of the Nazarene era, there was granted to them from the King of Shiraprimael, whose name was Airvi Brahmin, privileges and charters, engraved on a plate of copper or brass, called Sepiru, according to their custom and grandeur, and at this time there were 72 families of them in Cranganore, and the name of their prince was Joseph Rabban. This is that King of Shiraprimael, who divided all his country and gave it to 8 Kings, namely, the King of Trebangore, Varachangor, Callicut, Argot, Palgatchery, Colastere, Corbenath, and the King of Cochin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And this is the translation of the plate of brass which was rendered from the Malabar to the Hebrew language. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the peace of God, he is the King who made the earth according to his will, and to this God have I Airvi Brahmin lift up my hands, (swore) as is decreed in virtue of this charier. Whereas from time immemorial, (Hebrew many hundred thousand years) the government has been subject to continual changes and as this day I dwell in Cranganore, and still decree, and which is the 36th year of my reign ; and as in might I am strengthened to decree, so with might will I strengthen the nobility of Joseph Rabban of five different colors ; to have mulberry trees, to ride elephant and horse, to cry before him to clear the road, to proselyte of the five nations, light of day, carpets on the earth, and carpets for the habitation, a flower garden, shade, pomegranates, trumpets, drums, and these privileged have I granted lo him and the </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">72 families; and the land rents, and weight (duty) are quoted to them; and in the other provinces wherein there is Jew settlers and Synagogues, he shall be their head and ruler, forbidding any alteration or gainsaying. This plate of brass is made and given to the Lord of 5 colors to say to Joseph Rabban, to him and his seed, sons and daughters, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, all the time that any of his seed shall exist in the world ; and all the time that the moon shall abide, and their seed shall abide, and let God be praised. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And this is witnessed by the 6 Kings aforesaid and the scribe who wrote it, Chilapin, and this is his seal, </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4bElKGCTPg/UF2-u84tz7I/AAAAAAAABG4/WsNm4voiQ5A/s1600/sign.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4bElKGCTPg/UF2-u84tz7I/AAAAAAAABG4/WsNm4voiQ5A/s1600/sign.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the Jews were settled in Cranganore until the coming of the Portuguese: and as soon as the Portuguese came, they were a thorn and stumbling block to them and they departed thence and came to Cochin in the year 5326 of the creation; and the King of Cochin gave them a place for houses and synagogues near his palace in order to be an assistance to them: and the synagogue was built here in the year 5326 of the creation, by four wealthy men viz Samuel Casteal, David Belila, Ephraim Selach and Joseph Levi and yet they were laboring under persecutions, in so much that they could not observe our statutes neither could they retain their former occupations, and they experienced great troubles, even till the Dutch came to Cochin, in the year 1663 of the era of the Nazarenes; then they received light and enlargement of mind, and lived quietly and peaceably with the people of Malabar, by the assistance of the Hollanders in Cochin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And in the year 1686 of the Nazarene era, there arrived at Cochin, four Hollanders from Amsterdam namely Moses Pereira Isaac Yergas, Abraham Boretta, and Isaac Mucatto, Spanish Jews merchants, who visited all the places settled by Jews, and rejoiced: they also wrote to Amsterdam, of their concerns particularly about the lack of books, which when understood in Amsterdam, the congregation there sent a present to the congregation at Cochin, consisting of Pentateuchs, prayer books and the Shulchon Aruch and several other books, and all the congregation rejoiced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And from that time we have had friends in Amsterdam with whom we correspond, who sent such books as we needed continually In consequence we have here many books, Gemaroth, Medrashoth and books of Cabala: but we are not well versed in those books but are governed by the Shulchan Aruch composed by Joseph Caro and our customs are the same as the Portuguese Jews</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Cochin we are called white Jews; they came from the captivity of the holy land; we consist of forty families and one synagogue and there is no more in all the coast of Malabar, except the Jews called the black Jews who are from such as were converted in Malabar, from converted and freed females and even from unfreed females, and mixed people on which account we do not intermarry, however their customs and laws are exactly like ours; and they are settled in seven places namely:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">In Cochin about 150 families 3 Synagogues</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A</span><span style="font-size: large;">nchigamal (Ernakulam) 100 families 2 Synagogues</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Paroor (Parur) 100 families 2 Synagogues</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Chinotta (Chennamangalam) 50 families 1 Synagogues</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mela (Mala) 50 families 1 Synagogues</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tertoor (Tirutur) 10 families 1 Synagogues</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Matram (Muttam) 10 families 1 Synagogues</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This letter was published in New York in 1824, by the American society for meliorating the condition of the Jew, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In a Dutch record of 1792 AD, September, reference is already made of “the heirs of merchant, Samuel Abraham” to whom interest was due from the company. His son, Abraham Ben Samuel of Cochin carried on his father’s business and activities. He pursues the service of the company like his father. He continued to supply timber and lend money whenever required……</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This popularly unknown merchant lived in Cochin established the first known contact between the Jews of Cochin and those of the Western Hemisphere with a Hebrew letter……</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Reference: </span></b><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Oriental Memoirs, I, 328.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Harry Austryn Wolfson jubilee volume on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday, vol 1</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">India and the Indian Ocean world: trade and politics</span></i><br />
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-61658311932123234062012-01-21T01:03:00.000-08:002013-07-19T04:31:54.279-07:00Hebrew Quran manuscript from Cochin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Picture courtesy www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I was stunned to see a web page which really fascinated me, it mentions about the one of three existing manuscripts of Quran, the interesting part is that it was from Cochin. Rather than me explaining about the Hebrew Quran manuscript, I would like to quote the words from the page.“In a tour de force of bibliographical sleuthing, Myron M. Weinstein, former Head of the Hebraic Section, using both painstaking scholarship and creative imagination, offers the missing date and even a nineteenth-century provenance. In his "A Hebrew Qur'an Manuscript" in Jews in India, edited by Thomas A. Timberg, Weinstein, in elegant narrative style, leads the reader along a thoroughly documented road, at whose end we are convinced that this Hebrew version is a translation from a Dutch copy which is itself a translation from the French translation of the original Arabic. Weinstein also persuades us that the translator is Leopold Immanuel Jacob van Dort, a Jewish convert to Christianity who was professor of theology in Colombo, Ceylon, and that the scribe was David Cohen, a native of Berlin then residing in Cochin, a city on the southwest coast of India. Weinstein is equally persuasive about the manuscript being written in Cochin in the 1750s or 1760s, probably in 1757, when van Dort was visiting that city, and that is the volume the missionary Joseph Wolff saw in Meshed, Persia, in 183 1, when he encountered a group of Jewish Sufis. Wolff writes:<br />
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I met here in the house of Mullah Meshiakh with an Hebrew translation of the Koran, with the following title: "The Law of the Ishmaelites, called the Koran, translated from the Arabic into French by Durier, and from the French into Dutch by Glosenmachor, and 1, Immanuel Jacob Medart, have now translated it into the holy language, written here at Kogen, by David, the son of Isaac Cohen of Berlin."<br />
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From Cochin to Meshed to Washington, and who knows where in-between, a hegira from the ends of the earth indeed!<br />
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Check it in the below link <a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/loc/Word.html">http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/loc/Word.html</a><br />
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That is really an interesting fact isn’t it? And even I feel proud to be a cochinite as this happened to be in Cochin.<br />
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The word Kogen (Kogin or kotzin as been called by Jewish community of cochin for the name Cochin) made me to recall an incident happened in my encounter with the Cochin jewish community.<br />
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It was a Tuesday, just after my lunch I received a call from Thaha saying, Joseph Hallegua one of the oldest member in the community wants to meet me to recreate the seal of Pardesi synagogue, I was taken to a 18th century mansion, the residence of Joseph Hallegua. His daughter Yael was there, to whom I seemed to be an alien even though I had met her many times form the ticket counter of synagogue. I think it might be because she saw me from her home.<br />
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Joseph Hallegua took me and Thaha to a table and gave me some papers and the seal. The seal was made of bronze and look very antique in nature. I was very much exited to see the seal and was glad to get an opportunity recreate it. The part of me was to draw the exact replica of it. I have done it in course of time Joseph Hallegua asked me, how is studied Hebrew language and I had narrated the story and I finished drawing the outline then started with writing part, Mr Hallegua gave me a piece of paper in which he tried to draw it and I read it but there was a mistake in it and I found it and showed to Mr. Hallegua he didn’t admit it first but after a healthy argument finally I took a photo of the seal in my mobile and I zoomed it and then showed to him he understood it the word in which he made the mistake was Kogin it was written <span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA">קוגין</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> in the seal but Mr.Hallegua told it is <span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA">כוגן</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> , even later Thaha took a enlarged Xerox copy imprint of the seal and gave him a copy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The word Cochin is also written as kotzin<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"><span dir="RTL"></span> <span lang="AR-SA">קוצ'ין </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, ie instead of gimel they use tzadik, even called by any name Cochin is always Cochin.<br />
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And here i would like to say that printing and issual of Hebrew translation of Quran is been announced by the King Fahad complex in 2007, hope the works are still going or it would have published, any way i would like to get one copy of it, Inshallah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-23077733777005680072011-10-29T09:26:00.000-07:002013-07-19T04:32:33.570-07:00Jews in the land of Coconut<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Kerala, God’s own country also known as “the land of coconut”. Even though scholars says the etymology of this word is related to the Chera kingdom, Cheralam later vocalized as Keralam. The beauty of Kerala says it is really the land of coconut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A cloudy day in Kerala</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The influence of coconut in the cultural and traditional heritage of the Keralites is well known but its influence on Kerala jews, is a less discussed topic. Unknown to us but we can probably imagine that the first Jewish houses and prayer houses in Kerala would have been roofed with the woven Coconut leaves and how many Smoky flavoured matzos would have griddled or baked using dried coconut husk as fuels…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I am rephrasing a proverb, unknown is an ocean and known is a drop, and we’ll discuss about those known drops…. It is said that Western wall of the Pardesi synagogue was erected with mortar (A local plaster made of treated marine bivalve mollusc of the Mactridae family, known as “ithil” in Malayalam language is widely found in the vicinity. It is treated by a process known as “Neettil”, and a powder or paste form plaster known as Kummayam or Chunnamb is made. Then it is mixed with fine gravel and water) mixed with Tender coconut water instead of plain water. </span></div>
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Western wall of Paradesi Synagogue.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This first hand information is mentioned by Cochin Jews Abraham Barak Selam in his book - Cochin Jew Town Synagogue, 1929.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The reason behind using Tender coconut water as explained by Cochin Jews is that, it is one of the purest forms of water and it was used to keep the place holy. And Adv Prem Doss Swami Doss Yehudi, in his book The Shingly Hebrews, explains, Maharaja of Cochin, who took an active part in its constructions, ordered his labours to use coconut water to prepare the mortar. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Whatever the reason be, the significants and benefits of the Coconut tree and its products are numerous. It is known as “Kalpa Vriksha” in Sanskrit means “All Providing tree”, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In India one of the most common offerings in a temple is a coconut. It is also offered on occasions like weddings, festivals, the use of a new vehicle, bridge, house etc. It is offered in the sacrificial fire whilst performing homa. The coconut is broken and placed before the Lord. It is later distributed as prasaada. The coconut is broken, symbolising the breaking of the ego. The juice within, representing the inner tendencies (vaasanas) is offered along with the white kernel - the mind, to the Lord. In the traditional abhishekha ritual done in all temples and many homes, several materials are poured over the deity among those tender coconut water is inevitable. And Tender coconut water is used in abhisheka rituals since it is believed to bestow spiritual growth on the seeker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The coconut also symbolizes selfless service. Every part of the tree -the trunk, leaves, fruit, coir etc. Is used in innumerable ways like thatches, mats, tasty dishes, oil, soap etc. It takes in even salty water from the earth and converts it into sweet nutritive water that is especially beneficial to sick people. It is used in the preparation of many ayurvedic medicines and in other alternative medicinal systems. Modern day science explains that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Coconut water is a universal donor. It is identical to human blood plasma. It can be used as an I.V. It is more nutritious than Whole Milk. Less fat and no Cholestrol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Coconut water is naturally sterile and as the water permeates though the filtering husk. If compared with a water purifier the water is filtered a 1000 times and gravity also plays a part in this process. So it is the most purest form of water or the 1000 times filtered water with adequate amount of nutrients. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">These may not be the exact reason why they had used Tender Coconut water for mixing the Mortar. But simply it was to keep the place most holy in any aspect, and another reason was the influence of Hindu traditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Along with this, other significance is that Coconut oil was used to light the Ner-tameed all synagogues of Kerala.</span></div>
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Ner-Tameed of Pardesi synagogue.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">On the eve of Friday to indicate the time of Sabbath the black granite receptacle stuck into all Jewish houses in Cochin, lighted in the evening using Coconut oil. Still those can be found in Jew Town, Cochin. But now this tradition is replaced by lighting electric bulb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Aalvilakku (Lighted specially for Simhat Torah) on left and Kalvilakku (Black granite reptackle) on right.</div>
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Yom kippur lamp, belongs to the Jews of Parur, Kerala.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo courtesy to Magnes museum</i></span></div>
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Yom kippur lamp, belongs to Jews of Cochin, Kerala.</div>
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Hannukah lamp, belongs to Koder Family of Cochin</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo courtesy to www.skirball.org</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Even other festivals like Simhat torah, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah the lamps used were lighted by coconut oil later some were replaced by candles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Culinary influence of the Coconut is also very much visible in Cochin jewish cuisine. Most of the Cochin Jewish recipes call for coconut oil which was safe like olive oil in the matter of Kashurath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The other significant coconut product is coconut milk, which is an all time substitute for diary milk or milk product for Jews of Kerala, while cooking meat products. Example Kadathala (a thin rice batter crepe) is mixed with coconut milk while other crepe recipes call for diary milk, where the coconut milk enables them to fill meat products to make Kadathala pasthel. </span></div>
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Kadathala Pasthel with meat fillings.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Some more meat based dishes like Cochini Hamin (Cochini style Cholent), Manja Choru (Yellow rice, flavoured with chicken fat and stock) often calls for coconut milk in its recipe. Would like to repeat the proverb once again "Known is a drop and unknown is an Ocean" we will search in that ocean for more.....</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;"> </span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-29638718744373438472011-09-24T04:11:00.000-07:002013-07-19T04:33:07.305-07:00Jewish Gandhi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Hazare">Anna Hazare</a>, hailed as “21<sup>st</sup> century Gandhi”, “Gandhi of modern era” and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.">Martin Luther King Jr</a>, known as “American Gandhi”, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rehavam_Ze'evi">Rehavam Ze'evi</a>, Israeli Poilitian with nick name Gandhi, almost all are aware about these names. Have anyone heard of a “Jewish Gandhi” from India?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Sounds pretty different huh?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Not talking about Mahatma Gandhi wearing a kippah but about an unnoticed leader who had used sathyagraha, the tool of non violence to eradicate the final traces of racism from a community, later called as “Jewish Gandhi” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Abraham Barak Salem, </div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo courtesy to Gamliel Selam.</span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Abraham Barak Salem (1882–1967) was an Indian nationalist and Zionist, one of the most prominent leader from Cochin Jewish community of the 20th century. Born in 1882 to a meshuchrarim ( Hebrew word used to denote manumitted slave) family in Cochin. He was “Salem Kocha” to Cochin Jews and Cochinites, “A.B.Salem” to others.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Against racism.</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Similar to the fourfold caste system of Kerala, the Jews of Kerala also had a system, according to my observation it would have evolved of its own and later deviated to a different level where no one can be blamed. The inferiority complex of Malabari Jews being dark in their complexion and the superiority complex of the Paradesi Jews or so called foreign Jews being a foreigner and fair by their complexion would have been the main reason, it can be explained as simple as that. But as the days went it had expanded to a phase of racism within the Jewish community of Cochin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And the situation was like, A few meshuchrarim belonging to the Paradesi Jewish community, were discriminated against by other Paradesi Jews, being relegated to a subordinate position in the Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin. The Paradesi Jews also considered themselves racially distinct from the more numerous Malabari Jews who had preceded them on the Malabar Coast.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Malabari Jews had more than seven places of worship; the Paradesi Jews had only one, the Paradesi Synagogue, which for centuries had been barred to those whom they considered impure. The stratification in the Jewish community prevented the meshuchrarim from marrying other Paradesi Jews and forced them to sit in the back of the synagogue with the Malabari Jews in a manner resembling the discrimination against converts from lower in India.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">To be clear all the Paradesi Jews sat inside the synagogue and other were only let to sit in the Azara or The Ante chamber.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Salem fought against this by boycotting the synagogue for a time and utilised satyagraha as a means of combating discrimination within the community. This led some people to later refer to him as the "Jewish Gandhi".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Salem served in the Legislative Council in the princely state of Cochin from 1925 to 1931 and again from 1939 to 1945. A supporter of the nascent trade union movement in Kerala and active Indian nationalist, at the end of 1929 he attended the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress which passed a resolution calling for complete independence from the Raj. However, especially after visiting Palestine in 1933, Salem came to focus more on the Zionist cause. After Indian independence, he worked to promote aliyah to Israel among the Cochin Jews, visiting Israel in 1953 to negotiated with Israel on behalf of Malabari Jews who wanted to migrate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Negotiation between Issac Ben Zvi (Israel's former president) and A.B.Salem in Israel, </div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This also helped to diminish the divisions among the Cochin Jews. Although most of Cochin's ancient Jewish community eventually left for Israel (and, in the case of many Paradesi Jews, for North America and England), Selam remained in Cochin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">He use to talk regarding almost all the subjects to the public and in Ernakulam near the Durbar Hall Ground and the Gandhi square, there was a place named “<b>Salem Mount</b>” a small heap were he used to address the public. But now the exact location is not known but according to Gamliel Salem his youngest son, it was inside the Irwin Park, Ernakulam, (Opposite to Ernakulathappan temple, near Old Husoor Jetty, now this name is unknown to most of the people).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The famous Cochin electrical company (First private electric company) and Ferry & Co (Ferry service), owned by Koder Family was his idea and he made all the legal paper works.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Just opposite to the Paradesi synagogue, third house was later owned by Salem. There near the outer wall existed “<b>Salem’s looking glass</b>,” his own concept were he use to put the english news paper cuttings of various topics. And interested peoples can have a talk or discussion with him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Born to a poor family, he was similar to Abraham Lincoln, he studied sitting under the street light (it was a black granite receptacle stuck into all Jewish house in Cochin, lighted in the evening. Still those can be found in Jew Town, Cochin).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">He has done his Pre-degree in Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam and then moved to Chennai to earn his Bachelors degree in Arts, he became the first college graduate among the meshuchrarim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Reema Salem, (wife of Gamliel Salem) said, He use say that he traveled in small boat to Ernakulam, before the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willingdon_Island">Wellington Island</a> was made. From there he uses to get a bullock cart and head to Shornur, and from there to Madras. The journey to this modern context will be the most hectic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Gamliel Salem, My father attended his college in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_College,_Chennai">Presidency college of Madras </a>and took BABL, with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Rajagopalachari">C.Rajagopalachari</a> and other 4 members who later became famous public figures in Indian politics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But he had got many invitations from the Government of India to become the Advisory committee and personal messenger of Mahathma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru came to Cochin to invite him. But he hided himself inside the Paradesi synagogue and stayed back in Jew Town and attended the religious services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But he had many other designations and ornamentation to read along with his name<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· Advocate, Municipal Chairman, Mattancherry,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· Member of legislative council, Cochin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· Executive Committee member of the Indian states peoples. Conference for establishment of responsible government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· Delegate to the Indian National Congress session at Lahore (1929)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· The first labour leader in Cochin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· Founder of Indo-Palestine Co.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· Visited Palestine & Israel as the representative of the Cochin Jewish Community to fight for Aliya.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· Vice-president of Malabar Jews association (1932-47).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">· Secretary of Cochin Zionist Association.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">He married Ms.Ruth, (She was a Doctor) it happened to be in Culcutta, even though she was also from Cochin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ruth Selam, his wife. </div>
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Ketubah (Marriage contract) of A.B.Salem and Ruth Salem, </div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo courtesy to Magnes Museum.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Malkah, Mino, Balpher, Raymond and Gamliel were their children. Salem remained in Cochin until his death in 1967. He was buried in the Paradesi Jewish cemetery in Jew Town in Cochin, and subsequently the road adjacent was named after him as "<b>A.B.Salem road</b>". As a tribute to him there is a small resting hub for laborers in the next street owned by Center of Indian Trade Union.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-9026111263717408312011-09-17T07:09:00.000-07:002013-08-22T14:09:28.838-07:00The Hebrew chronicles of Jews of Cochin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">The scribe dried the parchment and took his ink box to prepare new ink and he started scribing their history, he started with their forefathers history and reached present time events and as days went he recorded their daily events and happenings, and that was passed down to generations to generations with new parchments sewn to…</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Compiled in different periods from different places surviving many treacherous situations it finally reached Kerala all the way from Judea, Assyria and Yemen, and it found its destiny but those celebrated days were turned to miserable again when Portuguese stepped into the Jew town of cochin… from there the picture is unclear was it burned or survived by any copies if yes where is it????</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> It is about the “<b>Hebrew chronicles of Jews of Cochin</b>”, (</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">ספר הישר</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> <i>sefer ha yashar, </i> this particular book have no link with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefer_haYashar">the religious book or Rabbinical treaties</a> ) always an interesting topic to the people who learn about Cochin Jewish history deeply. How it became popular among the scholars of Germany?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We are in clear ambiguity about this book, what was it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">According to me this has to be considered as a conceptual factor. Where there exists different idea about this book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In Prof. Nathan Katz's book, “Who are the Jews of India” he mentions about <i>sefer yashar</i>, as the communities chronicles, of Jews of Cochin. Which is a Historical record, but it is also mentioned that it was destroyed among many other books, when Portuguese burned Paradesi synagogue in 1662 A.D.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Even mentioned that the Jews of Cochin explains to Moses de Paiva, in 499 C.E another large group of Jews had arrived, but “they could not say from which part of the world they had came, as the knowledge they have is much confused because of the loss of the book name sepher Ayashar…..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This incident took place in happened in 1686, exactly 24 years after the destruction of the Paradesi synagogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But “In<i> the year 1757, a Jewish Christian, whose name was Leopold Immanuel Jacob Van Dort, obtained access to the “Hebrew record” kept by the Jewish Rabbi of Cochin, of which he made an epitome. Maecellus Bles, a director of the Dutch East India Company, visited that part of the world about the same time. The Dutchman was a person of acute observation, keen discernment, and of a very curious disposition. He was, moreover, in the habit of noting down in his diary every interesting incident coming in his way. On his return home, whilst in the isle of Ceylon, he met with Van Dort, who furnished him with a dutch translation of the above mentioned document, which Maecellus Bles inserted in his journal. After the death of the worthy gentleman, his MSS. Fell into the hand of celebrated preacher of The Hague, Rutz by name, who was a good Orientalist, and therefore took a particular interest in the narrative referring to Cochin. He at once set about obtaining more information on the subject, and by the means of a rich Jewish banker of the Hague-well known Boaz- he contrived to forward, in the month Of November, 1787, a letter of inquiry to the son of Ezekiel Rahabi, but kept an account in Boaz’s bank. However, before Rutz received any answer, he translated it into German, and sent it, on the 25<sup>th</sup> of September, 1789, to Eichhorn, for insertion in his “Universal Library of Biblical Literature,” which Eichhorn did in 1790. It exited a good deal of interest at the time. Naphtali Hirtz Wizel </i>(Wiesel)<i>, as soon as it printed- before it was even published- translated it into Hebrew, which was published in </i></span><i><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">מאסף</span></i><span dir="LTR"></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> of the same year: but no proper investigation was instituted, the excitement subsided and subsequent travelers furnish us with scanty, we had almost said with worthless, information.</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">(The star of Jacob, edited by Moses Margoliouth, Incumbent of Glasnevin, Dublin.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The question is which was this Hebrew Record, subjected by Van Dort???<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Was this is the same historical record Sefer Ha Yasher which survived the fire or a copy of it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Where is MSS Van Dort’s Dutch Translation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">These questions are some seeds that I am sowing to the mind of the people…..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">(To find out the answer for these questions first and foremost thing to be done is to fetch details about Van Dort and Maecellus Bles, for this I had contacted Cultural Anthropologist Dr. Bauke Van Der Pol, who is researching on Dutch legecy for several years but he couldn't fetch details, But Malayinkil Gopalan Krishnan who owns a website named Dutch in Kerala, he had forwarded my mail to Dutch embassy. Hope I will get the reply soon.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Eichhorn’s German translation and the Weisel’s Hebrew translation has got maximum attention. Scholars like Meir Bar Ilan had done studies and written papers on that in Hebrew. But below given quote shows that even a history record existed till the arrival of Dr. Buchanan in 18<sup>th</sup> century.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">(The Christian journal, and literary register, Volume 10, 1826, page 100)<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> “On the 15th of April when he (Thomas Fanshaw Middleton 1769-1822 ) was preparing to leave Cochin Napthali Rottenberg, the Jew, called upon him with copy of the Jewish Plates and had much conversation with him. He said that they had an<b> </b>“Account of their arrival in that country after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus”: but that it was lent to Dr.Buchanan, who carried it away with him.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And it is believed that Buchanan had deposited all the manuscripts fetched from India in Cambridge university library and it is still there. (But the authorities from Cambridge University says they don’t have any such books mentions about the history of Jews of Cochin in their possession)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">As this text is also not available next data is history of Cochin Jews by Claudius Buchanan in his book “Christian research in Asia: with notice of the Translation of the scriptures into the Oriental Languages,” but when we compare the abstract of Van Dort’s Dutch abstract of Hebrew record and Buchanan’s history it proves that the sources were different. Buchanan’s history is similar to the history provided by the Ezekiel Rahabi, and other later Cochin Jews. Van Dort’s abstract is an exception where the history is mentioned as,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“In the ninth year of Hoshea, King of Israel, came Shalmaneser , King of Assyria and carried away the Israelites captive, and made them dwell in Halah, Habor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of Medes. In the year 894, Shalmanazer the third sent as a present to Puurawoo, King of Teman ((as per the translator it is Mocha, But Prof.Meir tells it isYemen), four hundred and sixty families of jewish captives: whom on their arrival there, the king ill-treated, and dealt with as slaves.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Later the Jews from Yemen were expelled and they fleed to Puna and Gujarath, Van dort then explains about the arrival of Rabbi Joseph (Joseph Raban) with 72 families to India. He then mentions about Sheram Perimal (Cheraman Perumal), copper plates and about Joseph Hallegua (Son-in-law of Ezekiel Rahabi), and about a land of 16 miles of circumference in the name Batekar, (possibily talking about Anjuvannam) granted by the King to Joseph their Rabbi, which was still in possession of Joseph Hallegua the present Nasi (Prince).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Also mentions Joseph Hallegua preserves two epistles, which King Ahasuerus (as is to be found in the Book of Esther) sent respecting their the affair of Haman and Mordecai, and they are written in Tamuly (Tamil) language. The descendants of the aborigines of Malabar, who go by the name of Caieryns or Cannaryns, have still in their pagodas or their idol temples, copies of those letter…”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">These are some points from the abstract of the Hebrew chronicles, from German as it stands in Eichhorn’s work. This piece of information had got attention because of the above mentioned interesting facts clustered in Van Dort’s Dutch abstract.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Even though it is a finalized fact that the <i>sefer ha yasher</i> had destroyed in fire in 1662 AD, according to me it would have survived by a copy of it which served as the historical source for Van Dort to make a Dutch translation or an Abstract of it. Or else which was the historical record Van Dort translated ?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-22071406861257939182011-09-03T07:32:00.000-07:002013-08-24T14:09:21.782-07:00Mysterious tiles of Paradesi synagogue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Any tourist stepping into Paradesi synagogue of Cochin is fascinated by the 250 year old handmade Chinese porcelain tiles, each tiles are unique.In Abraham Barak Salem (1882 - 1967)’s book, Cochin Jew town synagogue it is mentioned<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Many a visitor has carried away these things on their visits to adorn their own walls or drawing rooms. Lord Curzon is said to have carried away a tile from the Synagogue. A Manager of the National Bank of India Ltd., also secured one tile.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">These exquisite handmade “willow pattern” tiles were imported from Canton, China by <a href="http://jewsofmalabar.blogspot.in/2011/08/david-ezekiel-rahabi-cochini-diplomat.html">Ezekiel Rahabi</a>, paved in 1762 AD. There were 1,100 tiles consisting of basically four different patterns. These tiles are sharing a great love story to each of us, as narrated in an Old Chinese poem<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Ne'er no more were lover's seen,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Explained as :<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> “In a bygone age a wealthy and powerful Mandarin of the Chinese Empire lived with his lovely daughter Knoon-se in a grand palace surrounded by ornate, exotic flowers and trees. Chang, a low born but intelligent and personable young man, was employed as secretary to the Mandarin and fell hopelessly in love with the exquisite and captivating Knoon-se.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But the father of Koong-Shee wanted her to marry Ta-jin, a rich man and because she wouldn't give up Chang her father sent her away to a little house at the end of the garden. Outside Koong-Shee's window was a willow tree, and just beyond that a fruit tree and Koong-Shee sat all day watching the fruit tree bloom. She was very lovely and unhappy, until one day Chang asked her to flee with him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Chang dared not post the letter lest it should fall into the hands of Koong-Shee's father, but he found a coconut shell, dropped it into the lake, and watched it sail across.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Koong-Shee read the letter, and sent back her answer. She said she would go if her lover were brave enough to come and fetch her. Chang went boldly up to the little house and took her away. They had to cross the bridge to get out of the garden and as they were half way across Koong-Shee's father saw them, and hurried after them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Koong-Shee went first with her distaff; Chang followed carrying her jewel-box, and behind them ran the father with a whip. But the father did not catch them, and they escaped to a little house on the other side of the lake, where they lived happily.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But Ta-jin was so angry that he set fire to the pretty little house. Tragically, the lovers perished in the flames. Revenge and bitterness had seemingly prevailed as the fire raged and engulfed all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Cosmic winds howled as the ever-watchful gods took pity on the doomed lovers and blessed their undying devotion by granting them immortality. From the charred ruins of their home, the souls of Knoon-se and Chang soared into the sky as turtledoves and kissed again; beyond fear, beyond danger, forever free and symbolizing eternal love.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But there exists other version of explanation for this willow pattern ie in relation with the Secret Shaolin Message: The Shaolin Monastery is burned by the Imperial troops of the Manchu rulers, called invaders by Chinese nationalist and later communist factions. Souls of the dead monks take a boat to the isle of the Blest. On the bridge are three Buddha awaiting the dead souls:<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Sakyamuni, the Buddha of the Past;</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future; and, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Amitabha, the Ruler of the Western Paradise. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Beyond them is the City of Willows – Buddhist Heaven. The doves are the monks' souls on the journey from human to immortal life.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">According to expertise in this field of Glass and porceline Gonneke en Jaap Stavenuiter and Trudy Laméris-Essers ( he droves an art gallery in the Spiegelstraat in Amsterdam)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">" The impressive floor is paved with some 1100 hand-painted Chinese porcelain tiles measuring c. 29 x 29 cm. It is composed of horizontal rows of tiles with a repeating design. There are four different designs, that of the first row being identical with the fifth, the second with the sixth, and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The bottommost row depicts a lotus and a prunus, which symbolize summer and winter, and at the same time express a contrast such as that between man and wife in marriage. The tree peony on these tiles points to love and is considered a good omen. The row of tiles above shows a chrysanthemum together with a willow and boulders. Chrysanthemum and willow symbolize autumn and spring, another contrast between husband and wife in marriage. The rocks symbolize fidelity and a long life. In the third row we see a tree peony and a boulder, together representing the queen of flowers. It is a sign of good fortune, to be relied on for ever. Finally there is a row of rural scenes with the familiar willow pattern, which was adopted by Minton for his transfer print on English creamware and thus became world famous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It is a moot point whether the images of the tiles in this synagogue were intended symbolically, considering that a synagogue is the place where marriages are solemnized".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Apart from the willow pattern's stories there is another story, that these tiles originally came from Canton in China, to embellish the palace of the Rajah of Cochin, that the Dutch built for him in the compound next to the Synagogue on its northern side. After their arrival some astute Jew who was familiar with the Rajah and who coveted these tiles, put it into the head of the orthodox Hindu Rajah that in the composition of these tiles there was an element of the forbidden blood of the cow. The cow of course, is a sacrosanct animal in India and it horrified the simpleton of a Rajah, to think that he should step upon a floor in which the blood of the cow that he worshipped was killed and mixed. He at once, told his friend, the Jew that he might remove them altogether and in this way, these tiles have found their way into the Synagogue. But this is an incredible story, and the internal evidence strongly militates against the acceptance of an otherwise clever invention.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Whatever the story be tiles were customized for the purpose of paving in Synagogue, the proof is blurred figures of the living things from the tiles as those are forbidden by Commandments. But inside the Pulpit there are a few tiles, much bigger than the ones on the floor and in these tiles the human figures are not blurred at all this is still a mystery…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Even if we look into the history of the Willow pattern it is even interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_pattern">Willow pattern</a> (proceed reading after the referring the link)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">So it is interesting to know that this willow pattern is one of the most authentic one. Because the person who is hailed as the patron of this design that is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Minton">Thomas Minton</a> (1765-1836) was born after three years from this tiles were paved in Paradesi synagogue, This might be a tip off to the history of origin of Willow pattern, isn’t interesting???<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-90467295432839490772011-08-16T08:28:00.000-07:002011-08-29T08:28:48.086-07:00David Ezekiel Rahabi, The Cochini diplomat.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">David Ezekiel Rahabi II (1694-1771)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H4D86c8gf1c/TkqK55ghyBI/AAAAAAAAA_o/AzphTdYr8_c/s1600/Ezekiel+Rahabi+2+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H4D86c8gf1c/TkqK55ghyBI/AAAAAAAAA_o/AzphTdYr8_c/s320/Ezekiel+Rahabi+2+copy.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">David Ezekiel Rahabi, </span></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Ezekiel Rahabi is noted for his role as merchant and diplomat who worked for the Dutch East India Company nearly for 50 years. As a successful Merchant Rahabi traded cardamom, pepper, sugar, sandalwood and other commodities; he signed his memoranda in Hebrew which are still there in Amsterdam.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Family history <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It is believed that his Grandfather Ezekiel Rahabi Ist came to Cochin from Aleppo, Syria in 1646 leaving behind his wife and young (third) son David Rahabi Ist. After his father's death in 1664, David came to Cochin.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But according to <a href="http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/">Prof. Meir</a>, " The name Rahabi is derived from a district in Yemen: Rahaba (until this very day) and there are no Rahabi in Aleppo (One can check in Israel). It seems this is a mistake already 200 years of age....</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Rahabi, the father, donated money not only for synagogues but for churches as well (unheared of in the 18th Century, though less rare in mordern USA) "</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">They were the richest merchants in Cochin, (who were also diplomats and bankers), settled there in 1646, and had been in the service of the raja of Cochin and the Dutch East India Company since 1664.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Ezekiel Rahabi IInd’s son David Rahabi IInd wrote Ohel David . Indian calendar-maker; born in the state of Cochin about the middle of the eighteenth century. When Ezekiel Rahabi died (1771) David took over the management of his business, devoting, however, considerable time to his studies also. He is known through his work "Ohel David" (Amsterdam, 1785), which treats of the origin of the Hebrew calendar.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">During his period, Ezekiel Rahabi (1694-1771) made a major contribution to the community, not only in the economic and diplomatic areas but also in the socio-cultural and religious spheres.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Social works<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In the diplomatic sphere, Ezekiel Rahabi contributed to re-establishing peace with the local rajas, in times of tension in 1734 and 1742 he met the raja Travancore Martanda Varma and in 1751 the Zamorin of Calicut.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">When, in 1766, Hyder Ali, the new ruler of Mysore and the most radical opponent to the British attacked Kerala, the ruler of Cochin chose Ezekiel Rahabi as an ambassador entrusted with two hundred thousand rupees and eight elephants. Ezekiel sent his three sons to Hyder and placed in their hands diamonds and saltpetre (white sugar), a very rare commodity then. Thus he had acted ideally to put the attack to an end, in peaceful manner.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Religious<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Paradesi synagogue’s restoration was completed by Ezekiel Rahabi in 1730 AD, after the destruction in 1662 AD and partial restoration by Shem Tov Castillia in 1668 AD.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In 1760, the famous clock tower with Hebrew, Roman, Arabic and Malayalam characters was erected. Two years later i.e. in 1762 AD, Ezekiel Rahabi, imported 1,100 non identical hand painted blue willow-patterned tiles from Canton, China and paved on the floor of the Paradesi synagogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Rahabi was one of the most famous for his open-mindedness: he supported various members of the community whether they were malabari or paradesi. He arranged for the building of the Tirutur synagogue for ten Jewish families near Cranganore. A song entitled Tirthur Palli mentioning the building of this synagogue refers to the dates 1742 and 1757 (5503 and 5518) – most probably corresponding to the beginning and the end of building – and Ezekiel Rahabi, here is described as the “devoted leader of the Jews.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In 1747 When Cochin’s Syrian Christians wanted to send for a new bishop from Basra in Iraq, Rahabi personally provided for his passage. This also shows the broadmindedness of Ezekiel Rahabi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Ezekiel Rahabi had a large number of Hebrew prayer books and Bibles regularly purchased and shipped from Holland. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">David Ezekiel Rahabi were instrumental in revivifying Judaism among the Bene-Israel as was also in contact with Arabic speaking Jews of Baghdad.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Ezekiel Rahabi died, his third son David took over as the principal merchant of the Dutch East India Company, but the Dutch rule of the Malabar coast was already beginning to wane.</span><br />
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</span></div></div>Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-15740290909039994502011-07-30T06:23:00.000-07:002011-07-31T05:43:18.456-07:00Isaac Ashkenazi, left for his heavenly abode....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">A jewel of Jewish community of Cochin, Isaac Judah Ashkenazi, passed away today (</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">12.40 pm IST, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">30 July 2011) at a private hospital. He was a bachelor aged 83. He served as the superintendent of the Cochin electric company (owned and operated by Cochin Jews) and resigned as senior superintendent in 1979, after two years from the company’s government takeover.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">He was Isaac Uncle for me, tolerant and pious by nature and so friendly by behavior. I still remember <a href="http://thoufeekzak.blogspot.com/2009/06/ashkenazia-bagdadi-and-indian.html">my first rendezvous with him</a> (23 June 2009). It was from Sarah auntie’s house. On that day he asked me how I learned Hebrew Calligraphy and even I had took a photo with him and Sarah auntie. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7mflEZhtrGE/TjQB2UA_d9I/AAAAAAAAA_Y/90-ErYF1Tss/s1600/23062009372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7mflEZhtrGE/TjQB2UA_d9I/AAAAAAAAA_Y/90-ErYF1Tss/s320/23062009372.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j6R0khjkpjA/TjQB3XfwBfI/AAAAAAAAA_c/GGcNnSt4pVs/s1600/23062009373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j6R0khjkpjA/TjQB3XfwBfI/AAAAAAAAA_c/GGcNnSt4pVs/s320/23062009373.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Issac uncle, Sarah auntie and Me (took on 23 Jun 2009)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">From there he was very friend to me and he had helped me for my research on Cochin Jewish Cuisine, he used to stand outside Sarah auntie’s house, that is near the front door and always talks about the community's history and some stories related to that and he use to explain about the Jewish festivals and beliefs. His solitude life was not at all a matter for him, always uses to be happy, crack jokes and makes us happy and was a kind of fun loving person. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But when I went to his house for last time (21 June 2011) he was bedridden, but he welcomed me with a warm smile and blessed me, literally that was so touching I saw tears in his eyes and I never thought that it would be the last vale. Today Thaha’s phone call about his demise, made me terribly sad and I pray<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">May God rest his soul in peace…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #594534; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">The funeral ceremony will be between 11.00 am to 12.00 in the noon at Paradesi Jewish Cemetery (31 July 2011).</span></div></div>Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-59956185487165316332011-07-13T10:13:00.000-07:002011-07-13T23:38:15.048-07:00Jews of Calicut, History reread......<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
Believed to be formed after the collapse of the Chera dynasty, Calicut as a maritime city was prosperous in the hands of Zamorins. The overseas trade with the Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch, English and many more from west and Chinese from eastern world as a whole has many stories of friendship, warship and victory to share with us. But most of those stories are untold ones or would have gone into the graves of history….</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But the clues of those events and happenings if found would reveal those untold stories and mysteries to the 21<sup>st</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>century, It came in reality when some of the pages of “The voyages of Francois Pyrard of Laval,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>to the east indies, the Maldives, the molucass and Brazil.</i>” were turned, the possibility of existence of a Jew street in Calicut was found.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“<i>Among others, the Jews have their own quarter and synagogue, which none enter but they.</i>”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The existence of the Jew Street was not accepted by some of the Local historians and topographical location was not identified till it was re-explored by the team of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://calicutheritage.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Calicut Heritage Forum<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></a>and I am glad for being the one who alerted the research team.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The origin of the Jewish settlement of Calicut is not known, but it would have been an off shoot of the Jews of Madayi, Shaliat (Chaliyam) Flandrina (Panthilayini Kollam). Could have settled after the up gradation of Calicut as thriving Port city or later, Portuguese travelers and historians mention about the Jews of Calicut is in 15<sup>th</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>century. And believed to be the first record about them and from the Dutch abstract of Hebrew chronicles of Cochin, a Jewish prince of Jews of Malabar is said to be died in 17<sup>th</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>century. But this community would have nourished by later by Jews of south or more precisely by Cochin Jews in a later period just for trade purpose or this last Jewish community the northern Kerala would have coupled with south. But the dwindling phase of this community is unknown.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Shaliat and Flandrina, both close to Calicut, are mentioned by Muslim and Christian geographers of the 12th and 13th centuries as having Jewish settlements. i.e.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Chaliyam was called as Shaliat by Arabians, Chale by Portuguese, Chaly by Francois Pyrard. Arab historian and geographer Abu’l Fida Ismail Hamvi’s (1273 - 1331 AD) <i>Taqwim al-Buldan, </i>mentions “<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The town of Shaliyat that is inhabited by Jews</i>”. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Reports of Friar Odorico De Pordenone (1286 – 1331</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;">AD</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">) an Italian medieval traveller (The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the ... By Richard Hakluyt Pg 412), mentions pepper & trade at Flandrina. He also mentions that Christians and Jews reside there.<i> </i><br />
<i>“And the forest in which the pepper growth for a good eighteen day’s journey, and in that forest there be two cities, the one whereof is called Flandrina and the other Cyngilin. In the city of Flandrina some inhabitatnts were Jews and some are Christians; and between those two cities there is always internal war, but the result is always that the Christians beat and overcome the Jews.”</i></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The presence of Jewry in Calicut is even mention along with the arrival of Vasco da Gama. With the coming of the Portuguese to India, travelers such as Girolamo Sernigi (1453 - 1510) refer to the Jewish association with Calicut.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“<i>He (a jewish pilot) says that there are not many Jews there (Calicut) ; and that there is a King of the Jews of the ten tribes of the Jewish people which went out of Egypt</i>.”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Ludovico di Varthema (early 16th century) mentions</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“<i>There was also a Jew here who had built a very beautiful galley and had made four mortars of iron. They said Jew going to wash himself in a pond of water was drowned</i>.”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Abraham Farissol ben Mordecai in his Iggeret Orḥot Olam (completed in 1524A.D; printed Venice, 1587 A.D) alluded to the presence of Jews in Calicut and the neighboring islands. While the Portuguese historian Gaspar Correia speaks in 1536 of the great number of Jews in Calicut, the Yemenite traveler Zechariah b. Saadiah (16th century) looked in vain for coreligionists there. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A rare Dutch abstract record of the “Hebrew Chronicles” found in custody Jews of Cochin, by Leopold Emanuel Jacob Van Dort (AD 1757), a Jewish convert to Christian says “<i>A.M. 5410, and A.D. 1650, on the 5<sup>th</sup> day of the month Sh’vat (i.e January), died the last of the family of their Rabbi, Whose name was Joshiah, Prince of the Jews of Malabar, Who resided at Calicut</i>.” </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Dr. David G. Mandelbaum, an American anthropologist in his article "The Jewish Way of Life in Cochin," records the following tradition current among the Jews of Cochin, India:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>“While the Jews could scarcely defend themselves against great armies of marauders, it is clear that they were proficient in arms. The two great opponents of the Malabar coast, the Raja of Cochin and the Zamorin of Calicut, each had a brigade of Jewish soldiers in their forces</i>.”<br />
This also gives us a hint of existence of the Jewish presence in Calicut, i.e. Jewish soldiers.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But above all, the information from Francois Pyrard and Van Dort, i.e. a Jewish quarter and a synagogue, a Jewish prince or community leader had made me to think about the possibility of a Jew street in Calicut. I had browsed in the net to get any address from Calicut with the suffix Jew street, I found an address of an electric appliances company, with a phone number and I had a forwarded it to Mr. Ramachandran the author of the blog<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://calicutheritage.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">Calicut Heritage</span></a>, whom I had thought would be the best, and he was. He took it so serious and his enthusiastic approach has made Adv. Madhusoodan, to find this place. The pin code mentioned in the address was the key to find the place. You can fetch more details from his blog –<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://calicutheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/jews-street-in-calicut.html"><span style="color: windowtext;">Calicut Heritage</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As per Calicut Heritage’s exploration,</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“<i>As we walked down from the Miskal Mosque heading south, one road leads east and turns south again towards Idiyangara. There are a few shops on this street and this place is now called Jootha Bazar or Jews Street. Local people had different explanations for the origin of the name. An elderly person said that perhaps the origin could be traced to mothers calling their naughty offspring children of Jews as a curse. But, why should the name called stick to a place, unless only children of that locality were mischievous. Another ingenious explanation given was that naughty young people of that locality would gather in the Jootha Bazar and gamble and, therefore, the name stuck. <u1:p></u1:p></i></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">A third person, who appeared to be more knowledgeable about the history and culture of the place explained that it was just possible that the location of the present Jews Street was once a flourishing market run by the Jews, like the Silk Street, Gujarati Street etc.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> Courtesy to Calicut Heritage</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But we cannot stick to these folklore or narratives and says that there were no Jews lived here in this street. We can even assume that a mother cursing their offsprings as “Children of jews” is not a common usage and even this usage could be a hint that speaks about the presence of Jewish community there in a sense. But when written history is reread that may takes us to new explorations.</span><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div></span></div>Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-89161294222872348032011-07-09T03:13:00.000-07:002011-07-13T10:34:29.264-07:00Jew Street, in Calicut ????<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-35820068694800745622011-07-05T06:37:00.000-07:002015-11-18T06:08:57.647-08:00ASI misses a Monumental error - Revised edition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;">Published in The New Indian Express, Kochi edition on Monday, 4, July 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">Would like to make clear the points,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Parur synagogue, one of the seven existing synagogues of Kerala exists near to the vicinity of Pattanam, the city near the ancient port of Muziris or so called Cranganore, holds a Jewry. The Jew street, the remnants of the pillar at the entrance and the synagogue complex tells us the story of Jews of Parur.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Muziris project of Kerala department of tourism in association with Archeological department of Kerala is restoring the Parur synagogue (believed to be build in 1616 AD). With a large synagogue complex compared other existing synagogues, Beholds a great blend of Jewish and Kerala Architecture. The initiation took by the government for restoration works are quiet appreciatable. But would like to bring out some points into the notice of the authority undertaken the restoration work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Firstly at the entrance just above the main door a Hebrew writing is there and now it is written as <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Lo1iyMcQ2c/ThMRrwxRrfI/AAAAAAAAA8o/73p2A0lMK4k/s1600/heb+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="59" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--Lo1iyMcQ2c/ThMRrwxRrfI/AAAAAAAAA8o/73p2A0lMK4k/s200/heb+1.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">As seen below</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But it is wrong. Some recent photos took before the restoration shows the same inscription, it happened because of the flaking or the chipping off of the Plaster. The flaked portion is also visible.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But after the restoration the same mistake was repeated rather than correcting it. It has to be corrected to <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Which is read "Beith Ha Knesset"means "House of assembly", Hebrew equivalent to the Greek word Synagogue. It is clear mistake to be corrected.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Following that the restoration has to be done with the utmost care, and has to be done after research.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Some pieces detailing designing works and wooden carving were seen within the complex compound, but these wooden decorative pieces given least importance. Still lies in the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Other than that this heritage site's restoration is actually spoiling the building's antiquity estimating parameters by introducing new modern architectural techniques like using ceiling tiles under the roof tile for beautification, making the concealed electric cables wiring, attaching the electrical fixtures by drilling the walls. Few new items like nut and bolt are also used for the restoration it would be nice if avoided those kind of new and alien items to a 400 year old building, it would be better if old locally made iron nails were used.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">As per the information got from the caretaker of the Parur synagogue, the Ark of covenant to be restored there will resemble the design of the Ark of Chennamangalam synagogue. But Original Ark of the Parur synagogue (dated 1892) was dismantled and restored in the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Israel Museum, Jerusalem Israel. And its design is very much unique from that of the Arks of other Synagogues of Kerala, with a carving with a depiction of the seven-branched candelabrum from the vision of the Prophet. So restoration of of the Ark of its exact replica has to be considered.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Even hope that the Parur Jewish Cemetery with those existing tombs will also be protected as a part of the project (Located near Excellent College, North Parur).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-957745774725012772011-07-05T05:47:00.000-07:002013-08-24T14:11:25.824-07:00Synagogues of Kerala - III<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">Lost synagogues of Kerala - II<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Madayi near to Ezhimala is in the province of Cannanore (Kannur). Madayi is believed to be one of the oldest Jewish settlements according to Kerala Jewish traditions, probability of a synagogue in the vicinity is very much clear. More details regarding the Jewish settlement is not much found but “Malik Bin Habib, who established the Madayi Mosque, found Jews in the place, they used to have a place of worship at “Heli Madayi” ( Muslim History of Kerala, P.A. Syed Mohammed) Heli Madayi is the place identified with Madayi Para, were only a Jewish Pond is remaining. This place was the residence for the brahmins, jews, christians, muslims and buddists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Synagogue of Flandrina / Panthalayini Kollam<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Panthilayini Kollam, it is the same Fandarina of Edrisi, Fandaraina of Ibnu battuta and Rashiduddin, Fundaraina fundreeah of Sheik Zainuddin Makdoom, Coulotte of Francois Pyarard, Flandrina of Friar Odoric, Kollottu or Kolottunad by locals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Was the second great center of Jews in Malabar, This lost Port of Kerala north to the Koyilandy, and near to Calicut. Jews resided here is <span class="apple-style-span">Mentioned in the reports of Friar Odorico De Pordenone (The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the ... By Richard Hakluyt Pg 412) who passed by around the period of 1330, he mentions pepper & trade at Flandrina. He also mentions that Christians and Jews reside there.</span><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>“And the forest in which the pepper growth for a good eighteen day’s journey, and in that forest there be two cities, the one whereof is called Flandrina and the other Cyngilin. In the city of Flandrina some inhabitatnts were Jews and some are Christians; and between those two cities there is always internal war, but the result is always that the Christians beat and overcome the Jews.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">So no more details are required to state that there existed a synagogue in Panthilayini Kollam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Synagogue of Calicut<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The origin of the Jewish settlement of Calicut is not known, but it would have been an off shoot of the Jews of Madayi, Shaliat (Chaliyam) Flandrina (Panthilayini Kollam). But this community would have nourished by later by Jews of south or more precisely by Cochin Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Calicut port on Malabar Coast, Shaliat and Flandrina, both close to Calicut, are mentioned by Muslim and Christian geographers of the 12th and 13th centuries as having Jewish settlements. The presence of Jewry in Calicut was mention along with the arrival of Vasco da Gama. With the coming of the Portuguese to India, travelers such as Girolamo Sernigi (1453 - 1510) refer to the Jewish association with Calicut. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“He (a jewish pilot) says that there are not many Jews there (Calicut) ; and that there is a King of the Jews of the ten tribes of the Jewish people which went out of Egypt.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Ludovico di Varthema (early 16th century) mentions <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“There was also a Jew here who had built a very beautiful galley and had made four mortars of iron The said Jew going to wash himself in a pond of water was drowned.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> Abraham Farissol ben Mordecai in his Iggeret Orḥot Olam (completed in 1524A.D; printed Venice, 1587 A.D) alluded to the presence of Jews in Calicut and the neighboring islands. While the Portuguese historian Gaspar Correia speaks in 1536 of the great number of Jews in Calicut, the Yemenite traveler Zechariah b. Saadiah (16th century) looked in vain for coreligionists there. But alike other lost Jewish community’s history Francois Pyrard (1607 AD), clearly mention about this medieval community, that they had their own Jewish quarter and synagogue in Calicut <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And the rare Dutch abstract record of the Sefer Yasher (A Hebrew Chronicles found in custody Jews of Cochin) by Leopold Emanuel Jacob Van Dort (AD 1757), a Jewish convert to Christian recorded “A.M. 5410, and A.D. 1650, on the 5<sup>th</sup> day of the month Sh’vat (i.e January), died the last of the family of their Rabbi, Whose name was Joshiah, Prince of the Jews of Malabar, Who resided at Calicut.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This information about a Jewish quarter, synagogue of a under a community leader had made me to think about the possibility of a Jew street in Calicut. I had browsed in the net to get any address from Calicut with the suffix Jew street, I found an address of an electric appliances company, with a phone number and I had a forwarded it to Mr. Ramachandran the author of the blog <a href="http://calicutheritage.blogspot.com/">Calicut Heritage</a>, whom I had thought would be the best, and he was. He took it so serious and his enthusiastic approach has made Adv. Madhusoodan, to find this place. The pin code mentioned in the address was the key to find the place. You can fetch more details from his blog - <a href="http://calicutheritage.blogspot.com/2011/07/jews-street-in-calicut.html">Calicut Heritage</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Dr. David G. Mandelbaum,</span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> <span class="apple-style-span">an American anthropologist in his article "The Jewish Way of Life in <st1:state w:st="on">Cochin</st1:state>," records the following tradition current among the Jews of Cochin, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>: “While the Jews could scarcely defend themselves against great armies of marauders, it is clear that they were proficient in arms. The two great opponents of the <st1:place w:st="on">Malabar coast</st1:place>, the Raja of Cochin and the Zamorin of Calicut, each had a brigade of Jewish soldiers in their forces.”</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">This also gives us a hint of existence of the Jewish presence in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Calicut</st1:place></st1:city>, i.e. Jewish soldiers.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Synagogue of Shaliat <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Chaliyam was called as Shaliat by Arabians, Chale by Portuguese, Chaly by Francois Pyrard. Arab historian and geographer Abu’l Fida Ismail Hamvi’s (1273 - 1331 AD) </span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Taqwim al-Buldan</span>, </i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">mentions “ The town of Shaliyat that is inhabited by Jews”. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The presence of a Jewish settlement in Chaliyam was even mentioned by Velayudhan Panikkasherri, a local historian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The presence of Jews in Dharmapattanam, Mangalore were also mentioned by some historians but there is no proof of the existence of a community. Story of Abraham Ben Yuji proves that.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9074791552575994852.post-53569835782470653782011-07-05T02:52:00.000-07:002011-07-05T07:28:23.868-07:00Synagogues of Kerala - II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">Lost synagogues of Kerala - I<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">Southern Kerala</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">According to traditions, in 70 AD the Jew established their settlements at Cranganore, Palur, Pulut, and Madai. The first three are in south and last one in North. In time, due to persecution first by the Moors in the twelfth century, the natural disaster in fourteenth (1341 AD) century later in the sixteenth century persecution by Moors and then Portuguese, and of many various reasons the Jews living in these early settlements shifted to more secure places and established the settlements. In the process, the earliest synagogues were abandoned and lost, and the next generation of buildings was built. None of these synagogues survives, yet through narratives and the Jewish folksongs sung by the women in Malayalam, some things are known about them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Here we are discussing on some of the Jewish settlements and possibility of a prayer hall or a synagogue<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Kodungallor synagogue </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">(? A.D)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Jewish community of cranganore where they lived for almost thousands of years would definitely had a synagogue or more. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: .75in; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> The evidence for the existed synagogue can be derived from the <b>Thomma Parvam</b>, ancient Christian song.</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The song tells that, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1.0in; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“ there were <u>forty members of the Jewish community including Rabbi Paul of the Cranganore Synagogue where every Saturday the Apostle used to go and read and explain the Old Testament for the Jewish congregation. Though Rabbi Paul received baptism and became a Christian</u>, a good number of the Cranganore Jewish community continued to stick fast to their ancestral religion and gave the Christians the name "Nazaranis ", meaning followers of the man from Nazareth i.e.; Jesus Christ.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1.0in; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This gives the hint that there were Synagogues in the cranganore. But there exists no archeological evidence. But the below given lines may give more hint</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1.0in; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“The Apostle called the young convert and asked him to live with him. The young man, who had received the Apostle's name in baptism agreed to live with him and came to be known as Thomas Maliyakal, in recognition of his Brahmin family name. Subsequently he was raised to priest hood, and after sometime was given the title of Ramban or Arch-priest<u>. In course of time a Jewish Synagogue as well as a Hindu temple at Cranganore were transformed into Christian churches.</u> Accompanied by Prince Kepha, who was consecrated as the Bishop of Cranganore and Malabar, St. Thomas left Cranganore to preach the Gospel elsewhere.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This can be a clue to the new discoveries or a key to find the Synagogue or synagogues of Cranganore.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Quoted from "A History of Christianity in Kerala" by Dr. C.V.Cherian<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><a href="http://www.acns.com/~mm9n/Malankara/parvom.htm"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">http://www.acns.com/~mm9n/Malankara/parvom.htm</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Sheik Zainuddin Maqdoom recored in Tohfut, that in 1523 AD a disagreement occurred between the Jews and the Muslims resided in Cranganore and a Muslim having in consequences fallen the victim. A major battle occurred between and in 1524 AD many Jews were drove to a village east ward. Town and synagogues were set to fire. In a Cochin Jewish Malayalam song, "The Song of Everayi", P.M. Jussay traces the migration of the Jews from Jerusalem through Egypt, Yemen and Persia to Palur, north of Cranganore, whence they moved to Chennamangalam.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Palur/Palayur Synagogue<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> The synagogue at Palur, a village south of Ernakulam in the eastern part of Trichur district, was destroyed long ago, yet it is mentioned by the Dutch Jewish traveler Pereya de Paiva during his travels to the area in 1685. Palur’s synagogue is also referenced in a Jewish Malayalam folksong. The song, sung only by the women, reveals that the first Jews arrived in Palur, and they later fled to Cranganore. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Evidence for the existence of Palur synagogue<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> It is believed that some of the Palur Jews found peace only when they came to Kochi, where the rajah befriended and protected them. Perhaps the families from the Palur would have joined the congregation of Kochangadi Synagogue after that colony had been destroyed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> There is a Sefer Torah finial (pomegranate shaped ornament ) from the Palur Synagogue that can be found today in the synagogue in Nevatim, near Be’er Sheva, Israel where some Kerala Jews resettled in the 1950s and currently have a museum about their cultural heritage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> A circumferential dedicatory inscription is engraved in square linear letters, which reads:</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">" </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">השכ</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">ה</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">שנת</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> (</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">ר</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span>)</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">פלו</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">הכנסת</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">בית</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">של</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">הרמון</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">זה</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> "</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">"This is the Torah finial (possession) of the synagogue of Palu (Palur), the year 5325 (1565)"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> The finials are one of the earlier testaments of the Jewish community in the Malabar Coast, in south west India. The name of the synagogue of “Palu” engraved on them, possibly relates to the synagogue of Palur – a Jewish settlement, which no longer exists. The exact location of this settlement is uncertain, but the presence of Jews in Palayur in earlier times, may be indicated by the naming and designation of place as "Jew hill- Jooda kunnu" later called as Jewish bazar- up till today, with no Jewish life existing. Christian sources also refer to an early Jewish presence there and some say the remains of a synagogue and a Brahmin temple can be seen nearby the church. Besides folk stories and oral traditions among the Jews and the local environment, this inscription is therefore the only historical evident mentioning the Jewish settlement and its synagogue.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"> These finials are unique in their shape and are one of the earliest dated finials known until now. They resemble the pomegranate fruit and it is possible that the name Rimon (pomegranate) derives from their shape.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This also adds the point that there existed a Jewish community in Palur.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> “</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">From Kottakavu the Apostle proceeded to Palayur, one of the strongest Brahmin centers in Kerala. A prosperous Brahmin community was living there from ancient times. The place where the Jewish community had their residence at Palayur is still called Jewish hill.”</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Quoted from "A History of Christianity in Kerala" by Dr. C.V.Cherian<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Kochangadi Synagogue</span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"> (1344 A.D)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: .75in; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Renowned as the first synagogue built in the Cochin region predated the resettlement of the Kerala Jews en bloc in the sixteenth century as a result of Portuguese aggression. Dating from 1344 and attributed to Joseph Azar, it was located in a village called Kochangadi (near Mattancherry), now a part of the city of Kochi. It was most likely built when the Jews abandoned an area in or around Cranganore after the Periyar River flooded. This synagogue in Kochangadi was apparently raze by the army of Tipu during the Second Anglo-Mysore War in the 1780s. The building was never rebuilt, and the Jewish community is thought to have moved to nearby Kochi no later than 1795. They carried with them the inscription stone verifying the fourteenth century date of construction and placed it in the Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Mattancherry. Today it can be found inset in the east wall of the courtyard of the Paradesi Synagogue in Mattancherry.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Tekkumbagam Synagogue, Mattancherry</span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"> (1647 A.D) </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> At one time a synagogue, the Tekkumbagam, stood in the Mattancherry area of Kochi on Synagogue Lane in Jew Town, very near the Paradesi Synagogue on the same, or west side of the street. It is widely believed construction of the synagogue began in 1647 during Portuguese colonial rule and was completed by Jacob Castiel in 1687.( The reason for it may be because of Portuguese bullying faced by the community) It is unclear whether the building was ever altered or renovated during its long history, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span">When the Tekkumbagam Synagogue congregation left India for Israel, the property was turned over to the Paradesi community in Jew Town. The Ark of Covenant of Thekkumbagom synagogue was dismantled and preserved in Magnes Museum, The former synagogue sat for some time, and was eventually purchased by a Paradesi Jew and a house was built. This two storey building was recently (2011) purchased by non- Jew.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Recently for the present owner of this land, I had made many rough sketches of this old synagogue from different angles. As a clear and perfect picture were not available personal interviews with elders of the Cochin Jewish community, some old photos and oral traditions served as the aid to do the sketches. The rough sketches were scanned and mailed to his architect. Hope this synagogue will be reconstructed in same shape but will be serving as a Hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wDlU5gB4omM/ThLY6qP9ZWI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/OtHaa9qvPys/s1600/05072011318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wDlU5gB4omM/ThLY6qP9ZWI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/OtHaa9qvPys/s320/05072011318.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: center;"><span class="apple-style-span"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 150%;">The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">sketch</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 150%;"> of Thekkumbagom synagogue, Mattancherry.</span></i></span></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p>From the interviews with the elders of the community I came to know that it almost a replica of Paradesi synagogue. and this was confirmed by seeing the Heckal of this synagogue, This look exactly similar to that of the paradesi synagogue.</o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wj3KIuact-s/ThLZ0-zEXcI/AAAAAAAAA8c/NHoePigicdw/s1600/4709561480_6b061ecfcc_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wj3KIuact-s/ThLZ0-zEXcI/AAAAAAAAA8c/NHoePigicdw/s320/4709561480_6b061ecfcc_b.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>The Heckal of Thekkumbagom synagogue Mattancherry, presently in Magnes Museum, California. </i></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Beginning in the fourteenth century and continuing into the mid-1800s, the Kerala Jews, according to local narratives, also built small synagogues </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Tir-Tur, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Fort district (Fort Cochin)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;"> Saudi (or Senhore Soude), Muttam. and there existed Jewish colonies in Kayamkulam and Kollam (Quilon)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;">Synagogue of Tir-tur</span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;"> (1750 A.D)</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 31px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Tir-tur is identified with the present “<a href="http://wikimapia.org/#lat=10.1995695&lon=76.2329936&z=16&l=0&m=b&v=8&search=thiruthur">Thiruthur</a>”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;">Tir-Tur as an island was once owned by a wealthy Paradesi trader by the name of Ezekiel Rahabi, was the site of another Kerala synagogue. It was built in 1750 or 1756 for the few dozen Jewish families living there. The Rahabi Family had fields on the island, which they used during the summer months as a retreat. According to local narrative, Rahabi settled ten Jewish families there to make sure that there was a minyan (quorum), although the congregation could have been larger. It had closed by 1761, when the Jews left for Kochi and other towns. Another source claims that the Tir-Tur Synagogue was abandoned because the Jews were fleeing from Tipu Sultan, with the result that the small congregation left the island. At that point the building was sold to the Chief Minister of Cochin.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 28px;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Fort Cochin Prayer Hall</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"> (1848 A.D)</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> At Fort Cochin, Jews known in the community as Meshuhrarim (the Hebrew word means “freed people”, and it is understood to refer to freed or converted slaves), are believed to have initiated the building of a Jewish prayer hall in Lilly street by 1848 AD. This was in response to their failed effort to secure equal rights and standing within the Paradesi community. As an act of protest, they formally separated and organized their own congregation. Its leaders, along with others, are said to have come down with the plague some time thereafter, so the building remained incomplete, and religious services were never held there. After these deaths, the remaining community are said to have returned to their former synagogue in Mattancherry. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Saudi Synagogue</span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"> (1514 A.D)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> Another Kerala synagogue dating from 1514 AD once existed at Saudi, also called as Saude which is the part Kochi located south of present day Fortkochi somewhere north of <a href="http://wikimapia.org/#lat=9.9453491&lon=76.2274361&z=13&l=0&m=b&v=8">Mundamveli</a></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">. This building existed until 1556, yet services were rarely held there. There existed a port of Saudi, it would have hosted the arrival of many Jews who came from west. The name Saudi’s etymology according to local Historians is, this was the main port were the Arabians arrived thus named so. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">But the etymology of the Topography as per my findings are, according to me some Dutch records mentions about eleven Parish under the Dutch company among those one named “Sr. Saude” (abbreviated form of Senhora de Saude, which is actually a second derivative of “Nossa senhore de saude” which means Our lady of Health in Portuguese), near to Mattancherry a search on this I found “<a href="http://wikimapia.org/#lat=9.92899&lon=76.2489581&z=17&l=0&m=b&v=8">Our lady of Health Church</a>” Mundamveli, This 16<sup>th</sup> century church is believed to be built by Portuguese. Portuguese were strong patron of Our lady of Health, after the outbreak of a plague in Lisbon, Portugal in 1568. This would be most probable etymology.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Synagogue of Muttam<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Muttam, a short distance to the north of cochin and not far from Allepey to the south, a village where a small enclave of Jews once existed. and the small Jewish community of Muttam seems to have been so persecuted by the armies of Tipu Sultan in the late eighteenth century that they were never able to recover, and the synagogue was ultimately closed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Muttam mentioned in the report of Moses Pereya de Paiva,(</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> Notisias dos Judeos de Cochin</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">) 1686. Which can be have the literal evidence of Jewish existence:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Fra. Paolino Da San Bartholomeo, mentioned about the Jewish population of Muttam. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And there is no evidence or ruins for the Jewish existence. But believed a wealthy Jewish family holds much land which was used for agricultural purposes. One Malabari Jewish family name “Muttath” is belived to be the descendant of the Jews of Muttam. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Synagogue of Kayamkulam<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Fra. Paolino Da San Bartholomeo(1748 - 1806), mentioned that Cayamcolla or Calicoulon, i.e present Kayamkulam had Jewish population. But he haven’t mentioned about anything regarding the Prayer house or the synagogue. But like any other settlement there would have existed a synagogue. But he gave a hint to the Jewish population there “</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The number of the Jews, who reside at Mattincera, Muttam, and Cayamcolla, may be about from 15 to 20,000.” From this we can see there is a possibility of a Prayer hall or a synagogue.<span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Synagogue of Quilon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Kollam by localites, Kaulam by Arabians, Kiu- lan by Chinese, Coulão by Portuguese, Columbum of Friar Jordanus, Coilan by Francois pyrard. Benjamin of Tuleda (<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">1130 – 1173 AD)</span></span> mentions that about </span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">קאילם</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span dir="LTR"></span> ie Quilon, <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“And throughout the island, including all the Towns there, live several Israelites. The inhabitants are all black and the jews also. The latter are good and benevolent. They know the law of Moses and the Prophets, and to a small extent the Talmud and Halacha”.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">(The iteneraray of Benjamin of Tuleda, Rabbi Benjamin Ben Yonah)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This provided detail about the Jews of Quilon makes us to think possibility of more than one settlement and synagogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The traveller Marco Polo had mentioned in the thirteenth century that there lived Jews in Quilon. Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan visited Kollam in 1293 A.D. on his return trip from China to Venice. He found Christians and Jews living in Coilum (Kollam). He also found merchants from China and Arabia. He has given a detailed account of Kollam in his writings, extracts of which are reproduced in the Travancore Manual.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The copper plate grant of Quilon, known as Tharisappalli plates also give a hint about the Jews of Quilon. Among the signatories four were Jewish Merchants and the plate is date to 9<sup>th</sup> century A.D.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">Jews of Anjenco<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Anchuthengu, formerly known as Anjengo and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">Balita </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 28px;">, is a coastal town in the Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala. This was an old Portuguese settlement lies between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram near Varkala. Literally the word ‘Anjuthengu’ means 'five coconut palms.’ The whole land is cultivated with coconut trees.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Jewish settlements in Anjenco the ancient port area was not studied well by Kerala historians. The Jewish people who settled here had to merge with certain communities like ezhavas because they remained separate entity from Hinduism and a safer way to escape persecution from the Portugese. Queen of Attingal granted refuge to them, but sooner they settled Portugese were after them and they made a collection center and subjugated these paradesi settlers. Some they forcefully converted to Christianity and others took shelter under the Ezhava Community. But those got shelter under Ezhava community remained away from Hindu rites and they were basically Atheists and do not had a family temple. They retained their family name Kotek, later they put it as Kotekazhikom (House of Koteks).</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">More details can be fetched from this <a href="http://www.atmojaya.com/?page_id=2">Link</a></span></span></span></div></div>Thoufeek Zakriyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957357219415958248noreply@blogger.com4