Nathan Katz
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520213234
- eISBN:
- 9780520920729
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520213234.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The transformation of Bene Israel is so unlikely that one is tempted to see therein divine, rather than human, agency. The six reference groups of Bene Israel had a deep impact on their understanding ...
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The transformation of Bene Israel is so unlikely that one is tempted to see therein divine, rather than human, agency. The six reference groups of Bene Israel had a deep impact on their understanding of who they were, on their social organization, on their professional life, and on how they lived their religion and culture. The folk tales and notions about Eliahu Hanabi and his propitiation in the Malida rite are unique to the Bene Israel. The Eliahu Hanabi/Malida complex is an outstanding example of how great religious cultures interact in the performance of rituals. Bene Israel synagogue rituals follow Cochin traditions, but some of their synagogue customs are unique. For generations, the Bene Israel were Jews in India. Now they are Indians in Israel.Less
The transformation of Bene Israel is so unlikely that one is tempted to see therein divine, rather than human, agency. The six reference groups of Bene Israel had a deep impact on their understanding of who they were, on their social organization, on their professional life, and on how they lived their religion and culture. The folk tales and notions about Eliahu Hanabi and his propitiation in the Malida rite are unique to the Bene Israel. The Eliahu Hanabi/Malida complex is an outstanding example of how great religious cultures interact in the performance of rituals. Bene Israel synagogue rituals follow Cochin traditions, but some of their synagogue customs are unique. For generations, the Bene Israel were Jews in India. Now they are Indians in Israel.
Nathan Katz
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520213234
- eISBN:
- 9780520920729
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520213234.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This introductory study of three Indian-Jewish communities—Cochin Jews, Bene Israel, and Baghdadi Jews—helps in the understanding of both Judaic and Indic civilizations, and the nature of communal ...
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This introductory study of three Indian-Jewish communities—Cochin Jews, Bene Israel, and Baghdadi Jews—helps in the understanding of both Judaic and Indic civilizations, and the nature of communal continuity. Thinking about these three communities' history, social organization, and religious life deepens the understanding of both India and Israel. The Bene Israel lost all of the intellectual equipment in their legendary shipwreck, and as a result tumbled more deeply into assimilation. The identities of the Bene Israel and the Baghdadis evolved more rapidly and within the purview of relatively modern history. The three very different communities of Jews in India had one determining factor in common: the absence of indigenous anti-Semitism. Jewish identity in India is substantial in contemporary discussions about continuity within the Jewish world. Today, only the Bene Israel community of Bombay remains vital among the three communities.Less
This introductory study of three Indian-Jewish communities—Cochin Jews, Bene Israel, and Baghdadi Jews—helps in the understanding of both Judaic and Indic civilizations, and the nature of communal continuity. Thinking about these three communities' history, social organization, and religious life deepens the understanding of both India and Israel. The Bene Israel lost all of the intellectual equipment in their legendary shipwreck, and as a result tumbled more deeply into assimilation. The identities of the Bene Israel and the Baghdadis evolved more rapidly and within the purview of relatively modern history. The three very different communities of Jews in India had one determining factor in common: the absence of indigenous anti-Semitism. Jewish identity in India is substantial in contemporary discussions about continuity within the Jewish world. Today, only the Bene Israel community of Bombay remains vital among the three communities.
Nathan Katz
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520213234
- eISBN:
- 9780520920729
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520213234.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Of all the Diaspora communities, the Jews of India are among the least known and most interesting. This study, full of vivid details of everyday life, looks in depth at the religious life of the ...
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Of all the Diaspora communities, the Jews of India are among the least known and most interesting. This study, full of vivid details of everyday life, looks in depth at the religious life of the Jewish community in Cochin, the Bene Israel from the remote Konkan coast near Bombay, and the Baghdadi Jews, who migrated to Indian port cities and flourished under the British Raj. This book provides a comprehensive work on three of India's Jewish communities. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this book brings together methods and insights from religious studies, ritual studies, anthropology, history, linguistics, and folklore, as it discusses the strategies each community developed to maintain its Jewish identity. Based on extensive fieldwork throughout India, as well as close reading of historical documents, the study provides a striking new understanding of the Jewish Diaspora and of Hindu civilization as a whole.Less
Of all the Diaspora communities, the Jews of India are among the least known and most interesting. This study, full of vivid details of everyday life, looks in depth at the religious life of the Jewish community in Cochin, the Bene Israel from the remote Konkan coast near Bombay, and the Baghdadi Jews, who migrated to Indian port cities and flourished under the British Raj. This book provides a comprehensive work on three of India's Jewish communities. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this book brings together methods and insights from religious studies, ritual studies, anthropology, history, linguistics, and folklore, as it discusses the strategies each community developed to maintain its Jewish identity. Based on extensive fieldwork throughout India, as well as close reading of historical documents, the study provides a striking new understanding of the Jewish Diaspora and of Hindu civilization as a whole.
Nathan Katz
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520213234
- eISBN:
- 9780520920729
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520213234.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book investigates the three major Jewish communities in India: the Cochin Jews of the Malabar Coast, the Bene Israel Jews of greater Bombay, and the “Baghdadi” Jews of India's port cities, ...
More
This book investigates the three major Jewish communities in India: the Cochin Jews of the Malabar Coast, the Bene Israel Jews of greater Bombay, and the “Baghdadi” Jews of India's port cities, especially Calcutta and Bombay. It concentrates on questions of identity—how these three distinct communities came to their individual senses of self, how historical and social forces mediated the Jewish and Indian poles of their identity, and how this identity is demonstrated and expressed in historical legend and religious ritual. The Jewish experience in India modifies the understanding of Jewishness and of immigrant identity.Less
This book investigates the three major Jewish communities in India: the Cochin Jews of the Malabar Coast, the Bene Israel Jews of greater Bombay, and the “Baghdadi” Jews of India's port cities, especially Calcutta and Bombay. It concentrates on questions of identity—how these three distinct communities came to their individual senses of self, how historical and social forces mediated the Jewish and Indian poles of their identity, and how this identity is demonstrated and expressed in historical legend and religious ritual. The Jewish experience in India modifies the understanding of Jewishness and of immigrant identity.
