Paradesi Synagogue

Coordinates: 9°57′26″N 76°15′34″E / 9.95722°N 76.25944°E / 9.95722; 76.25944
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For a full list of synagogues in Kerala, see List of synagogues in Kerala.

9°57′26″N 76°15′34″E / 9.95722°N 76.25944°E / 9.95722; 76.25944

Paradesi Synagogue

בית הכנסת פרדסי

പരദേശി ജൂതപള്ളി
Kochi, Kerala
Map
Geographic coordinates9°57′26″N 76°15′34″E / 9.95722°N 76.25944°E / 9.95722; 76.25944
Architecture
TypeSynagogue
Completed1568
Interior of the synagogue facing the entrance

The Paradesi Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue (

Sephardic refugees from the Portuguese religious persecution of Jews in Spain and Portugal.[1] It is the oldest active[2] synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations.[3] Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was built by Sephardic or Portuguese-speaking Jews, some of them from families exiled in Aleppo
, Safed and other West Asian localities.

The synagogue is located in the quarter of Old Cochin known as

Rama Varma
. The Mattancherry Palace temple and the synagogue share a common wall.

History

Entrance

The Malabari Jews or Yehudan Mappila (also known as Cochin Jews) formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of worldwide

Malabar coast. When the community moved to Kochi in the 14th century, it built a new synagogue there.[citation needed
]

The Malabari Jews' or the Yehudan Mappila first synagogue in Cochin was destroyed in the 16th century during the

Nasrani or Suriyani Mappila or Syriac (Aramaic) Mappila people. The second, built under the protection of the Raja, in Mattancherry, in 1558, during the Portuguese rule of Cochin, is the present synagogue,[4] which is still in use for worship and can attract a minyan. It is called Paradesi synagogue because it was built by Spanish speaking Jews (Paradesi Jews); this contributed to the informal name: paradesi synagogue or "foreign" synagogue. In addition, a new Jewish group had immigrated to Kochi, Sephardim from the Iberian Peninsula. They and the Malabari Jews or Yehudan Mappila shared many aspects of their religion, and the newcomers learned the Judeo-Malayalam dialect, but the Sephardim also retained their own culture and Spanish language at least for three centuries. By 1660 the Dutch ruled the Kochi area, calling it Dutch Malabar
. In later years, the Paradesi Synagogue was used primarily by the Sephardim (who were also referred to as Paradesi) and their descendants, and later European exiled Jews.

The Paradesi Synagogue had three classes of members:

In 1968, the 400th anniversary of the synagogue was celebrated in a ceremony attended by

Indian Prime Minister
.

Present

The Paradesi Synagogue with its clock, during the COVID-19 pandemic

As is customary for Orthodox Jewish or Yehudan Mappila synagogues, the Paradesi Synagogue has separate seating sections for men and women.

Today the Paradesi Synagogue is the only functioning synagogue in Kochi with a

Muslim Mappila traditions of Kerala, the worshippers are required to enter the Paradesi Synagogue barefoot.[5]
Other facets which are unique to the Cochin Jewish community, and which are results of Hindu influence, include special colours of clothing for each festival, circumcision ceremonies performed at public worship, and distribution of grape-soaked myrtle leaves on certain festivals. In addition, the current Rabbi at the Paradesi synagogue placed by Midrash Sephardi is Rabbi Yonaton Francis Goldschmidt.

The synagogue is open for a fee to visitors as a historic attraction. The ticket-seller,

Yaheh Hallegua, is the last female Paradesi Jew of child-bearing age.[6] The synagogue is closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and also on Jewish holidays. As of April 2016, only 5 Jews live in Fort Kochi.[citation needed
]. Timing to visit the Mattanherry Synagogue is from 10:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m and then it again opens from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. There is a strict dress code for both men and women. Men have to wear full shirts and trousers and women have to wear skirts below knee length . Currently it is head by one of the most senior Jews in Kerala, Mr. John Jacob who lives in Kaviyoor village, Thiruvalla.

Objects of antiquity

The Paradesi Synagogue has the Scrolls of the Law, several gold crowns received as gifts, many Belgian glass chandeliers, and a brass-railed pulpit. It houses the 10th-century copper plates of privileges given to Joseph Rabban, the earliest known Cochin Jew. These two plates were inscribed in Old Malayalam by the ruler of the Malabar Coast. The floor of the synagogue is composed of hundreds of Chinese, 18th-century, hand-painted porcelain tiles, each of which is unique. A hand-knotted oriental rug was a gift from Haile Selassie, the last Ethiopian emperor.[7] The synagogue has an 18th-century clock tower, which, along with other parts of the complex, was restored between 1998 and 1999 by the architect Karl Damschen under the direction of the World Monuments Fund.[8]

  • Clock tower of the Paradesi synagogue (2001)
    Clock tower of the Paradesi synagogue (2001)
  • Plaquette in the Paradesi synagogue
    Plaquette in the Paradesi synagogue
  • Clock tower of the Paradesi Synagoge (2005)
    Clock tower of the Paradesi Synagoge (2005)
  • Entrance
    Entrance
Hebrew inscription tablet of the Kochangadi Synagogue in the courtyard wall of Paradesi Synagogue.

A tablet from the former Kochangadi Synagogue (1344) in Kochangadi, south of Jew Town in Kochi was installed on the outer wall of the Paradesi synagogue. The inscription states that the structure was built in 5105 (in the Hebrew calendar) as "an abode for the spirit of God".. This tablet was initially discovered inserted in the wall of the Kadavumbhaagam Mattanchery Synagogue during restoration work.

Thekkumbhagom synagogue

The Thekkumbhagom synagogue, located on Jews Street in the Ernakulam area of Cochin, was built in 1580 and renovated in 1939.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Jay A. Waronker: Paradesi Synagogue, Friends of Kerala Synagogues, 2011
  2. ISBN 978-1-84627-098-7
    .
  3. ^ a b The Paradesi Synagogue, Cochin, India. Database of Jewish Communities, Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. Accessed online 13 February 2007.
  4. ^ "Hallelujah! Assemble, Pray, Study – Synagogues Past and Present". Beit Hatfutsot.
  5. ^ "Cochin Jews" Archived 6 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Overview Of World Religions, Philtar, St Martin's College (UK). Accessed online 13 February 2007
  6. ISBN 978-1-84836-541-4
    .
  7. ^ Photographs and Video Clips from South India, Easter 2003 Archived 29 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Religious Education, Staffordshire Learning Net. Accessed online 13 February 2007.
  8. ^ "Repairs and Planning Begin for Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin, India" Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Jewish Heritage Report, Vol. II, Nos. 1–2 / Spring-Summer 1998. Accessed online 13 February 2007.
  9. ^ MICHAEL FREUND, "Cochin battles to save its shul" Archived 13 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, JERUSALEM POST, 15 May 2009

References

Further reading

  • Weil, Ilana. "The Architecture of the Paradesi Cochin Synagogue." in (ed) Shalva Weil's India's Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-Cycle, Mumbai: Marg Publications [first published in 2002; 3rd edn.]. 2009, 50–59
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paradesi Synagogue.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paradesi_Synagogue&oldid=1268819976"