Ajay Kumar: Created a new article

2023-08-29T21:56:31Z

Created a new article

New page

{{short description|Synagogue in Kochi, Kerala, India}}
{{For|a full list of Synagogues in Kerala|List of Synagogues in Kerala}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2015}}

{{coord|9|57|26|N|76|15|34|E|display=title}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = Paradesi Synagogue
בית הכנסת פרדסי
പരദേശി ജൂതപള്ളി
| image = Jewish synagouge kochi india.jpg
| caption = Interior of the synagogue facing the ark
| location = [[Kochi, India|Kochi]], [[Kerala]]
| geo = {{coord|9|57|26|N|76|15|34|E}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Orthodox Judaism]]
| rite =
| functional_status = Active
| leadership =
| website =
| architect =
| architecture_type = [[Synagogue]]
| architecture_style =
| groundbreaking =
| year_completed = 1568
| consecration_year =
| construction_cost =
| specifications = no
| capacity =
| length =
| width =
| width_nave =
| facade_direction =
| height_max =
| materials =
}}
[[File:Kochi Jewish Synagogue C.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Interior of the synagogue facing the entrance]]
The '''Paradesi Synagogue''' aka '''Cochin Jewish Synagogue''' or the '''Mattancherry Synagogue''' ([[Malayalam]]''': പരദേശി ജൂതപള്ളി''') is a synagogue located in Mattancherry Jew Town, a suburb of the city of [[Kochi, India|Kochi]], [[Kerala]], in [[India]]. It was built in 1568 A.D. by Samuel Castiel, David Belila, and Joseph Levi for the flourishing [[Paradesi Jews|Paradesi Jewish community]] in Kochi. Cochin Jews were composed mainly of the much older [[Cochin Jews|Malabari Jews]] and the newly arrived [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic]] refugees from the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[religious persecution]] of Jews in Spain and Portugal.<ref>Jay A. Waronker: [http://cochinsyn.com/page-paradesi.html Paradesi Synagogue], Friends of Kerala Synagogues, 2011</ref> It is the oldest active<ref name="fernandes">{{cite book|last=Fernandes|first=Edna|title=The Last Jews of Kerala|year=2008|publisher=Portobello Books|location=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]|isbn=978-1-84627-098-7|pages=24}}</ref> [[synagogue]] in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].<ref name="database">[https://www.bh.org.il/paradesi-synagogue-cochin/ The Paradesi Synagogue, Cochin, India]. Database of Jewish Communities, Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. Accessed online 13 February 2007.</ref> ''Paradesi'' is a word used in several [[languages of India|Indian language]]s, 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 [[Jew]] Town,<ref name="database"/> and is the only one of the [[List of Synagogues in Kerala|seven synagogues in the area]] still in use, though the '''[[Kadavumbhagam Mattancherry Synagogue|Kadavumbhagam Synagogue]]''' (1544 A.D) and '''[[Thekkumbhagam Synagogue]]''' (1647 A.D) (extinct) are much older and are the three synagogues in Mattancherry. The complex has four [[building]]s. It was built adjacent to the [[Mattancherry Palace]] [[temple]] on the land given to the community by the Raja of Kochi, [[Keshava Ramavarma|Rama Varma]]. The Mattancherry Palace temple and the Mattancherry synagogue share a common wall.

==History==
[[File:La synagogue Pardesi (Cochin, Inde) (13744586725).jpg|thumb|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 [[spice trade]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}} In 1568, [[Paradesi Jews]] constructed the Paradesi Synagogue adjacent to Mattancherry Palace, [[Kochi, India|Cochin]], now part of the [[India]]n city of [[Ernakulam]], on land given to them by the Raja of Kochi. The first synagogue in India was built in the 4th century in [[Cranganore|Kodungallur]] (Cranganore) when the Jews had a merchantile role in the South Indian region (now called Kerala) along the [[Malabar coast]]. When the community moved to Kochi in the 14th century, it built a new synagogue there.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The Malabari Jews' or the Yehudan Mappila first synagogue in Cochin was destroyed in the 16th century during the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] persecution of the Jews and [[Syrian Malabar Nasrani|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,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bh.org.il/paradesi-synagogue-cochin/|title=Hallelujah! Assemble, Pray, Study – Synagogues Past and Present|website=Beit Hatfutsot}}</ref> 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:
*''White Jews'' were full members. The White Jews, or [[Paradesi Jews]], were the recent descendants of [[Sephardim]] from [[Spain]], [[Portugal]] and the [[Netherlands]].
*''Black Jews,'' or Malabari Jews, were allowed to worship but were not admitted to full membership. These [[Cochin Jews]] were the original Jewish settlers of Cochin.
*''Meshuchrarim'', a group of freed [[slaves]] and their descendants brought by the Sephardim, they had no communal rights and no synagogue of their own. They sat on the floor or on the steps outside. In the first half of the 20th century, [[Abraham Barak Salem]], a [[Meshuchrarim|meshuchrar]], successfully campaigned against this discrimination.

In 1968, the 400th anniversary of the synagogue was celebrated in a ceremony attended by [[Indira Gandhi]], the [[Indian Prime Minister]].

==Present==

[[File:The Paradesi Synagogue during Covid-19 pandemic.jpg|thumb|The Paradesi Synagogue with its clock, during the COVID-19 pandemic ]]

As is customary for [[Orthodox Judaism|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 [[minyan]] (though this minyan must be formed with Jews from outside Kochi, as the number who still reside there is not sufficient). In conformity with the [[Hinduism|Hindu]], [[St Thomas Christian]] or Syrian Mappila and [[Muslim Mappila]] traditions of Kerala, the worshippers are required to enter the ''Paradesi Synagogue'' barefoot.<ref>[http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/judaism/cochin.html "Cochin Jews"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006221532/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/judaism/cochin.html |date=6 October 2006 }}, Overview Of World Religions, Philtar, St Martin's College (UK). Accessed online 13 February 2007</ref> 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.<ref name="roughguide">{{cite book|last=Abram|first=David|title=The [[Rough Guide]] to Kerala|date=November 2010|edition=2nd|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|location=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]|isbn=978-1-84836-541-4|page=181}}</ref> 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|date=February 2018}}. 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 .

==Objects of antiquity==
The Paradesi Synagogue has the [[Torah|Scrolls of the Law]], several gold crowns received as gifts, many Belgian glass [[chandelier]]s, 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 [[Ethiopia]]n emperor.<ref>[http://www.sln.org.uk/re/southindiaimages.htm Photographs and Video Clips from South India, Easter 2003] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229230026/http://www.sln.org.uk/re/southindiaimages.htm |date=29 December 2006 }}, Religious Education, Staffordshire Learning Net. Accessed online 13 February 2007.</ref> 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]].<ref>[http://www.isjm.org/jhr/IInos1-2/paradesi.htm "Repairs and Planning Begin for Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin, India"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722044916/http://www.isjm.org/jhr/IInos1-2/paradesi.htm |date=22 July 2011 }}, ''Jewish Heritage Report'', Vol. II, Nos. 1–2 / Spring-Summer 1998. Accessed online 13 February 2007.</ref>
<gallery mode=packed heights=180px>
G clock tower entrance side - before.jpg|Clock tower of the Paradesi synagogue (2001)
Plakette in der Paradesi Synagoge.jpg|Plaquette in the Paradesi synagogue
G clock tower entrance side.jpg|Clock tower of the Paradesi Synagoge (2005)
Kochi, Paradesi Synagogue, Jew Town, Kerala, India.jpg|Entrance
</gallery>
[[File:Cochin Jewish Inscription.JPG|thumbnail|[[Hebrew language|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.<ref>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242212380848&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull MICHAEL FREUND, "Cochin battles to save its shul"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813161856/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242212380848&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |date=13 August 2011 }}, ''JERUSALEM POST'', 15 May 2009</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Synagogues in Kerala]]
* [[Paradesi Jews]]
* [[Cochin Jews]]
* [[Kochi, India]]
* [[Synagogues in India]]
* [[Oldest synagogues in the world]]
* [[Luso-Indian]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071210075255/http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/india/kerala/cochin/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154654624807 Paradesi Synagogue], Frommer's Review, ''New York Times''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061006221532/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/judaism/cochin.html Cochin Jews], [https://web.archive.org/web/20070205223841/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/ Overview Of World Religions], Philtar, St Martin's College (UK).

==External links==
{{commons category|Paradesi Synagogue}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050214092734/http://www.wmf.org/html/programs/cochin.html WMF – Paradesi Synagogue, Cochin] archived 14 February 2005 on the [[Internet Archive]]

{{Kochi (India) topics}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:16th-century synagogues]]
[[Category:Cochin Jews]]
[[Category:Orthodox Judaism in India]]
[[Category:Orthodox synagogues]]
[[Category:Paradesi Jews]]
[[Category:Sephardi Jewish culture in India]]
[[Category:Synagogues in Kerala]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kochi]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Ernakulam district]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1568]]
[[Category:1568 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Mattancherry]]

Paradesi Synagogue - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article