- Hebrew:
- âSons of Israelâ
- Related Topics:
- Judaism
Bene Israel
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Who are the Bene Israel people?
The Bene Israel are the largest and oldest Jewish community in India. Tradition holds that they arrived on the Konkan coast over 2,100 years ago after a shipwreck. They integrated into Indian society, observing many Jewish traditions while also participating in the caste system.
Originally known for oil production, they were called "Saturday oil pressers" because they abstained from work on the Sabbath. While many Bene Israel have since immigrated to Israel, a small community remains in India. Their history and traditions have been influenced by their long presence in India, leading to some unique practices that have, at times, caused debate within the broader Jewish community. In 1964, the chief rabbinate declared the Bene Israel to be full Jews.
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Where did the Bene Israel community originally live?
The Bene Israel community originally lived on the Konkan coast of western India. Tradition holds that they were shipwrecked there over 2,100 years ago. They integrated into Indian society, adopting Hindu names and the profession of oil production, while maintaining Jewish practices such as circumcision and observing the Sabbath. They were known in Marathi as shaniwar teli, meaning "Saturday oil pressers". Many later migrated towards Bombay (now Mumbai).
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What religion do the Bene Israel follow?
The Bene Israel follow the practices and traditions of Judaism. While they have maintained many Jewish observances, their traditions have been influenced by their long history within Indian society. They observe practices such as circumcision, recite the Shema, celebrate major festivals, and adhere to Jewish dietary laws. Historically, they have also followed the Jewish Sabbath. Their religious practices were revitalized with the help of Cochin Jews and later influenced by contact with other Jewish communities, leading to the adoption of the Sefardic liturgy in their synagogues.
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What are some traditions unique to the Bene Israel?
The Bene Israel, a Jewish community in India, have unique traditions influenced by their history and environment. Traditionally, they were known as "Saturday oil pressers" (shaniwar teli) because they abstained from work on the Jewish Sabbath. They also practiced circumcision, recited the Shema, celebrated major festivals, and observed Jewish dietary laws.
A distinctive tradition of the Bene Israel is their celebration of Tu BiShvat, the New Year for Trees. They observe this holiday with a special meal called malida, which features a dish of the same name made with puffed rice (poha) and dried fruits. This practice highlights their adaptation of Jewish customs within their Indian context.
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How did the Bene Israel community become part of Indian society?
The Bene Israel community, believed to have arrived in India over 2,100 years ago after a shipwreck on the Konkan coast, became integrated into Indian society by adopting Hindu names and surnames, and engaging in oil production. They were known as "Saturday oil pressers" because they observed the Jewish Sabbath. While maintaining Jewish practices like circumcision and reciting the Shema, they also operated within the Indian caste system. Their isolation from the wider Jewish world began to break down with the arrival of David Rahabi around 1000 CE, who helped revive Judaism among them, and later through contact with Cochin Jews and European Jewish communities. This led to increased emigration to Israel after 1948.
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What challenges have the Bene Israel faced in modern times?
The Bene Israel community has faced challenges related to their integration into mainstream Jewish society, particularly after immigrating to Israel. Some rabbis initially questioned their Jewish status due to deviations in their practices from normative rabbinic laws concerning marriage and divorce. However, in 1964, the chief rabbinate declared the Bene Israel to be full Jews, though they retained the right to validate individual marriages. This situation reflects broader challenges of integrating diverse Jewish populations, similar to those faced by the Beta Israel from Ethiopia, who also experienced controversy and ethnic tension during their absorption into Israeli society.
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Bene Israel, the largest and oldest of several groups of Jews of India. Believed by tradition to have shipwrecked on the Konkan coast of western India more than 2,100 years ago, they were absorbed into Indian society, maintaining many Jewish observances while operating within the caste system. Of some 67,000 Bene Israel at the turn of the 21st century, less than 5,000 remain in India, the great majority having immigrated to Israel.
Their presence in India is and may remain a mystery, and Bene Israel tradition itself varies. Some claim descent from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, who disappeared from history after the northern Kingdom of Israel was overrun by the Assyrians in 721 bc. Others believe that their ancestors fled by sea the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, a theory that explains the absence of a Hanukkah tradition in Bene Israel practice. Whatever the case, the survivorsâby tradition seven men and seven womenâsettled in Konkan villages, adopted Hindu names (with surnames usually ending in -kar), and took up the profession of oil production. They were known in Marathi as shaniwar teli (âSaturday oil pressersâ), because they abstained from work on the Jewish Sabbath. They also practiced circumcision, recited the Shema on ceremonial occasions, celebrated several major festivals, and observed Jewish dietary laws.
When the existence of a Jewish community in India first attracted public attentionâfrom David Rahabi, who according to Bene Israel tradition may have arrived as early as ad 1000, but who may have been David Ezekiel Rahabi (1694â1772), of Cochin on the Malabar Coast, south of Konkanâthe group still followed these practices. Rahabi was instrumental in revivifying Judaism among the Bene Israel. The Cochin Jews acted as cantors, ritual slaughterers, and teachers for the Bene Israel. Many Bene Israel migrated toward Bombay (now Mumbai) during this period. The first of numerous Bene Israel synagogues, all following the Sefardic (Spanish) liturgy, was built in Bombay in 1796.
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In the early 19th century, Christian missionaries introduced Marathi-language versions of the Hebrew Bible (their Old Testament) to the inhabitants of the Konkan coast and set up English-language schools. This revelation, together with the model of normative Judaism provided by contact in the last half of the 19th century with Arabic-speaking Jews of Baghdad (late 18th-century migrants to India), finally broke their isolation from the rest of the Jewish world. When, in 1948, the state of Israel was established, many Bene Israel began to emigrate.
Like other far-flung Jewish groups, the Bene Israel over the centuries had become physically indistinguishable from the peoples they lived among, and their practicesâmuch influenced by Hindu beliefs and practiceâsomewhat at odds with those of mainstream Jews. As a result, their immigration to Israel was marked by conflict for a few decades; some rabbis objected to their marriage with other Jews on the grounds that the Bene Israel could not have properly observed rabbinic laws governing marriage and divorce. In 1964, however, the chief rabbinate declared the Bene Israel âfull Jews in every respectâ but reserved to itself the right to decide the legitimacy of individual marriages.