Indian Jews

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"Indians are rightly proud that they have never

stooped to anti-Semitism. They are proud of their Jews

and proud of themselves because for perhaps two

millennia the Jews there have never experienced

bigotry,"

May. 27, 2004 21:01

Bene Israel rabbi returns to Indian community

By MICHAEL FREUND

 

It's not often that you meet a rabbi whose command of

the Hindi language surpasses his knowledge of, say,

Yiddish or Ladino. Or, for that matter, one whose

academic training was in the field of botany.

 

Then again, Rabbi Yehoshua Kolet is no ordinary

spiritual leader.

 

A 34-year-old native of Bombay, Kolet is a member of

the Bene Israel community, which traces its roots on

the subcontinent back over two millennia.

 

After spending several years studying in Israel, he is

back in his hometown together with his wife Ahuviyah,

determined to help strengthen the level of Jewish

knowledge and commitment among India's remaining Jews.

 

 

"The community is very Zionist and they are very

pro-Israel," he says. "That is the faith they grew up

with. They are very devoted and very believing, but

the level of Jewish observance needs to be raised."

 

Located on India's western coast, Bombay is a

sprawling metropolis that serves as the country's

financial center and most important port. The city is

home to an estimated 15 million people, including some

4,000 of India's 5,500 Jews.

 

Aside from some 100 or so Jews of Iraqi origin, the

rest of the Bombay community consists of Bene Israel,

who according to tradition are descended from seven

Jews who were shipwrecked off India's southwestern

coast during the Second Temple period.

 

They and their offspring clung to Jewish practice and

tradition over the centuries, and after the

establishment of Israel in 1948, most of the community

made aliya.

 

While those who remain in Bombay have access to an

extensive array of Jewish communal infrastructure,

including nine functioning synagogues, Rabbi Kolet

would like to inject a renewed emphasis on traditional

Jewish learning.

 

Twice a week, he teaches a group of 15 boys, focusing

on the weekly Torah portion, Mishna and Jewish law.

But his dream is to open a Jewish supplementary

school, one that would offer students two hours a day

of intensive after-school studies five days a week.

 

"They have a strong sense of Jewish identity," he says

about Bombay's Jewish youngsters. "But we are not

taking it anywhere. They need to be given more of a

structure and an opportunity to express themselves."

 

Kolet knows of what he speaks. He himself hails from a

traditional background, though his Jewish education

was minimal. When the American Jewish Joint

Distribution Committee (JDC) opened a library in

Bombay, the young Kolet became exposed to a wider

range of Jewish thought and literature. "As I started

reading more, I became more observant," he recalls.

 

He went on to study the laws of ritual slaughter at

the local Jewish community center, under the tutelage

of the late Rabbi Zion Cohen. With support from the

JDC, Kolet went to Israel, where he studied for six

years at the Midrash Sfaradi, which is located in the

Old City and headed by the dynamic Rabbi Sam Kassin.

 

After receiving his rabbinical ordination, Kolet

returned to India, expressing a desire to work with

the community. For two years, he oversaw summer camps

and other Jewish educational activities for the JDC,

before deciding to launch his own initiative, which is

known as Hazon Eli, "the vision of Eli."

 

In one respect, at least, working in Bombay has an

advantage over other Diaspora communities – the utter

lack of anti-Semitism. "We are a minuscule minority,

just 5,000 out of a billion people. Anyway, Indians

are very accepting and very tolerant," Kolet says.

 

Prof. Nathan Katz, chairman of the department of

religious studies at Florida International University

and a leading expert on Indian Jewry, agrees.

 

"The Jews of India generally hold firmly to their

Jewish identity, while at the same time they

participate fully in the dominant culture," Katz says.

"India has always treated her Jews well, and in turn

Jews have always been patriotic, loyal citizens."

 

Bombay newspapers frequently run feature stories

explaining Jewish holidays, and the city has had three

Jewish mayors.

 

"Indians are rightly proud that they have never

stooped to anti-Semitism. They are proud of their Jews

and proud of themselves because for perhaps two

millennia the Jews there have never experienced

bigotry," Katz adds.

 

If anything, asserts Kolet, many Indians feel an

affinity for Israel, as both countries are ancient

civilizations with hostile Muslim neighbors.

"India is one country that understands Israel's

struggle. They have had the taste of terror and face

some of the same challenges," he says.

 

But along with the tolerant atmosphere in which they

live, India's remaining Jews have also begun to feel

the pinch of intermarriage, which has become more

widespread than it once was.

 

"I know of no reliable statistics, but everyone says

the intermarriage rate is high," asserts Katz.

"Whether or not the non-Jewish spouse converts, or how

they convert, I do not know," he says.

 

By contrast, Kolet estimates the intermarriage rate to

be "about 30 percent," while acknowledging that "the

community used to discourage it, but today it has

become more common."

 

In addition to his work with the Indian Jewish

community, Kolet also has his sights set on reaching

out to the tens of thousands of young Israelis who

travel to India each year, many of whom are looking

for a dose of sanctity in their lives.

 

"I want to start a Kabbala center for Israelis. They

come here searching for spirituality, and we must find

a way to compete with the ashrams," he says, referring

to the secluded Hindu sites where many Israelis fall

under the sway of dubious gurus.

 

Though nearly his entire family now lives in Israel,

Kolet plans to devote the next 10 years of his life to

outreach work in India, before returning to the Jewish

state.

 

"India is too beautiful not to see God here," he says.

"People just need to open their eyes and they will see

divinity."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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