VIRTUAL JEWISH MUSEUM

India.Cochin.Synagogue

India had Jews in antiquity. There were synagogues there in the 4th century. This one was built in Cochin in 1588, by Spanish speaking Jews. Jews from Persia also settled here. India issued this stamp on the 400th anniversary of the synagogue, in 1968.

India.Cochin.synagogue.interior

Its layout, seating and Torah scrolls all reflect Sephardic influence. Jews from Persia also settled here. The floor is paved with hand-painted Chinese tiles. All different, 1100 were installed in 1762.

India.Cochin.synagogue.exterior

Parur / Paravur Lottery ticket

In the state of Karala, not far from Cochin, is the town of Parur, now called Paravur. This lottery ticket was issued by the board of Jewish education in Parur. The winner could buy one of the prizes listed on the back for one-third of its value. Those include varous sefarim, a talit, tefillin, or an alarm wristwatch. Or they could claim the 1/3 in cash. The ticket is signed but not filled out. No date. Parur was an important rabbinic center with a major synagogue.

Guide to Jewish Laws

This handbook is a guide to observing Jewish laws & customs throughout the year. It is printed in Marathi script published in Mumbai (Bombay) in 1938. 2 pages in English transliteration reveal its Jewish character. Topics covered include: Morning prayers, Touching a Mezuzah, Having an Aliyah or Hagbaha, Blessings, Special foods on Rosh Hashana, Brit Milah, Child naming, Wedding, Funeral, Preparing meat. Used by the ‘Bene Israel’ community in India, who claim ancestry from the Lost Tribes.

Haggada

This Haggadah has traditional Hebrew and a Marathi translation.

Haggadah.

This version of Ha Lachma and Ma Nishtana comes from Sephardic tradition.

India.Bombay.siddur

Jews settled in Bombay ('Mumbai') in the early 1700s. Some arrived from Iraq while others were locals. Population peaked at 30,000 but most now live in Israel. This Siddur was printed in Bombay in 1888 for an Iraqi congregation.

India.siddur.Judeo-Arabic

The title page announces an Arabic translation. Looking inside, we see that the translation appears alongside the traditional text. It is printed entirely in Jewish letters and must be Judeo-Arabic. Above is the page with Shema Yisrael.

Baghdadi Birth Certificate.Calcutta

Baghdadi Jews came to Calcutta as well as to Bombay, by the 1800s. Raphael Hayim was born in 1935. Jewish population in 1940: 2500 Jewish population in 1970: 50

EHM.India.Bombay.Benefactor.Papo_edited

India.David Sasoon school

On the grounds of the Magen David synagogue in Byculla (Bombay) were founded two Jewish schools, to serve Baghdadi Jews. This invitation was to the opening of one in 1936, named for its benefactor. The school still functions, serving the wider community, mostly Moslem.

India.Israil Lady

This postcard is datelined 7 December 1914, in Erinpura, which is a village in southern India. The writer is sending Christmas & New Year wishes. The caption reads ‘Israil Lady’. Does she represent the Baghdadi community or perhaps the Portuguese Jews that settled in India? These images were taken locally and then brought back to Germany for printing and distribution. The card has no address or stamp and was probably inserted in an envelope for mailing.

India.Calcutta.birth certificate

Jews came to Calcutta from Syria in the early 1800s. Later, many more came from Baghdad. This was the capital and trading center of British-ruled India. At its peak, Jews numbered 6,000. They eventually Europeanized and spoke English. This birth certificate from 1940 bears the seal of the Jewish community. We see a ב"ה Sephardic style on top and typical Sephardic names.

Pakistan.Peshawar.merchant

This envelope is from the Jewish firm Azizullahoff in Bombay to Hezkia Eliasoff in Peshawar. That destination was in India in the 1920s when this letter was mailed, but became part of Pakistan when that country was created in 1947. Jews arrived from Persia in the 1830s and others from India. None remain today. The envelope is addressed in Arabic (Persian?) and also Sephardic/Persian Hebrew script.

Georgia.synagogue.Kutaisi

Georgian Jews arrived in Roman times and possibly even Babylonian times. They had ties to Persia and Iraq. They suffered under Mongol & Ottoman invasions and again under Soviet rule, particularly as they tried to hold on to religion. Whole communities emigrated to Israel. Some thousands remain. This synagogue is in the city of Kutaisi, 2nd largest in Georgia. It was built in 1885 and is one of 3 in the city. The stamp was issued in 2001.

Georgia.prayers

This book of prayers was printed for the Georgian Jewish community in Jerusalem in 1897. Their synagogue was in what is called the Moslem Quarter. Today it has been reclaimed by the Jewish community and functions as the Young Israel of the Old City. Georgian Jews made great efforts to maintain their religious practice upon arriving in Israel.

Georgia.prayerbook.seal

Inside the book of prayers - it is not a Siddur but rather a compilation of songs and prayer poems that their community said - appears this stamped impression. It bears Russian and Georgian writing. It appears to identify a perfume factory in Tbilisi (Georgia) and was perhaps donated by them.

Bukhara Sukkot

Jews have lived in Bukhara Uzbekistan since antiquity. They speak a dialect of Persian. Thousands were still here in the 20th century. Sephardic rabbinic leadership in around 1800 changed their Persian style to Sephardic customs. Successive waves of emigration, especially under the Soviets, moved the vast majority to Israel and the USA. This card from ca. 1900 shows local Jews posed in a Sukkah, wearing traditional colorful costume.

Bukhara.Rebbe and students 002 (2)

Traditional 'Rebbe' teaching a small group of students, who are sharing books.

Bukhara synagogue

Most of the Bukharan Jews moved to Israel. They built a community in Jerusalem called the Bukharim Quarter. Its homes were grand, built in European and Eastern style. This is the 'Baba (grandfather David) Tama' synagogue, named for its founder. The colorful walls furnishings and clothing all reflect Bukharian culture.

Bukhara.woman

Bukharan women dressed modestly, as they lived in a Moslem country. But among themselves they used very colorful fabrics and materials for their clothes, as can be seen in this image of a Bukharan woman.

Caucasus.Jew

The Caucasus is a region between Turkey and Russia bridging Europe and Asia. It is distinguished by the Caucasus mountains. The unusual Jews who lived there were known as mountain Jews. Probably originally from Iran, they developed a militaristic culture. Although they are near Georgia, they maintained a distinct identity. They were landowners, farmers & raised silkworms and tobacco. Increasingly professional, many emigrated. Here we see the full military regalia that typified their dress.

Transcaspian Jew

Transcaspia is another MiddleEast / Asian region in the neighborhood of Iran, Afghanistan, Bukhara, and Russia. This boy looks exotic in his colorful turban with fur trim. With his tunic, silver belt buckle, and cloak, he looks very festive, even wealthy.

Djibouti.goldsmith workshop

A tiny African country between Ethiopia & Somalia, Djibouti is a major port on the Red Sea. It attracted Jewish businessmen from Aden looking to expand their trade. They were successful but once Israel gained independence they moved there, ending the Jewish community. The postcard image shows a Jewish goldsmith in his workshop.

China.KaiFeng Fu

Jews arrived in China in the 8th century C.E., mostly from Persia. They were reported by missionaries in the 1700s. Intermarriage over the years has made them physically indistinguishable from other Chinese. They hold on to a few customs, such as avoiding pork. The most recent version of the synagogue, dedicated in 1663, had a pagoda style exterior with a 3 tiered roof & Chinese furnishings. It faced west, towards Jerusalem. With its destruction in the 1860s, the community disintegrated.

China.Haggadah

Manuscripts of a Haggadah from Kaifeng Fu exist in western libraries. There are many variations in the text but it is definitely based on that used in Persia, and little notes in Persian (in Hebrew letters) confirm the origins of this community.

China Haggadah text

The writing is Chinese style, with a reed pen, yet perfectly legible Hebrew. This facsimile copy shows 4 pages on one sheet. Ma Nishtana can be read in the upper left and lower right, followed by Avadim Hayinu.

Gibraltar.synagogue

Gibralter belonged to Spain but was ceded to Britain in 1713. Jewish merchants from Morocco, Sepharadim from Europe and even Marranos settled here. The community grew and flourished. They were all evacuated to England & Jamaica during WWII. Some returned. Pictured is the 'Flemish' synagogue, 1 of 4. Its members wanted to resist Moroccan style and emphasize their own Portuguese customs. It was built to imitate the great synagogue in Amsterdam but has undergone renovations.

Gibralter.mail to rabbi

Rabbi Rafael Haim Moses Benaim (b. 1850) was Chief Rabbi of the Gibraltar community until his death in July 1920. His was a family of rabbis and merchants. He was born in Morocco, joined the Beit Din in Tiberias and was chosen chief rabbi in 1881. This letter is from Solomon Lasry in Tunis. There were also Lasrys in Gibraltar.

Sudan.Omdurman

Jewish presence in Sudan developed after British occupation in 1898. Merchants from all over the middle East established businesses in several towns including Omdurman. Never more than 1000, the community emigrated after Sudanese independence in 1956. Sudan struggled for decades to escape Egyptian domination. Notice this Egyptian postcard is overstamped "Soudan" for use there. It was mailed in 1912.

Sudan.message

The card is mailed to 'Samuel B. Yechua' in Jerusalem. The message is written in Ladino, in soletreo script. The message suggests that the writer was perhaps visiting. There is discussion about how much it cost for food and lodging in a hotel. The date is very clear - 21 April 1912. All of the Latin writing uses the French spelling.