22—Friday, September 9, 1966 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Mark 400th Anniversary of Synagogue in Cochin; Malabar Jewry Dwindling By T. NARAZN Israel Bond VIP,- Bob Lurk, to Talk at 3 Receptions Robert Lurie, nationally known communal leader, will be guest speaker at three pre-high Holy Day leadership receptions on be- half of Israel Bonds. Mr. and Mrs. Max Stollman will host one on behalf of Young Israel of Oak-Woods 8:30 p.m. Sept. 19 transfer their assets to Israel. But they are also hesitant to emigrate NEW DELHI—Shabdai Samuel because they don't want to break Koder, president of the South In- off their connections with the land in their home, 12870 Burton, Oak dian Jewish Association, recently of their ancestors. Park. Uhdoubtedly the - Jews of Cochin unfolded a plan to celebrate, in On Sept. 20 at 8:30 p.m., Mr. and 1968, the 400th anniversary of the have become a miscroscopic mi- building of the Cochin Synagogue nority of India. In the Kerala State Mrs. Norman Cottler will host an- in the State of Kerala-India. This of India with a population of 18,- other in advance of the Adas Sha- synagogue has become a tourist at- 000,000, the number of Jews is now lom Israel Bond High Holy Day traction and thousands of tourists, only 300. But these rapidly dwin- Appeal, in their home, 17181 Sher- foreigners and Indians, non-Jews dling numbers have created prob- villa, Southfield. and Jews visit it every year. Along lems. with this celebration it is also pro- A few months ago a well-to-do posed that 1900 years of happy Jew from Parur town, Elia and peaceful existence of Jews in Meyer, left for Israel with mem- Kerala should also be celebrated. bers of his family. His depar- By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX As Koder said, this is a unique ture left a void in the communal (Copyright, 1966, JTA, Inc.) event in the history of World life of the Jews of Kerala. Meyer Why are the days preceding Jewry as in no other country can was the only "sopher" or scroll the Jewish New Year holiday the Jews claim as peaceful an exis- writer among the Jews and his called "Days of S'lihot"? tence for so many years as in absence will make it necessary This is because penitential pray- India. for the community to get their ers asking for forgiveness are re- The Indian representatives in scrolls from other places. cited every morning in the syna- the United Nations like Mrs. Vijay- gogue before the morning service "Within the next 15 years or so lakshmi Pandit and Sir Rama- no Jew will be left in Kerala. All during this period. These prayers swamy Mudaliar have always re- of us are likely to move to Israel," are called "S'lihot." Hence the ferred to the existence of the Jews said an elderly Jew whose ances- days of ,the period are called "Days in Cochin from ancient times as a tors came to Kerala Several cen- of S'lihot." Most congregations of- living example of India's generos- turies ago. Should this happen, it fer these prayers for at least four ity and tolerance of all minorities. would be indeed an unfortunate days before the day of Rosh Not to make it only a Jewish cele- development. Around '70 A.D. the Hashana. bration, it is now proposed to in- first Jews are believed to have What is the origin of these vite all other Indian communities come to Kerala and were in fact "S'lihot"? to join in it. Now the celebration the first aliens to settle on Indian The Talmud traces this practice will be held under the auspices of soil. The generosity and tolerance the Kerala History Association. shown to them by the Hindu rulers back to the Days of Moses. After tlie people of Israel sinned with The government of India has of that time established India's the worship of the Golden Calf, the promised assistance to the celebra- reputation as a land of tolerance Almighty gave Moses a formula tion and it is likely that the Presi- and understanding. The peaceful dent and Prime Minister of India existence of the Jews in Cochin whereby the people of Israel in will participate in the celebration. was cited as an example by the future generations could approach Him, repenting their sins and be- The government of India has Menasseh Men Israel when he pe- seeching His forgiveness. The basic been asked to issue a commemo- titioned Oliver Cromwell for the formula is the recitation of the rative stamp of the synagogue to resettle_nent of Jews in Britain thirteen attributes of the Almighty be released on the occasion. An four centuries ago. which is the key passage of the exhibition of old manuscripts The Jews of Kerala have had a S'lihot prayers and is recited over and books is also planned as a and over again during the S'lihot part of the celebration and Mr. checkered history. Some 1900 years liturgy. Moses received this form- ago, Jews in Kerala flourished and, S. S. Koder has issued world- ula during his second ascent of wide appeals to libraries, according to historical facts as Mount Sinai. He went up the churches and individuals to loan given in the "History of Kerala," mountain on the first of Elul and they established the little Jewish old manuscripts for the occasion. descended on the Tenth of Tishri JTA Correspondent in India (Copyright, 1966, JTA, Inc.) Mr. and Mrs. Hyman M. Beale, will be hosts at the third, 8:30 p.m., Sept. 21, in their home, 17401 Cher- rylawn, on behalf of Young Israel of Northwest. Judge George D. Kent will be Ernakulam and in the Jew Town at Cochin and constitute the well-to- do among the ancient community, the poorer Jews having been the first to migrate to Israel. The trend is still towards migration and the rich Jews of Cochin are hesitant because of foreign exchange diffi- culties and they find it difficult to (ARMEL WINES Make Your Holiday Table Complete 1 :amp n;it);IN/ Distributed by: KITCHEN MAID FOOD CO. 8938 — 12th St. kingdom of Sningly. Dissension among two brothers of a noble fam- ily following the extinction of the ruling of Joseph Rabban led to the dissolution of the Kingdom in the latter half of the 15th Century. The Moors also attacked and de- stroyed the Jewish settlement around 1524, forcing the remaining numbers of the community to flee to Cochin where they placed them- selves under the protection of the Hindu ruler. The Maharaja of Cochin granted the refugees a site for a town near his own place where the present Jew Town was built in 1567. The following year the White Jews had to face many hazards. The Portuguese occupation of Cochin for 160 years witnessed the con- stant harrassment of the Jews. The Portuguese sacked Jew Town and its synagogue, destroyed their his- torical records and razed what was left of the settlement. But the ar- rival of the Dutch in Cochin in 1661 gave the Jews welcome relief from Portuguese persecution Un- der the tolerant Protestant Dutch and later under the British rule, the Jews prospered once again. In Kerala there are White Jews and Black Jews. The Black Jews are convert whose ancestors were slaves for the Jewish settlers. The White Jewish community follows Orthodox ritual. It is the majority of Black Jews who have migrated to Israel because in India they find their future bleak. (Yom Kippur). Some congregations would even begin reciting S'lihot prayers on the first of Elul (i.e. a month b e f ore Rosh Hashana). Other practice is to begin at least four days before Rosh Hashana and to continue the recitation of S'lihot on weekdays until Yom Kippur. The original custom seems to have been to recite the S'lihot on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). In addition to the basic formula - of the recitation of the thirteen Divine Attributes other poetic compositions were added through the years to make up our S'lihot liturgy. The earliest of these dates back to Talmudic times. Some of the S'lihot were in- corporated in the prayer book of Rabbi Amram Goan in the ninth century. The earliest edition of an 8:30 p.m. Monday in advance of the Beth Moses High Holy Day Ap- ! peal. Lurie is the Missouri state chair- man and member of the Midwest board of directors of the Israel Bond Organization. He is a former director of the war service depart- ment of Bnai Brith and served as Eastern Region coordinator of the Harry Weinsaft, an officer on Anti-Defamation League. He re- the speaker at a pre-High Holy Day gathering 8:30 p.m. Monday, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Irv- ing A. Hershman, 14261 Wales, Oak Park, on behalf of Young Israel of Greenfield. the famous immigrant ship, "Ex- ceived the Jewish War Veterans odus," will speak at a leadership achievement award. reception in the home of Mr. and A promInent figure in the fiel of advertising and public relation Lurie is the producer and director of the American Jewish TV Digest and the originator of the American Jewish Hour. He has made num- The Jewish Quiz Box If the tentative plans now being drawn up are pushed through, the fourth centenary celebration of the White Jews Synagogue at Jew Town, Cochin, will certainly focus public attention on the smallest religious community in India. Hundrals of Jews from the U.S.A. and other parts of the world ,are expected to visit Cochin to parti- cipate in the celebration. But for the Jewish community of Kerala, on the Malabar coast of South West India, the quatrocen- tennial celebration of the syna- gogue may well be the last occa- sion for a get-together. Migration to Israel over the past 15 years has reduced their number from an estimated 2,000 in 1951 to less than 300 today. The majority live in Mrs. Bernard Winer, 20545 Patton, entire collection of S'lihot was that of Meshulam Cusi in the fif- erous trips to Israel. teenth . century. Why is it customary for the Cantor who leads the S'lihot liturgy on the Saturday night when S'lihot are recited before Rosh Hashana to wear a bor- rowed Tallit instead of his own? Basically, a Tallit is worn only in the daytime since the command- ment of Tzitzit (fringes) which is fulfilled by wearing the Tallit, is required only in the daytime. Since the example of S'lihot shown to MoseS by the Almighty was that of a Cantor wrapped in a Tallit, a Tallit is required on Slihot night ,9t for the Cantor. In order to avoid REGIS DATE the requirement of making a bless- SEPTE 'ER 18 ing over the Tallit, which is ques- 9.30AM 2 NOON CALL 476 4100 tionable at night, the Cantor wears a borrowed Tallit. HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES AT BEAUTIFUL BETH ABRAHAM SYNAGOGUE SEVEN MILE 'ROAD WEST AT GREENLAWN Desirable Seats for SOCIAL HALL SERVICES. Limited space still available in Main Sanctuary. Officiating in Main Sanctuary — Rabbi Israel I .Halpern, Cantor Shabtai Ackerman, choir directed by Israel Fuchs. In Nusbaum Hall, Rabbi Martin J. Tatelbaum, Cantor Edward Feigelman. , OFFICE HOURS: Daily 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Evenings 7:00-8:45 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. For Information Call Synagogue Office UN 1-6696 - Public Selichot Services Saturday, Sept. 10, at 11:45 p.m. No Tickets Required. BETH ABRAHAM HEBREW SCHOOL in 2 LOCATIONS at the SYNAGOGUE, Seven Mile Road West at Greenlawn and in the SOUTHFIELD BRANCH — KENNEDY SCHOOL Mt, Vernon, between Greenfield and Southfield NOW ACCEPTING REGISTRATION FOR 1966-67 TERM IN ALL CLASSES CONG. ADAS YESHURUN 2625 TYLER Near Linwood Tickets Available, Refisonable High Holiday Morning & Evening Services Doily • Limited size classes • Bar/Bas Mitzvah Tutoring at no extra charge • Reasonable tuition • Youth Sabbath Services and Clubs Visit Synagogue Office, 7 Mile Rd. W. at Greenlawn, or Call UN 1-6692 Israel I. Halpern Rabbi By Rabbi J. Rabinowitz ,cencl+M.• Kraus TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE • Dr. Robert Schlaff President Rabbi Martin J. Tatelbaum Director of Education