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THE INDESTRUCTIBLE JEW If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the milky way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly be heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are also way out of proportion, to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in the world, in all the ages, and has done it with his hands tied behind him, He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away. The Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality? - Mark Twain
Genesis of Jews Settling in Gujarat State (India) Places in Gujarat where Jews have settled Famous personalities of the Ahmedabad Jewish Community
In consonance with the saying “The sun never sets on the Jewish people in the world” their world population is around 16 million and a small number of 5000 live in India mostly concentrated in Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. India is one country where they have not experienced discrimination or persecution throughout the history. There are ‘Synagogues’ (called place of worship) in these cities besides Cochin, Calcutta, Alibag and Revdanda (the last two in Maharashtra ). There is a prayer hall in New Delhi. The Magen Abraham Synagogue located near Khamasa Gate, Ahmedabad serves the entire Jewish Community of Gujarat. Genesis of Jews Settling in Gujarat State (India) The history says the Jews first came to India landing in the Konkan area of the West sea coast of India. Later, advent of Bombay (Mumbai) city, the Portuguese synonym of Bom Bahia (harbor) had the benign persisting influence of Mumbadevi, the goddess. This Bombay fort city was built around 17th century on fisherman's islands numbering seven which were called Mazgoan, Worli, Matunga, Mahim, Salsette, Colaba and Parel. The British East India company was spreading its political tentacles in India and were gifted this city by the Portuguese who came to India before the Englishmen. The Bene- Israels as they were called left their agricultural heritage in the Konkan and Alibag area and came to Bombay in search of economic prosperity in the 17th century. The boundaries of Bombay Province spanned Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Sind (Pakistan) .including Karachi which brought further migration of Bene Israels to these areas in mid 18th century especially to the ancient city of Ahmedabad (founded by the Mogul Governor Ahmedshah in the 15th century) that was developing as a textile city to be called the Manchester of India by the British rulers The city was linked first time to Bombay by The B B & C I Railway in late 18th century. Amongst
the first Bene Israel settlers to come to Ahmedabad was
Dr. Abraham Benjamin Erulkar in 1850 who set up a small prayer room in
his own home for a small community. This prayer room was transformed into a
prayer hall near Pankor Naka (close
to 3 gates area of the walled city) in 1906. Later
through the efforts of his son Dr. Solomon Erulkar, The Magen Abraham
Synagogue was built in 1934 in memory of Dr. Abraham Benjamin Erulkar. The
present graveyard land was donated by Mr. Solomon Joseph Dandekar in 1876. There have been outstanding personalities of national recognition from Ahmedabad that the community is proud of viz. Padmashri late Reuben David (creator of zoo), Padmashri Dr. Miss Esther Solomon (Sanskrit scholar ), late Dr. Joseph Benjamin (Mayor of Ahmedabad Municipality), late Dr. Benjamin Reuben Kehimkar (President of the Bene Israelite conference at Bombay in 1921 and grandfather of the author of this paper) Today the Bene Israel community of Gujarat has doctors, lawyers, engineers, bank men, artists, army men, civil servants, railway employees and academicians . . The
Bene Israel further spread to commercial or princely state capitals
like Surat, Baroda (capital of Gaekwar State),. Palanpur, Deesa ,
Junagadh, Rajkot, Wadhwan (Surendranagar of today)
belonging to different Princely states of today's Gujarat which
together with Maharashtra
was carved out of Bombay state in 1960. At
Baroda, Rajkot, and Surendranager the cemeteries still exist while the one at
Surat perished in the devastating floods of 1968 and the land
usurped thereafter by others. It is interesting to note a small enclave of
Jewish tombs in Surat near the Kothi of East India Company which came to Surat
in 1612 with Sir Thomas Roe under a
charter from the Moghul emperor Jehangir to transact trade with England and
Europe via the Surat port.. The tombs bearing Hebrew epitaph and date back to
1690s. India is perhaps one of the very few countries in the world where the Jews have never been exposed to anti- Semitism. The Synagogue has always been the dynamo from which the Jewish people have drawn the inner power. This is one place common for prayers, weddings, or celebrating Jewish festivals. Therefore it is interesting to find forty synagogues built in India, the oldest one in 1796, out of which some are totally abandoned , some stand as ancient monuments, some functioning partially and some actively serving the community at various places viz. Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin and New Delhi. Continued migration to Israel with a peak euphoria after the 1967 six day war brought down the Jewish population of Gujarat to about 350 (15%) though considered the second largest to Mumbai with a number over 4000. Mumbai (Bombay) pre-dominantly has been the stronghold so far as the Bene Israel Jewish Community of India is concerned. Yet Ahmedabad ranks second after Mumbai in the Jewish population in India. Gujarat had Jews living within it since the time when Mumbai city and Ahmedabad city were part of a common state Maharasthra, which later on got divided and in 1960 Gujarat state was formed. Places in Gujarat where Jews have settled The main stronghold of the Jews of Gujarat state has pre-dominantly been Ahmedabad. Jews also lived in other cities around Gujarat such as Baroda, Surat, and Rajkot, Surendranagar, Palanpur in the Saurashtra region. Individuals living in other cities was mainly due to their occupational placement. The Magen Abraham Synagogue in Ahmedabad being the only synagogue in Gujarat state it attracts Jews from all over the state to attend all the occassions, celebrations, High Holidays at the synagogue. Many Jews have opted to stay at Ahmedabad where they have had easy access to the synagogue and have been able to closely interact with other fellow Jews. Famous Personalities of Ahmedabad Jewish Community Padmashri Reuben David
Reuben David's love of animals has created one of the most remarkable zoos in India. In March 1962, John Kenneth Galbraith, then American Ambassador to India, was being taken around the Municipal Hill Garden Zoo in Ahmedabad by its superintendent, Reuben David. Abruptly, Galbraith stopped before a cage in which a fully grown tiger was playing with an Alsatian dog. "One of my experiments in peaceful co-existence," Reuben explained cheerfully to the wide-eyed Ambassador. "Raju and Rajni have been together since they were born." The tiger, David said, was so gentle that he could even be petted. When Galbraith wanted to be photographed stoking the tiger, Reuben David unlocked the cage door and nonchalantly strolled in. Gently, the zoo-keeper cajoled the great beast out of the cage. As Reuben moved away, Galbraith took his place, stoking the tiger "with highly tentative affection," as he later recalled. Not only tigers respond to Reuben David. Parrots zero in at his whistle, a chimp sulks when he plays with her neighbour first. Hippos, crocodiles, brown bears perk up at hearing his voice. But he has to be careful not to let the animals get too affectionate. Once, he entered a lion's cage, which he hadn't visited for several days. The lion jumped on him in sheer delight. Reuben was thrown against the bars and fell to the ground. The overjoyed lion planted its full weight on him, dislocating Reuben's shoulder. A big, muscular man with a bristling white moustache, Reuben David has almost single-handedly made the Ahmedabad Zoo one of the country's best. With 450 mammals of 80 species, 2000 birds of 225 species and 140 reptiles of 20 species, the zoo covers 12.5 hectares. "It's not as large as some other zoos, " says M. A. Panchal, former Deputy Commissioner of Ahmedabad. "But for the care it bestows on animals, it is unique in India." Almost the entire population of the town 1.6 million people visit it every year. Born in Ahmedabad in 1912, Reuben David was first introduced to the wondrous world of animals by his doctor-father, and there were always at least half a dozen animals at home: dogs, rabbits, birds, even deer. Reuben was soon carrying squirrels with him toschool. The books of Heini Heidiger, a German naturalist, stimulated his interest in zoo-keeping. Though an indifferent student, Reuben learnt some medicine from watching his father at work, and began treating his pets when they fell ill. While never formally qualified, he began to practice as a private veterinarian at home with special permission from the State Government. Once, he was taken to see a sick dog that was dripping saliva from its open mouth. Convinced the animal had rabies, the owner had locked it up and left it to die. But Reuben noticed that the dog's throat moved convulsively. On examining it, he discovered a bone stuck in its gullet. Half an hour after the bone had been taken out with an esophageal forceps, the animal recovered completely. Reuben's reputation as a vet grew, and in 1942 he was invited to represent the district local board on the veterinary committee of the Sir D. M. Petit Vet Hospital. For a while he was its president. The next year, Reuben patented ten drugs - a skin ointment and a worm powder for dogs, a tonic for birds - which are still used today. In 1953, the State Government passed an order forbidding vets without formal degrees from practising, but still made an exception in Reuben David's case. For a few years Reuben was an occasional shikari (hunter). He organized expeditions for Saurashtrian and North Gujarat princes to shoot deer, birds and sometimes panthers. In 1946, while hunting in the Banaskantha forests, he killed a deer. When the animal was skinned, it was found to contain a fully develooped foetus. Reuben David was so sad and touched "I never went hunting again." said Reuben David.*
Padmashri Esther Solomon
Ms. Esther David
Mr. Benjamin Reuben
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"The
Gentle Animal Keeper of Ahmedabad"