Bnei Ephraim ( Heb. בני אפריים ) (“Children of Ephraim”, also: Telugu Jews , as they speak Telugu ) is a small community that resides mainly in Kota Reddy Palem, a village in Guntur district in the state Andhra Pradesh , India , near the Krishna River Delta Delta . [1] They claim to be descendants of the tribe of Ephraim , one of the lost tribes of Israel . Since the 1980s, practice Judaism. [2]
| Bnei efraiman | |
|---|---|
| Abundance and area | |
| Total: 350 | |
| Andhra Pradesh , India | |
| Tongue | Telugu |
| Religion | Judaism |
Content
History
Bnei Ephraim argue that they descend from the tribe of Ephraim and that they traveled from Israel through Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and China 1600 years ago, and arrived in southern India more than a thousand years ago [3] . Their history is similar to the history of Afghan Jews , Persian Jews , Bnei Yisrael , Bnei Menashe in the north-eastern Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur , which in 2005 received recognition from Israel 's chief rabbinate .
During the Middle Ages, they worked on farms. They professed Judaism and adopted Christianity to some extent under the influence of Baptist missionaries at the beginning of the 19th century [3] .
The founder and leader of the community is Shamuel (Shmuel) Jacobi, a former Christian priest. Shamuel came to Jerusalem [4] in the 1980s, and became convinced that they were descendants of the Jews [3] .
After the 1980s, about 50 families studied Judaism, learned Hebrew, and built a synagogue [5] . They observe Jewish holidays, and read Torah scrolls in Hebrew. Today, Hebrew is used not only in liturgy, but also as a living language. The rabbis of the chief rabbinate visit the community and study their Jewish traditions.
According to the Washington Times (2006),
Many people think that the Jews of Bnei Ephraim are trying to escape from poverty and leave the Andhra Pradesh region, where for 6 years in a row drought and crop failure have led 3,000 peasants to debt and suicide. [3]
Chandra Sekhar Angadi, a scholar from Karnataka , speaks about Telugu:
They are among the poorest Jews in the world, practicing Judaism. They are eager to hear about their Jewish origins and recognition by the Israeli rabbinate, just to get this country's passport, where they can practice Judaism much better - away from poverty and hunger. [3]
See also
- Andhra Pradesh
- Bnei menashe
- Jews of India
Notes
- ↑ Yacobi, Sadok.
- Children The Children of Ephraim: being Jewish in Andhra Pradesh (Eng.) // Anthropology Today : journal. - Vol. 26
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Shaikh Azizur Rahman, “Another tribe seeks rabbinical recognition” , Washington Times , 1 May 2006, accessed 16 May 2013
- A look at other communities: Bnei Ephraim in India
- НЕ COLOR OF NON-UNDERSTANDING, OR 12 FACTS ABOUT INDIAN JEWS
Links
- Francisco, Jason L., "Meet the Telugu Jews of India" , Kulanu website
- Sussman, Bonita & Gerald., India Journal , 2007, Kulanu website
- Indian Jews , Kulanu Website index.
Literature
- Tudor Parfitt (2002), “The Lemba: An African Judaising Tribe”, in Judaising, edited by Parfitt, Tudor and Trevisan-Semi, E., London: Routledge Curzon.
- Shamuel Yacobi, among the Thalmulic Empire of India.