No joy for Jews as festival draws near

KOCHI: Barely a month left for the biggest Jewish festival of Passover, the Jewish community of about 46 members in the state is a worried lot as they don’t have a Rabbi. The Rabbi who was sent from Israel specifically for the purpose has been embroiled in a legal tangle with the district administration slapping a deportationnotice on him and his wife.   Two years ago, when the oldest Rabbi of the community Sami Haliguah died, the community was left with no one to guide the ceremonies at the synagogue. The only other Rabbi was bedridden. Moreover, none of the Jews in Kerala can read Hebrew in which the Torah is written. “It was in this context that the Cochin Synagogue sent a letter to the Chief Rabbi of Israel to send a Rabbi to the country. “He could carry out the rituals and teach Hebrew to the youngsters in the community. “So Shnoer Zalman Bernstein was sent here,” said Babu Elias, a member of the community.The legal action against the couple has put the whole community in Kochi in a spot of bother. “If the Rabbi is deported, we will have to carry out the prayers at home for this year’s Passover,” said Josephai Abraham, President of the Association of Kerala Jews. Many of the Jews have also come out against various allegations against the Rabbi. “Neither the police nor the district administration has made any inquiry or listened to the version of the Rabbi. They had sent the deportation notice straight away. Reports have alleged that suspicious mass gatherings were held at the Chabbad house.“These are not mass gathering but prayers. Often the Jewish tourists prefer the night time sessions for prayers,” he said.Last year when a similar problem cropped up, the then City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham had cleared the allegations as no public conventions were carried out by the Rabbi, Josephai said.