The Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations, located in Kochi, Kerala, in South India. It was built in the year 1568 by the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and its literal meaning is a "foreigner". Accordingly, the Paradesi Synagogue literally means a synagogue of foreigners. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish synagogue or the Mattancherry synagogue. Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of 53 independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ... Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി []), formerly known as Cochin, is the largest (pop. ... Kerala (IPA: ; Malayalam: കേരളം — ) is a state on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India. ... A map of South India, its rivers, regions and water bodies. ... Events March 23 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. ... Cochin Jews, also called Malabar Jews are the ancient Jews and their descendants of the South Indian port city of Cochin. ... Perumpadapu Swaroopam (also know as Madarajyam, Gosree Rajyam, Kuru Swaroopam) was the name of the Kingdom of Kochi. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Hebrew inscription at the Mattancherry synagogue

The synagogue is in what is known as Jew Street, in Jew Town, in Old Cochin. The complex has four buildings. It was built adjacent to the Mattancherry Palace temple on the land gifted to the Malabari Yehuden community by the king of Kochi, Rama Varma. In fact, the Mattancherry Palace temple and the Mattancherry synagogue have a common wall. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel with the West Bank, the United States, and Jewish communities around the world. ... Building is either the act of creating an object assembled from more than one element, or the object itself; see also construction. ... The Akshardham Hindu temple, Delhi, India The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ...

Early history

The Malabari Jews formed a prosperous trading community of Kerala, and they controlled a major portion of world wide spice trade. In 1568, the Jews of Kerala constructed the Paradesi Synagogue adjacent to Mattancherry Palace, Cochin, now part of the Indian city of Ernakulam. The original synagogue was built in the 4th century in Kodungallur (Cranganore) when the Jews had a mercantile role in the South Indian region along the Malabar coast now called Kerala. It was later moved to Kochi from Kodungallur. Spices at the central market of Agadir, Morocco in May 2005 The spice trade has been of major economic importance throughout human history and it particularly helped spur the Age of Exploration. ... Events March 23 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. ... Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി []), formerly known as Cochin, is the largest (pop. ... For the district with the same name, see Ernakulam District. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Cranganore (modern day Kodungallur) was a famous and prosperous sea-port in the southern Indian state of Kerala, about 38 km from the present day Cochin. ... It has been suggested that Malabarian Coast be merged into this article or section. ...

The first synagogue made by the Malabari Jews in Cochin was destroyed in the Portuguese persecution of the Malabari Jews and Nasrani people of Kerala in the 1500s. The second synagogue, built under the protection of the King of Kochi along with Dutch patronage, is the present synagogue. It is called Paradesi synagogue because it was built with Dutch patronage at a time when Kerala was a Dutch province, thus the name paradesi synagogue or "foreign synagogue". Persecution is persistent mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. ... The Nasrani people are an ethnic community from Kerala, South India, who follow the early Hebrew-Syriac Christian tradition. ... ---- Events and Trends Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa Spanish arrive in present-day Gulf of Mexico External links 1500-1524 Events 1500-1509 Events Categories: 1500s ...

Social composition

The Paradesi Synagogue had three classes of members, all of whom together constitute the Malabar Yehudan or Cochin Jews.

• White Jews, belonging to higher class of professionals and merchants, were full members.
• Black Jews, consisting of traders and craftsmen, were allowed to pray but were not admitted to full membership.
• Meshuhrarims sat on the floor or on the steps outside.

As is normal for Orthodox Jewish synagogues, the Paradesi Synagogue has separate seating sections for men and women. Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary...

The Paradesi Synagogue is the only functioning synagogue in Cochin today with a minyan. In conformity with the Hindu traditions of Kerala, the worshippers are required to enter the Paradesi Synagogue barefoot. Minyan (Hebrew: plural minyanim) is traditionally a quorum of ten or more adult (over the age of Bar Mitzvah) male Jews for the purpose of communal prayer; a minyan is often held within a synagogue, but may be (and often is) held elsewhere. ... Hinduism (Sanskrit , also known as and ) is an Indian religious tradition that is based on the Vedas, and is among the oldest still practiced today. ...

Objects of antiquity

The Paradesi Synagogue has the Scrolls of the Law, several gold crowns received as gifts, beautiful chandeliers, and a brass-railed pulpit. It houses the copper plates of privileges given to the earliest Malabar Jewish people over 2000 years ago, by the ruler of the Malabar Coast. Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ... A chandelier in the U.S. vice presidents ceremonial office in the White House A chandelier is a ceiling-mounted fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. ... For other uses of Ambo, see Ambo, Ethiopia and ambulance. ...

A tablet from the earlier synagogue in Kochangadi in Kochi (built in 1344) is placed on the outerwall of the Mattancherry synagogue. The inscription states that the structure was built in the year 5105 (in Jewish tradition) as a holy abode for the spirit of God the eternal, and would be honoured. Events English king Edward III introduces three new gold coins, the florin. ...

See also

• Paradesi Jews
• Cochin Jews
• Kochi, India

The Paradesi Jews, also sometimes called White Jews, although that usage is generally considered pejorative or descriminatory, refers to relatively recent Jewish immigrants (15th Century onward), predominantly Sephardim and Mizrahim, into Kerala, in southwestern India. ... Cochin Jews, also called Malabar Jews are the ancient Jews and their descendants of the South Indian port city of Cochin. ... Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി []), formerly known as Cochin, is the largest (pop. ...

External links

• The Paradesi Synagogue
• WMF - Paradesi Synagogue, Cochin
• Pictures of the Paradesi Synagogue, Cochin