SSC Bringing Torah To Kolkata

By Rabbi Shai Beneli

The Shehebar Sephardic Center provides many opportunities for rabbinical students such as me. My wife Maayan and I considered Berlin, the Ivory Coast and finally settled on

the Jewish people of Kolkata, India, also known as Calcutta. Rabbi Sam Kassin and Rabbi Rafi Cohen felt this would be a good opportunity for us and we agreed to going for one or two years.

Rabbi Kassin connected us with Rabbi Joel Weinberger from Star-K. This was something a bit different from the classic rabbinic placement.

Star-K offered us a position in their wonderful and vital Star Kosher family. We would spend all of the Shabbatot and Holidays with the Jewish community in Kolkata and I would be able to be Kosher Inspector for Star-K in India.

For us this was a priceless opportunity to connect with the Jews in Kolkata, spend priceless and meaningful time with the community experiencing and trying to understand Jewish life in Kolkata.

So we have lived with the Jews of Kolkata for six months. Due to the current world health crisis, for our well-being, we came back to Israel. Indeed, right now we are not physically with the community, however our hearts and prayers are still very much with every single member of the community.

The last six months has been an amazing experience, one we thank the SSC for giving us. Maayan and I arrived in Kolkata, India just before the High Holy Days in September. We were well received during our first and very special Shabbat with the community, joined by Rabbi Joel Weinberger and Rabbi Goldschmidt and his family.

That Shabbat dinner was the beginning of a meaningful journey together with the Jews of Kolkata and any visiting Jews. Kolkota had not had anyone to lead them in continuous prayers or religious functions for almost 30 years.

It was our job to help the Jews there return to traditional Judaism, strengthen their identity as Jews, keep the flame of Judaism burning, and continue the traditions of our ancestors.

It was not a very easy new beginning. Cochin and Kolkota are three hours by plane. During the week, I traveled around India, although we were based in Cochin. On Fridays, we flew to Kolkata for Shabbat, where community members helped us find an apartment. Maayan had to bring the food for Shabbat all the way from Cochin. We can surely say that the time and effort that went into settling with the community was very well spent, something that we are very glad we did.

High Holidays

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur was quite difficult. Not only were we apart from our families, it was the first time in my life that I couldn’t pray with a minyan for the High Holidays. Still, we were very happy to be with community, especially when I recall the beautiful Rosh Hashanah Seder that we had.

Fulfilling the mitzvot of Succot in Kolkata was an amazing experience, not only for us, but for the community as a whole. It brought Maayan and I so much joy.

During Hol Hamo’ed, we visited some of the elderly people in the community.  We sat together discussed the story of the community and other topics on Judasim. We put up some Mezuzot for those who needed one.

Topping off the holidays, we had the loveliest Kiddush right outside the synagogue on Simchat Torah with some great dancing and singing, and Torah reading. We truly had a Simchat Torah, Joy of Torah.

 

Weekly Life

After the holidays passed it was time to get into the rhythm of daily life in Kolkata with the community. It started off slowly with about five to ten people joining us per Shabbat’ There were almost no visiting Jews.

As time went on we had more people that were joining us for Shabbat. Through word of mouth, visitors heard that they could meet the Jewish community of Kolkata at the Maghen David Synagogue on Shabbat. We began doing prayers and other services a bit differently, so that it would best fit the congregants, and to keep as much of the customs of the community as possible.

Hanukah

By the time Hanukah came, significantly more people were joining us for Shabbat. Our Hanukah party was full and noisy, Thank God. What a sight it was! Our apartment was packed with about 25 people who joined us to light the menorah and celebrate Hanukah. We also had many visitors who arrived primarily from

hearing about the positive experience others had when they visited the community.

As we continued our Shabbat services the number of congregants continued growing, we had between 10 and 15 people joining us on an average Shabbat.  We were really getting to know everybody very well, and every Shabbat was spent with our Maghen David Family. To our pleasant surprise we discovered eight more Jews that were either living or staying in Kolkata, five of them soon joined our Maghen David Family.

Purim

Our most recent event was the celebration of Purim. It had been decades since the Megillah was read in Kolkota.  We imported a megillah from England so we could tell the story of our Nation. Some people heard the Megillah for the first time. By this time Purim wasn’t just a celebration with other Jews that were living in the same city; it was a celebration with family. It was our Identity as the children of Israel showing itself in its fullest. It was our family keeping the flame of Judaism lit. We told and continue the story of The Children of Israel…. similarly to what the mitzvah of Haggadah is on Passover, the telling of the story of Israel

It pains us very much that we were not with our Maghen David family for Pesakh. We urge them to keep strong and steadfast, for God will be with you no matter where you go.

We thank Rabbi Kassin and the Shehebar Sephardic Center, Star-K, and all of the members of the community that did so much to help us along the way. Thanks to my wife Maayan who put in so much time and energy, emotionally and physically, always making sure that things were going smoothly and making everybody feel comfortable. And thanks to God for giving us such a special and meaningful opportunity.