KADDISH
AT THE TOMB OF JOB. RECITING SHEMA AT THE EDGE OF THE EMPTY QUARTER OF ARABIA
The
drive up the mountains from Salalah had its own spectacular beauty, a combination
of incongruous elements of nature. Imagine a fjord that is empty, now a playground
for camels, within a few days would be flowing with water with greenery unlike
anywhere in Arabia, during the upcoming Khareef season. (Monsoon)
The
dark mist descended quickly, the harsh temperature of the desert dropped, the
little car mustered its strength as it chugged up towards the town of Gadu and
the tomb of Nabi Ayoub.
Who
was Nabi Ayoub?
According
to the Islamic tradition, Ayoub was the Jewish prophet JOB. There has been a
confusion where he died and where his tomb is, the confusion arising from the
fact that Prophet Mohammed had a companion by the similar name, now buried in
Turkey. Palestinians and some other Arabs claim to have the tomb, but it cannot
be historically correct. Palestine as an Arab entity is quite recent, and they
too, like many other Muslim populations, fabricate their history, to garner
respect for their connection with ancient prophets.
For
me, the tomb up in the mountains in Salalah belongs to the Jewish Prophet. We
have considerable evidence to show that these parts were traversed by Jews in
antiquity and Judaism thrived long before Islam arrived in mountains.
A
Jew from Zhofar? A Jewish prophet in the mountains of Arabia? Remember for the
first three thousand years of our existence, we were just as nomadic and just
as settled as other populations in the region, long before Islam arrived. The
settling of Jews of Cochin a thousand years ago can be traced to trails from
Mesopotamia and Yemen.
I
am not a learned person when it comes to Bible so I shall leave it to the
experts to decide where Job lived, and died.
To
me, as I said the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, I was addressing it
to the Prophet Job, and I begged his blessings for all those close to my heart.
A
collection of very shabby shops, manned by Bangladeshis, and an abandoned
restaurant built with greater hopes for visitors? Omanis do not exploit their
holy sites for touristic propaganda and while I was there a couple of Moslems
were praying at the tomb. I walked into the compound, a dilapidated and unkempt
mosque on the site, with no signs of recent use, on the left, strange to see
tropical flowers in bloom, bougainvillea and hibiscus, on the right is the
modest building overlooking the mountains.
A
Jewish soul rests here!
I
thought of my family, especially LBGS, and other people close to my heart, old
and new friends.
I
said the Kaddish.
Such
a privilege and without becoming too emotional, I recited the Shema as well
It
felt so good, I felt the presence of our people in this remote region, in touch
with our history and also thanked the Omani people for their gentleness.
I
went outside, looked around, I imagined a Jewish community living here amidst
the mountains and the season of monsoon, when Omani people spoke their own
language and practiced their own religion long before Arabic and Islam arrived
here. Many people in this area speak a language unrelated to Arabic, as they
did before and as they do now, Jabali, the mountain people. Looking at their
faces, I imagined how our ancestors might have looked.
It
was gratifying to make this ancient connection.
It
was a wonderful visit to Salalah, my third in less than five years. It won’t be
my last.
I
have promised someone that we would come here together!
