our beloved SARAH is no more!
I received three emails from Cochin today 30.08.2019 informing me that she had passed away.
So many images passed through my mind.
Jew Town will not be the same again. With her coffin, the Paradesi Jewish Community of Cochin is also dead, while the synagogue from 1468 CE will continue to be visited, there would be no actual PRESENCE of Jews along that street visible and accessible as easily as was Sarah.
I had met her on my first visit to the Jew Town area in 1995 with my then travelling companion. He husband Jacob Cohen was still alive and I still have the copy of the newspaper with an interview with him, that he gave to me. Her brother Shalom was with them.
Over the course of years, William passed away and then Shalom. the Jewish presence began disappearing, concreted with the death of Sammy Hallegua, before then the death of Itzhak Hallegua. Kashmiri merchants moved in and began selling irrelevant, incongruous handcrafts from other parts of India and at one time, Jew Town was one of the most visited parts of Kerala. Mrs Salem died soon followed by her husband. The last of the elderly jews migrated to join their families in Israel. It leaves now just two Paradesi Jews (jews of Foreign origin in the local language), an elderly widow whose son is a doctor in LA and a daughter who is a sociologist in NY as well as a reclusive bachelor whom I have met only once.
Now the street becomes a discotheque of the fake Kashmiri merchants selling fake goods.
Sara always sat by her window, a siddur (prayer book) in her hands and a home made kippah of her design on her head. Many years ago she was lucky to have the presence of a local Muslim family, Taha is the name of the man, in her house and they truly looked after Sarah. May the gratitude be abundantly placed on Taha and his family.
Today is Shabbat and I have been a witness when she lit the shabbat candles in her house, more than once.
It can be truly said that the shabbat candles have died along with Sarah. May your lights brighten all those of us who had the pleasure of knowing you.
this is the front of her house, as it was today, the day of her death.
RN a good friend of mine, a devout christian and a long term friendly of the family wrote to me expressing his sadness at Sarah's passing.
So this grand old dame of Jew Street symbolised the harmony with which Jews were treated for 500 years(Paradesi Jews arrived at the port of Saudi south of Cochin in early 1600s , 500 years ago) by the local populations: the native Hindus, the oldest christian community east of Israel and also the converted Muslims
let us be grateful for Sarah's life.
The local newspaper carried her obituary
https://english.manoramaonline.com/news/kerala/2019/08/30/sarah-cohen-oldest-jew-india.html
I received three emails from Cochin today 30.08.2019 informing me that she had passed away.
So many images passed through my mind.
Jew Town will not be the same again. With her coffin, the Paradesi Jewish Community of Cochin is also dead, while the synagogue from 1468 CE will continue to be visited, there would be no actual PRESENCE of Jews along that street visible and accessible as easily as was Sarah.
I had met her on my first visit to the Jew Town area in 1995 with my then travelling companion. He husband Jacob Cohen was still alive and I still have the copy of the newspaper with an interview with him, that he gave to me. Her brother Shalom was with them.
Over the course of years, William passed away and then Shalom. the Jewish presence began disappearing, concreted with the death of Sammy Hallegua, before then the death of Itzhak Hallegua. Kashmiri merchants moved in and began selling irrelevant, incongruous handcrafts from other parts of India and at one time, Jew Town was one of the most visited parts of Kerala. Mrs Salem died soon followed by her husband. The last of the elderly jews migrated to join their families in Israel. It leaves now just two Paradesi Jews (jews of Foreign origin in the local language), an elderly widow whose son is a doctor in LA and a daughter who is a sociologist in NY as well as a reclusive bachelor whom I have met only once.
Now the street becomes a discotheque of the fake Kashmiri merchants selling fake goods.
Sara always sat by her window, a siddur (prayer book) in her hands and a home made kippah of her design on her head. Many years ago she was lucky to have the presence of a local Muslim family, Taha is the name of the man, in her house and they truly looked after Sarah. May the gratitude be abundantly placed on Taha and his family.
Today is Shabbat and I have been a witness when she lit the shabbat candles in her house, more than once.
It can be truly said that the shabbat candles have died along with Sarah. May your lights brighten all those of us who had the pleasure of knowing you.
RN a good friend of mine, a devout christian and a long term friendly of the family wrote to me expressing his sadness at Sarah's passing.
So this grand old dame of Jew Street symbolised the harmony with which Jews were treated for 500 years(Paradesi Jews arrived at the port of Saudi south of Cochin in early 1600s , 500 years ago) by the local populations: the native Hindus, the oldest christian community east of Israel and also the converted Muslims
let us be grateful for Sarah's life.
The local newspaper carried her obituary
https://english.manoramaonline.com/news/kerala/2019/08/30/sarah-cohen-oldest-jew-india.html
