AHMEDABAD – The Biblical prophet Elijah holds a special place in the faith of the tiny Jewish community in India. Indian Jews have long seen Elijah, who the Bible says ascended to heaven on a horse-drawn chariot and who will someday return to earth as the herald of the Messiah, as an important guide and protector.
At a recent celebration in Ahmedabad for a one year old baby boy, the assembled Jews asked Elijah to watch over the young boy, named Orel, who is the great-nephew of one of the synagogue leaders, Menasseh Solomon.
The celebration was held at the Magen Abraham Synagogue in the heart of the old city of Ahmedabad. The evening began with the Havdalah, a religious celebration to end the sabbath for which a small assembly, of about 30 Jews gathered. After the prayer, the community welcomed about 100 people, neighbors and friends, Hindus, Muslims and Christians to celebrate the birthday.
After saying prayers over the one-year old, members of the congregation approached “the chair of Elijah,” a throne covered by light purple fabric at the front of the synagogue where the spirit of the prophet is believed to sit. Worshippers approached the chair one by one, touched it with their hands and brought their fingers to their lips in reverence.
Professor Goldman joined the two of us in synagogue, which was decorated with balloons and lighted candles for the occasion.
After receiving a warm welcome during the service, we were invited to the community celebration in the courtyard next to the synagogue. It seemed that the entire neighborhood had been invited. There was a goat roasting over a fire, with various meat dishes arranged buffet-style around it. Along one wall of the courtyard was the rest of the food, the meat-free options, separated from the meat area by a little card table with a big container of water on it.
Before the guests began eating, blessings were said over plates of rose petals, apples, lemons, and dates – all ritual foods. After the meal, the teenager put on loud Indian pop music and started dancing.
While the Jewish community in Ahmedabad is small, this first birthday party was not. We realized that, in such a minority population, each birth and birthday is probably a big celebration since they symbolize the survival of the community with the next generation. The Jewish population in Gujarat was once much larger but many members of the community have moved to Israel. Everyone we spoke with told us about family members who had emigrated to Israel but they said that they had no plans to join them. Many of the Jews of Ahmedabad told us that they were there to stay.