Reformist Jews To Celebrate Their Centennial In India On November 23

Mumbai: The Jewish Religious Union, a reformist sect within India’s small Jewish community, is celebrating the centennial of its presence in India.

The group, which began in Europe in the nineteenth century as a reform movement within Judaism, was brought to India in 1925 by Dr Jerusha Jhirad, a Padma Shri-awarded Indian Jewish gynecologist and obstetrician who was influenced by the movement while training in London. Dr Jhirad later became the superintendent of Cama and Albless Hospital, Mumbai. The community, a minuscule part of the 4,000-strong Indian Jews, will celebrate the anniversary on Sunday evening with music and dance at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana Club.

The movement was influenced by the Protestant Reformation in the Christian Church and offered an alternative to those who wanted to live in modern society. Apart from allowing women to become rabbis, Progressive Jews do not follow gender segregation during worship. Their prayers are written in both Hebrew and English so that more congregants understand the words.

Rabbi Stacey Blank, an American who visited India in 2024 to conduct religious services in Mumbai, had told this journalist that, unlike a rabbi in Orthodox Judaism who is a judge interpreting religious law, a Reform sect rabbi is a teacher. Reform Jews sing and are liberal about reciting prayers outside the written texts. If there are no prayers for a particular occasion, we make one up, Blank had said, adding that it was an amazing fact that a woman had begun a religious movement in India.

Norma Suvarna, a Wadala resident who will be attending the ceremony along with her non-Jewish husband, said that Sunday's programme will include a short prayer and celebrations. The consul-general of Israel and an Australian couple travelling in India will be among the attendees. Two recent local converts to the sect will be part of the celebrations. The group accepts converts, though religious conversions are rare. Non-Jews can join the sect after attending prayers for three years.

The community plans to reconstruct its synagogue in Byculla, which was destroyed in a fire during the riots of December 1993. Their religious services are conducted in halls. The group once had around 800 members in India. Migration has reduced it to a quarter of that number.

To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/