The Chendamangalam Synagogue (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

: ചേന്ദമംഗലം ജൂതപള്ളി) (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

; בית הכנסת צ'נמנגלם) is one of the oldest known

synagogues A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

built by the Malabar Jews,in

Chendamangalam Chendamangalam (or Chennamangalam) is a small town and a panchayat in Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam district in the state of Kerala, India. Location It is about 23 km from Ernakulam. It has three rivers, seven inlets, hillocks and large e ...

, a village in the

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation ...

district of the coastal state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

. It is dated to 1100 A.D, though the synagogue structure itself dates to 1420 A.D or 1614 A.D., making it the oldest synagogue in the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

. A tombstone recovered from Shingly was stored in this synagogue and is presently on display in the courtyard in front. This tombstone with the inscription of Sarah bat Israel is the oldest Jewish relic found in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, dating to 1270 A.D. After the entire congregation made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1950s, the synagogue was defunct for decades. Today it serves as
Kerala Jews Lifestyle Museum
for the Muziris Project, a conservation project by the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

. The synagogue has been restored and has an exhibit open to visitors from 9:30 to 5:00 during the week.

History

The hillocks at Kottayil Kovilakam are unique as the site of a Hindu

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

, a

Syrian Christian Syrian or Syriac Christians may refer to * Adherents of Christianity in Syria * Adherents of Syriac Christianity, various Christian bodies of Syriac traditions, especially: ** Syriac/Assyrian/Aramean people, Christian neo-Aramaic speakers through ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Ch ...

, a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...

and a restored Jewish synagogue, all within 1 km of each other. Here are remains of the Vypeenakotta Seminary built for Syrians in the 16th century by the Portuguese. Adjacent to the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

is an old Syrian Catholic Church built in 1201. It is also the site of the first

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...

Objects of Interest

Tombstone of Sarah bat Israel

A tombstone recovered from Shingly was stored in this synagogue and is presently on display in the courtyard in front. This tombstone with the inscription of Sarah bat Israel is the oldest Jewish relic found in

, dating to 1270 A.D. (1581

Seleucid era The Seleucid era ("SE") or (literally "year of the Greeks" or "Greek year"), sometimes denoted "AG," was a system of numbering years in use by the Seleucid Empire and other countries among the ancient Hellenistic civilizations. It is sometimes ...

Hekkal

The ''Heichal'' of the Chendamangalam synagogue is one of the most ornately carved torah ark in kerala. The style of the ark is Italian with gilded filigree work. It bears the crown insignia of the tribe of Judah.

Golden Sefer Torah Crown

This was a crown gifted by the

Maharaja of Travancore The Maharaja of Travancore was the principal title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Travancore in the southern part of Kerala, India. The Maharaja of Travancore was the topmost ruler of Travancore until 1949, when Travancore was annexed into Indi ...

to the Chendamangalam Jews. The crown was weighed 212 carats and was made of solid gold Studded with rubies and emeralds. A ''rimon'' from the

Palayoor Synagogue Palayūr, also called Palayoor and historically as Palur, is a town near Chavakkad, Thrissur district, India. It is famous for its ancient church, St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Palayur, Palayur Mar Thoma Church, which is believed to be ...

was brought and stored in this synagogue. This was later purchased by the

Paravur Synagogue The Paravur Synagogue aka Parur Synagogue (Malayalam: പറവൂർ ജൂതപള്ളി) (Hebrew: בית הכנסת פראבור) is one of the largest and most complete among the Jewish synagogues in Kerala, located in North Paravur ( ...

which in turn sold it to the Kadavumbhagam Synagogue in

. The crown was later taken to

and stored in ''moshav'' Nevatim. In 2008, thieves broke into the moshav and stole this crown. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.

Chendamangalam Jewish Cemetery

There is also an abandoned Jewish cemetery behind the mosque, about 400 m from the synagogue, which has not been restored yet.{{cite web, title=Minor Synagogues of Kerala, url=http://www.minorsights.com/2016/03/india-minor-synagogues-of-kerala.html, access-date=9 April 2016, publisher=Minor Sights

Gallery

File:Synagogue (15712816629).jpg File:Chendamangalam Jewish Synagogue at Chendamangalam, North Paravur, Ernakulam, Kerala.jpg File:Chandeliers at Chendamangalam synagogue.jpg File:Bema at Chendamangalam synagogue1.jpg File:Jewish Synagogue Kottayil Kovilakam North Pravaoor DSC 1917.jpg File:Jewish Synagogue Kottayil Kovilakam North Pravaoor DSC 1920.jpg File:Jewish Grave in cemetery Kottayil Kovilakam North Pravaoor DSC 1940.jpg File:Jewish Synagogue Kottayil Kovilakam North Pravaoor DSC 1894.jpg File:Jewish Synagogue Kottayil Kovilakam North Pravaoor DSC 1903.jpg File:Jewish Synagogue Kottayil Kovilakam North Pravaoor DSC 1898.jpg File:Jewish Grave in cemetery Kottayil Kovilakam North Pravaoor DSC 1937.jpg

References

Jewish museums Synagogues in Kerala Synagogues preserved as museums