The Jews of Cochin, India, combine two cultures in their city on the Malabar coast, much like a nice kosher dish. The Last Jews of Cochin: Jewish Identity in Hindu India (University of South Carolina Press; 352 pages; $39.95) by Nathan Katz, a professor of religious studies at the University of South Florida, and Ellen S. Goldberg, editor of the Jewish Press of Tampa, is about their community, which has been greatly diminished by emigration.
The book tells the story of Cochin’s Jewish community, which dates back to the Diaspora that followed the fall of Jerusalem’s Second Temple in A.D. 70.
The writers then use observations from a one-year stay in the community to explain how the society has assimilated Hindu symbols of purity and dignity into their culture while adhering to Halakah rules (Jewish law).
Source: https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-last-jews-of-cochin-jewish-identity-in-hindu-india/
