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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 350 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Andhra Pradesh,India | |
| Languages | |
| Telugu,Hebrew | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherIndian Jews andTelugu |
TheBene Ephraim (Hebrew:בני אפריים)Bnei Ephraim ("Sons of Ephraim"), also calledTelugu Jews because they speakTelugu, are a small community living primarily in Kotha Reddy Palem, a village outsideChebrolu,Guntur district, and in Machilipatnam, Krishna District,Andhra Pradesh,India, near thedelta of theRiver Krishna.[1] They claim to be descendants of theTribe of Ephraim, of theTen Lost Tribes, and since the 1980s have learned to practice modern Judaism.[2]
The Bene Ephraim claim descent from the Tribe of Ephraim, and say that they traveled from Israel through western Asia: Persia, Afghanistan, Tibet and into China for 1,600 years before arriving in southern India more than 1,000 years ago.[3] They hold a history which they say is similar to that of the shift ofAfghan Jews andPersian Jews,Bene Israel,Bnei Menashe in the northeastern Indian states ofMizoram andManipur, who received recognition in 2005 from theChief Rabbinate of Israel. (The latter people must still go through a formal conversion process to become citizens of Israel under theLaw of Return.)
During the medieval period, they had worked as farm laborers and many adapted regional cultures. Although nominally practicingJudaism, they adopted some aspects ofChristianity after the arrival of BritishBaptistmissionaries during the early 19th century.[3]
Their leader, Shmuel Yacobi, went to Jerusalem in the 1980s and became convinced they were of Jewish descent.[3] Because of the long period in which the people were not practicing Judaism, they did not develop any distinctly identifiableJudæo-Telugu language asother groups did.
Since the 1980s, about fifty families inKotha Reddy Palem have studiedJudaism, learnedHebrew, and built an operatingsynagogue. They celebrate allJewish holidays and have their ownTorah scroll. In the 1960s, some families migrated to Hyderabad, Telangana for high-paying lucrative jobs and better livelihoods.[citation needed]
Today, Hebrew is used as aliving language rather than limited to theliturgy. Thecommunity has been visited over the years byrabbis from the chief rabbinate in Israel to study their Jewishtradition andpractices. To be recognized as legitimate Jews, the Chief Rabbi has to recognize the community as being of Jewish descent. The rabbis have taught mainstream Judaism and made converts, and some women haveintermarried with Jewish families. They have sought recognition from many rabbis around the world.[1] They always practiced their own oral traditions and customs (caviloth), such as: burying the dead; marrying under achuppah; observingShabbat and other Jewish festivals, and maintaining abeit din (ie, a Jewish rabbinical court).
According to theWashington Times in 2006
Many think the Bnei Ephraim Jews are trying to escape poverty and that they want to leave this region of Andhra Pradesh where six successive years of drought and crop failure have driven more than 3,000 peasants into debt and to suicide.[3]
Chandra Sekhar Angadi, a social scientist in neighboringKarnataka, said of the Telugu Jews:
They are among the poorest of Jews in the world. They are desperate for the recognition by Israel’s chief rabbinate simply to be guaranteed a passport from that country where they can lead a much better life—away from this life of poverty and hunger.[3]