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EXPLORE JEWISH INDIA BLOG

A Snapshot in Time from Jewish India: My Great-Grandfather's Yom Kippur Kippah

9/18/2018

 

Yom Kippur, Calcutta, India Travel, Jewish Holidays
Yom Kippur, India Travel, Calcutta, Jewish Holidays
The white silk kippah my great-grandfather wore every Yom Kippur in Calcutta is embroidered with light purple squares linked together. Meir Ezra Musleah was a lover of mystical texts, the gabai of the Maghen David Synagogue and a sweet singer. I don’t have a photo of him in this “cap,” as it was called, just one of him in a black cap choosing a chicken for kapparah, atonement, in the open marketplace in Calcutta. He didn’t know that my Uncle Meyer, who was named for him, was taking the photo; he would have considered it a graven image.

 When I wear his white kippah myself on Yom Kippur I don’t mind that it is not new, or even that the silk has frayed to the point where you can see the individual threads.  It connects me to a beloved person that I wish I could have known, in a time gone by.  But I have rediscovered the place and made it my own.

L’Dor Vador. From Generation to Generation.


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    Rahel Musleah was born in Calcutta, India, the seventh generation of a Calcutta Jewish family that traces its roots to 17th-century Baghdad.

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  • Home
  • Virtual Events
  • Shop
  • Jewish India Tours
    • Explore India Tour
    • Discover India Tour
    • Traveler Day Tour
  • Recipes
    • ​Bhajee Vegetable Curry
    • Pilau (Rice)
    • Kishmish Badam (Raisins and Almonds)
    • Calcutta Vegetable Cutlets
    • Beetroot Leaves or Spinach Mahmoosa
    • Piaju (deep fried veggies)
    • Aloo Makala
    • Dal
    • Kooleecha
    • New Page
  • About
    • Reviews
    • Gallery
    • Contact
  • Blog