Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

September 26, 2023

The Sacred Rock in India Revered by Both Jews and Hindus

The imprints of Elijah’s chariot.

According to their own traditions, the Bene Israel—an ancient Jewish community living on the western coast of India—are descended either from one of the Ten Lost Tribes exiled in the 8th century BCE, or shipwrecked refugees who fled persecution around the time of Maccabean Revolt. In Maharashtra state, the historic home of the Bene Israel, there is a holy rock they have long venerated along with local Hindus. Sharmila Ganesan Ram writes:

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