India's capital has only one synagogue and a small Jewish community of fewer than 10 families. Rabbi Ezekiel Isaac Malekar works to bring people together and preserve Jewish traditions.
Experiencing A Multicultural Hanukkah in India
Every culture has its own way of approaching the same religion. Although the pandemic caused most of us to celebrate Hanukkah unlike ever before, this year was particularly unique because it was the first time I celebrated Hanukkah in New Delhi. It was a beautiful fusion of Indian culture and traditional Hanukkah latkes with Indian spices such as turmeric and chat masala were just the tip of the iceberg.
My family isn’t very religious, rather spiritual. I, on the other hand, have lately become religious out of my own instinct especially after visiting Israel. I was born in Kenya and spent my early years in India before moving to Los Angeles. I had a multicultural upbringing, as we celebrated all the religious festivals in India, such as Diwali, Purim, Christmas and Eid. That’s one beauty of India you can practice any religion and yet be welcome. I have never seen any anti-Semitism here. After all, India is the second most popu