KOCHI: At 2.30 pm on Monday, an ambulance entered the gates of the Jewish cemetery on the Kathrikadavu-Pullepady road here. Inside was a coffin with the body of Sippora Soniya, a spinster, who passed away at the age of 38. ‘‘She had been unwell for a long time,’’ says her younger brother, Mordokkayi Shafeer.
Her death is ringing the death knell for the community. Now, there are only 29 Jews left, which includes a group of elderly people.
‘‘In the past five years, there have been 10 deaths,’’ says Josephhai Abraham, of the Association of Kerala Jews, which consists of only six families. ‘‘As the community dwindles, the number of burials is becoming less.’’
For a burial to take place, the Jews should have a quorum of 10 male members, with a minimum age of 13, to conduct a Kaddish (hymns praising God). Soniya was lucky. A Jew from Vancouver and two from Israel had been in town to visit their in-laws. So they made up the 10 for her quorum. While prayers were also being read from the Torah, relatives placed bits of mud on the eyes and lips of Soniya. ‘‘This is the mud from Jerusalem,’’ says Josephhai.
‘‘It is an act of symbolism to say that she has seen Jerusalem.’’
