[Jewish Bombay printing], Seder Haggadah, 1846. Bombay. Abraham Jemal.

[Jewish Bombay printing]

Seder Haggadah, 1846. Bombay. Abraham Jemal.

The first Hagadah with Marathi translation, printed in Bombay, along with a Jewish Calendar in Marathi

The first edition of the first Bene Israel Haggadah printed in Bombay (and thus the first Indian Haggadah), the first to include a Marathi translation, the indigenous language of the Bene Israel Community of India, and the first illustrated Indian Haggadah. The work is lithographed throughout and contains a very peculiar, yet naïve, set of illustrations. Prepared by Haim Joseph Hallegua of Cochin. Hebrew and Marathi on facing pages. Title flanked by Moses and Aaron, 13 vignette illustrations of the Seder procedure, with a final illustration displaying the required Seder ritual elements of the Seder plate, depicted in a distinctly Indian style. The second work in the sammelband is a Jewish Calendar, also printed in Bombay and translated into Marathi.

$ 16,000.00

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[bound with] Jewish calendar in Marathi, compiled by R. David Yehuda Ashkenazi. Bombay, [1854]. 8vo, (240 x 155 mm). [5], 35 [i.e.: 36] ff.; [53] ff. Modern calf, boards and spine gilt, inner gilt dentelle. Stained in places, some general toning but overall in excellent condition.

The title page depicts Moshe and Aharon (inspired in the title page of the 1712 Amsterdam Haggadah. The names of the editors and publishers are on the title page as follows: “Haggadah in the Holy Tongue, with Marathi translation… compiled by R. Chaim Yosef Hallegua of Cochin, and… the author of the Marathi translation, R. Chaim Yitzchak Galsurkar… and his partner… R. Yechezkel Yosef Thalkar… first printed by the writer R. Avraham son of Yehuda Jemal…”.

The translation into Marathi was prepared by Haim Joseph Hallegua [Chaim Yosef Chaligoa] of Cochin, India. The Marathi Jews of India, commonly known as the Bene Israel, had for a centuries maintained the basic elements of Judaism, such as dietary laws, the Sabbath, certain fasts, festivals, etc., despite a virtual isolation. As they settled in Bombay, they encountered the Cochin Jews of the Malabar coast, and built a Synagogue in Bombay in 1796.

We have been unable to trace the Calendar, which appears to be one of the earliest Jewish calendars printed in India, and whilst no evident relation between it and the Haggadah exists, it is interesting to find them together.

Noteworthy of this copy is the condition, the Haggadah, when found, is usually wrecked with signs of heavy use; this copy however is in excellent condition and finely bound, and with the Calendar, also in excellent condition.

Provenance: Valmadonna Trust Library.

Yudlov 895; Yerushalmi 97-8; Vinograd Bombay, 4.

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