[Heb-NACO] $x Liturgy -- Texts or $x Prayers and devotions

[Cliff Miller]

I would not equate Bene Israel with all Jews in India.
To me, none of the main communities of Jews of India is a sect, 
but each has distinctive liturgical practices.
Encyclopedia Judaica articles INDIA & BOMBAY/MUMBAI relate:

6 of 8 remaining synagogues are Bene Israel, and they are the ones who use Marathi.

A 2nd group that was important, Few Cochin Jews remain in India.

2 of 8 remaining synagogues are of Baghdadi (& Yemeni) Jews, who use Judeo-Arabic.

Evidently, Persian Jews in India use neither Marathi nor Arabic.
And, if we set aside Bene Efraim & Bene Menasheh, there are a few Ashkenazic Jews 

-----Original Message-----
From: heb-naco-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu [mailto:heb-naco-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu] On Behalf Of Jasmin Nof 

Hello Wise Ones,

I'm cataloging a number of prayer books from India, some clearly 
indicating that it's the minhag of the Jews of Kochin, others simply 
published in Bombay (sometimes with or without Marathi text).

My question is regarding the subject subdivision to be used after 
Judaism $z India: should the subdivision be $x Liturgy $v Texts or $v 
Prayers and devotions. Looking in the auth. file, I see there are 
records for both types, but only the former has usage instructions: "ǂi 
subdivision ǂa Liturgy--Texts ǂi under individual Jewish sects and rites 
and under individual Jewish ceremonies, rituals, holidays, etc., e.g. ǂa 
Karaites--Liturgy--Texts; Judaism--Ari rite--Liturgy--Texts; 
Seder--Liturgy--Texts; Yom Kippur--Liturgy--Texts". 

Are the Jews of India considered a sect, in which case Judaism ǂz India ǂx Liturgy ǂv 
Texts is correct? 

Or is it not a sect, in which case I should use Judaism ǂz India ǂv Prayers and devotions. (Both are used in LC records.) 

"Bene Israel" is not mentioned anywhere in the text, 
or 
do I assume that all Jews of India are considered "Bene Israel", in which 
case it would certainly be Bene Israel $x Liturgy $v Texts, with an 
added heading of Judaism ǂz India ǂv Prayers and devotions.

Please advise. Thanks, Jasmin


Jasmin Nof
Hebraica Cataloging Librarian
Cataloging&  Metadata: Original Cataloging
Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
3420 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206
T. 215-746-6397
F. 215-573-9610
jnof at upenn.edu

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