The Prayers of the DAY OF ATONEMENT translated from Hebrew to Marathi by Joseph Ezekiel Rajpurker teacher in David Sasoon's Benevolent Institution and Secretary to the Bene-Israel Improvement Society. VOLUME I.

Rajpurkar, Joseph Ezekiel (1834-1905), translator

Published by Printed at Javaji Dadaji's "Nienaya-Sagar" Press, [Mumbai, India], 1901

About this Item

In Marathi, with very little Hebrew. 84 leaves. 220 x 142 mm. Title-page in English, followed by title page in Marathi with one line in Hebrew. Opening phrase of each prayer is in Hebrew. Hebrew words and phrases interspersed in the Marathi text. Joseph Ezekiel Rajpurker (1834-1905) translated several works from Hebrew to Marathi, the indigenous language of the Bene-Israel Jews. He was Head Master of the David Sasson Benevolent Institution, Fellow and Hebrew Examiner of the University of Bombay, and a Justice of the Peace. See H. S. Kehimkar, The History of the Bene-Israel of India (1937), pages 69-70. Yosef Yechezkel Rajpurkar (1834 - 1905) was a teacher, director, judge, writer, translator, clergyman and scholar, a member of the Bnei Yisrael community in India. Joseph was born in 1834 in India under British rule. His father Ezekiel Joseph Rajpurkar was the Superintendent of Missionary Schools established by the Free Church Organization in Bombay (Mumbai) and Kolba Province in India. Joseph was educated by British Christian missionary teachers, who despite being missionary Christians did not try to convert him to Christianity. Joseph learned Hebrew from his father Ezekiel and educated himself. In 1856 he was accepted as a teacher at the David Sasson School in Bombay (Mumbai) and in 1861 was promoted to school principal, a position he held for over 40 years. His work was in the Jewish communities in India. Among his students were Sir Edward Sasson who was a Member of the British Parliament and Sir David Sasson. His students spread to all parts of the British Empire, China, Africa and even the United States. In 1871 he was elected Chief Examiner of the Hebrew language at Bombay University. He was a leading scholar in the area of theTanakh, the JewishBible, and the New Testament. He received degrees in Hebrew and Marati. In 1890 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace by the British Government, the first Bnei Yisrael member to do so. Joseph authored and published special prayers for the centennial celebrations of the Shaarei Rahamim Synagogue in 1896, for the Russian Jewish community that found their way to India in the wake of pogroms, and prayers for heavenly providence when a severe plague broke out in Bombay in 1900. Joseph was a highly esteemed figure among the Bnei Yisrael community, the Baghdadi Jews in India, and also among many British scholars. He has published over 20 books, including translations from English and Hebrew into Marathi.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Prayers of the DAY OF ATONEMENT translated from Hebrew to Marathi by Joseph Ezekiel Rajpurker teacher in David Sasoon's Benevolent Institution and Secretary to the Bene-Israel Improvement Society. VOLUME I.
• Publisher: Printed at Javaji Dadaji's "Nienaya-Sagar" Press, [Mumbai, India]
• Publication Date: 1901
• Language: Marathi
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Judaica