I was there as an Indian, says the Rabbi-lawyer who recited Torah at the New Parliament

The Rabbi-lawyer

Rabbi Ezekiel Isaac Malekar, who leads Delhi’s Judah Hyam Synagogue, represented the Jewish faith at the inauguration of the new Parliament building on May 28.

A lawyer by profession, he said that he went to the new parliament building for the multi-faith prayer ceremony as an Indian citizen rather than as someone who represented Judaism.

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Who is Ezekiel Isaac Malekar?

Malekar, a native of Pune, served in the Indian Air Force. During his stint there, he pursued an under graduate course in economics as an external candidate at a university. Since he was interested in law, he enrolled in the Indian Law Society’s (ILS) law college Pune to obtain a degree.

“It was a tough time. I used to attend college in the morning and then rush to work. I couldn’t attend many lectures because of work. However, I managed to pass the law exam,” Malekar recollected.

While in Pune, Malekar was secretary of the Succath Shelomo Synagogue and participated actively in its activities. He studied scriptures of other religions such as Hinduism, Christianity and Islam out of curiosity. Malekar also learnt Sanskrit to understand the Hindu scriptures better.

Malekar moved to Delhi in 1980 upon securing a job at the health ministry. “I was eligible for official accommodation, but the community elders wanted me to live in the cottage next to the synagogue and take care of it,” said Malekar. He has lived there since then, taking care of the 67-year-old synagogue and the 100-year-old Jewish cemetery.

The Rabbi-lawyer

After having worked with the Central government for many years, while being a Rabbi, he took up an assignment in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). He fondly recollects working with the former chief justice of India M N Venkatachaliah when he was Deputy Registrar (Law) at the NHRC.

Malekar said, “Justice Venkatachaliah is a role model to me. He and his wife would visit the synagogue regularly. He would insist that I leave work early on Friday evenings so that I could return to the synagogue for Sabbath.”

He was also a legal adviser of the ethics committee of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital.

After his retirement from the government job, Malekar decided to dedicate his time to the administration of the synagogue and did not take up a law practice.

The revolutionary rabbi

Since the Jewish population in India is fast dwindling, it became apparent that it may be difficult to get a 10-member male quorum to perform the Friday Sabbath at the synagogue. Malekar took the bold decision of including adult females in the quorum to perform Friday Sabbath. “Many traditional and orthodox Rabbis were against this and refused to visit the synagogue. I told them it was their sweet wish whether to come or not, the synagogue will function this way,” Malekar said.

Malekar also invites people from all religions to attend his Friday Sabbath. “One must learn to understand all religions. If they don’t like something, they can choose not to read it. But it shouldn’t mean that they reject whatever good is said in its text,” Malekar noted.

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At the inauguration of the new parliament building

When Malekar was invited to recite Torah at the inauguration ceremony of the new parliament building, he did not just feel honoured but also duty-bound to honour the Indian Constitution. “I was there as a religious leader, but first I am a citizen of India, it was an event honouring the constitutional democracy of the country,” Malekar notes.

Having first recited the Hebrew prayer at the multi-faith prayer ceremony, Malakar noted that he recited the preamble of the Indian Constitution when Prime Minister Narendra Modi installed the ‘Sengol’ sceptre in the parliament building.

He said, “India is a true republic of religions. Jews came to India 2,000 years ago. This is the only country where they did not have to face anti-Semitism and persecution. We see India as our motherland.”