Rahel Musleah, award-winning journalist, singer, speaker and educator, will take congregants and guests at Fair Lawn Jewish Center/Congregation B’nai Israel on a personal, historic, and musical journey to Jewish India on Thursday December 20, 2012 at 8 p.m. This event is free to Sisterhood members and $5 at the door for the general public.
Born in Calcutta, the seventh generation of a Calcutta family that traces its roots to 17th-
century Baghdad, she will share the lyrical songs and distinctive customs of her community,
complemented by personal anecdotes, memorabilia, and authentic photographs. Jewish Calcutta
Through Music and Memory introduces the history, music and daily life of the Indian Jewish
communities, and chronicles Rahel’s personal journey from India to America with candor,
humor and poignancy.
Rahel’s program weaves a rich tapestry of heritage and culture little-known to most, and offers a
compelling legacy of memory for the Indian Jewish communities whose population has dwindled
to 5,000 today.
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Rahel contributes regularly to Hadassah magazine, Jewish Woman and numerous other
publications. She wrote for The New York Times for ten years. She has received Simon
Rockower awards for excellence in Jewish journalism from the American Jewish Press
Association every year since 1996. She is the author of several books, including Apples and
Pomegranates: A Family Seder for Rosh Hashanah, and Why On This Night? A Haggadah
for Family Celebration. Her CD: Jewish Rhythms from Baghdad to India, has been received
with critical acclaim. She lives in Port Washington, NY. For more information, please visit her
website, www.rahelsjewishindia.com.
