Judeo-Marathi

Judeo-Marathi (Marathi: जुदाव मराठी) is a variety of Marathi spoken by the Bene Israel, a Jewish ethnic group in Maharashtra. There is no evidence that Judeo-Marathi substantially differed from other forms of Marathi.^[1] However, there are several manuscripts of Jewish texts written in Marathi using Devanagari or Hebrew script. For instance, a Haggadah from 1911 contains Hebrew written in Devanagari,^[1] and a prayer book with instructions in Marathi written in the Hebrew script.^[2] In 2011, a Marathi-Hebrew text titled Poona Haggadah, was found in Salford. The 137-year-old book, which was used by the Bene-Israel community, was discovered by historian Yaakov Wise.^[3]

A page from a Haggada shel Pesah in Judaeo-Marathi which was printed in Mumbai in 1890.

Currently, the Bene Israel community mainly resides in Israel, but some continue to live in Mumbai.^[4]

See also

• Judeo-Urdu
• Jewish languages