Though the pictured Alibag synagogue dates from 1848, some say that for at least 800 years, the Bene Israel have prayed to the Jewish G-d in this village, three hours south of Bombay on the palm-bedecked Konkan Coast. The benches creak and the air hangs heavy in the mildewed Magen Aboth sanctuary. Nonetheless, each day, the old community members gather for prayers, and on Shabbat collect a minyan from the 8-10 Jewish families left in town.

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