Historic synagogues

Whereas Kerala's first Jewish houses of prayer said to be from the eleventh through the 13th centuries perished long ago as a consequence of natural disasters, enemy attacks, or the abandonment of buildings when congregations shifted.

The consensus among historians based on a compilation of limited recorded history and a mélange of oral narratives is that first synagogues in Kerala were not built until the medieval period.

While no physical evidence of this and any other similar period building survives, study of the literature, Jewish folksongs, and narratives supports the notion that synagogues likely stood in Malabar Coast towns, places now within the modern-day State of Kerala, from this epoch.

A portion of these medieval-period buildings perished when the Kerala Jews had to leave them behind under the threat of persecution by the Moors and the Portuguese or as a result of natural disasters.

The balance was rebuilt as a consequence of naturally occurring or intentionally set fires, modernization efforts, or assorted other variables.