BENE ISRAEL Synagogues

An Introduction to the Synagogues of India

ABOUT

Presented here are the functioning, decommissioned but still standing, and some of the recently lost synagogues of India.

 Throughout the large country, there are some sixty existing or former Jewish houses of prayer built by distinct communities of Jews who arrived in India are various times and settled in an assortment of places (see map). These Jewish houses of prayer date from the sixteenth to the current century, and they vary in scale and appointments from the large and grand to the one-room and modest.

Synagogues were constructed by the Bene Israel Jews based in the State of Maharashtra, and today five still stand in Mumbai, two in its suburbs Kurla and Thana, ten in the Raigad District/Konkan Region, and one in Pune. One Bene Israel can also be found in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. For the Baghdadi Jewish community, two synagogues still exist in Mumbai, one in Pune, and three of the five in Kolkata (Calcutta).

 One of the two synagogues constructed across the border in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma) still stands. The synagogues of the Cochin Jews of southernmost coastal India are the oldest in India, and seven of their buildings are extant. In the State of Andhra Pradesh of central eastern India, the Bene Ephraim Jews constructed two synagogues in recent years. The B’nei Menashe community living in India’s northeastern hill states and neighboring extreme western Myanmar have come to realize more than twenty-five synagogues over the last few years. In the national capital of New Delhi, one synagogue standing on a prime site and dating to 1956 remains open and active.

Magen Abraham Synagogue

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Ambepur Synagogue

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Beth El Ashtami Synagogue

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This website sets out to assist those wishing to be introduced to the many synagogues of India as well as those wanting to learn more about them and the communities served by the buildings. For travelers planning a trip to India that includes visits to these synagogues, this website intends to aid in finding and accessing them. For each synagogue site, its name, address, current status, location map, recent exterior and interior photographs, an abbreviated history and description, contact information when available, and practical suggestions for visiting the sites are included. Should more information be needed or questions answered, please contact this site or the author of this information, Professor Jay A. Waronker (USA) at jayawaronker@aol.com.

Beth El Panvel Synagogue

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Beth El Rewdanda Synagogue

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Beth Haelohim Synagogue

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Etz Haeem Prayer Hall

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Hessed El Synagogue

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Keneseth Israel Synagogue

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Kurla Prayer Hall

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Magen Aboth Synagogue

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Magen Hassidim Synagogue

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Ohel David Synagogue

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Orle Israel Synagogue

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Rodef Shalom Synagogue

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Shaar Harahamim Synagogue

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Shaar Hashamaim Synagogue

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Shaar Hathephilah Synagogue

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Shaar Rason Synagogue

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Succath Shelomo Synagogue

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Tiphereth Israel Synagogue

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Judah Hyam Hall

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Aaron Curlender

orn in 1880, Aaron Curlender was a very successful businessman. He was the senior partner of Messrs. Curlender and Co, the Bengal Bone Mills and the Ganges Valley Bone Mills.

His home on Theater Road was known across the City for its beautiful lawn and flowers.

He was also very active in Jewish community affairs. He was the Patron of the Jewish Association, and succeeded Lady Ezra as the President of the Maghen David Synagogue. He was also a benefactor ot the Jewish Girls’ Hostel. He passed away in Bangalore in 1952.

Shalom Aaron Cohen

“…I would like to imagine my great-great-great grandfather arriving in a city where he was to leave his indelible marK on history. In his own words, however, the event could not have been recorded more plainly:

‘5th August 1798: Last night I arrived in Calcutta.’

For Shalom Aaron Cohen of Aleppo the journey was not in itself unusual, being one of many in the course of his working life as a jeweler and highly successful trader on routes around the Middle East and India: but the end of this particular seven-month voyage from Surat, via Bombay and Madras, turned out to be the beginning of his destiny as founder of the Jewish community of Calcutta.  On this voyage, Shalom brought his most essential retainers, a cook and a shohet (ritual slaughterer); he also brought a wealth of professional experience and a reputation of “Jewish Chief Merchant,” a title by which he was widely nown in Surat, a key trading center of the East India company. He was thirty-five years old.

A dwelling place rented from an Armenian in the Native town was Shalome’s first home; a year later, he was installed in Aloo gudam, Potato Godown, a roomy building which became a family residence for hiself, his wife and two daughters. Other Jews from Surat, and also from Aleppo, were lured to join the little immigrant band with jobs and good precious stones being just a few of the desirable commodities. They came; and by the end of a decade, the community had increased to about thirty people, held together by their common experience in a foreign land, but even more so by religious observance conducted by their leader under his own roof. In this way did the first synagogue of Calcutta come into being.

 

Shalome’s shoulders were more than capable of bearing the responsibility of communal worship, his confidence no doubt bolstered by a background of respect and recognition given to Jews by their Turkish overlords. According to Alex Russell, Physician to the British Factory in Eighteenth century Aleppo, “the established banker of the Seraglio is a Jew and the private bankers of most of the Grandees are Jews…”  Further reading gives us the impression than when their feasts and festivals came around, the commercial world was driven practically to a standstill; departures of caravans were delayed and postponements were not unusual; nothing could interfere with the Jewish holidays.

Shalome followed the spirit of the law learned in his birthplace, to which he never returned, ending his days in Calcutta in 1836 at the age of seventy-three. His legacy survives till today in the Jewish cemetery where he lies (a plot, for which we are told, he presented his Muslim friend with the token payment of a ruby ring), and in the Calcutta Jewish Community, which continues to survive one hundred and sixty years after his death.”

From Hooghly Tales, by Sally Solomon, p 57 – 58, David Ashley Publishing, 1998, London.

Emanuel Belilios

Emanuel Belilios was a famous businessman, opium dealer and philantropist. He was born in 1837 in Calcutta, after which he shifted to Hong Kong for business. With time, he accumulated a significant fortune and purchased some of old Hong Kong’s premiere properties, such as the majestic Kingsclere mansion. He served as the chairman of HSBC bank. Belilios was a keen philantropist, funding schools, hospitals, public works, scholarships and other charitable goals. For his lifetime achievements, he was awarded with the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Later in life, he moved to London, where passed away in 1905.

The family owned a significant portion of land on the other bank of Hooghly which was transferred to Belilios Trust. Today, the charitable Belilious Trust has marked its presence in Howrah. The trust donated the family land for Rebecca Belilious English Institution, a coed school for Howrah underpriviledged children. Rebecca Belilios Charitable Dispensary provides healthcare to lakhs of local people. Belilios Park founded on the family land is a very popular place of leisure in the city.

A novel, House of wives loosely based on Emanuel’s life, was written by his great-grandson, Simon Choa-Johnston.

David Joseph Ezra

David Joseph Ezra was a trader in indigo and silk and exported opium. He was also an agent for Arab ships arriving in Calcutta for Arab merchants from Muscat and Zanzibar importing dates and other produce from their countries in exchange for rice, sugar and other food items.

David Joseph Ezra invested his profits in prime real estate. His buildings included Esplanade, Ezra and Chowringhee Mansions, and Ezra Terrace. Ezra Street is named after him.

He died in 1882 as the largest property owner in the City, leaving his estate to his eldest son Elias David Ezra who also invested in real estate. He put in a large sum of money to build the Maghen David synagogue in honor of his father.

Elias David Ezra was a philanthropist and community leader. His wife, Mozelle, was the daughter of the great philanthropist Sir David Sassoon of Bombay and sister of Edward Sassoon, MP. Her marriage united these two families. She established the Ezra Hospital in the Medical College Complex for the community in 1887, and was known for the numerous charities she supported.

Jospeh Elias Ezra, the eldest son married a grand-daughter of Sir David Sassoon. He was well known in the business world of Calcutta and was Municipal Commissioner (1886 – 1896) and the First Jewish Sheriff of Calcutta (1888 – 1889). Both his sons became Sheriffs of the City.

Sir David Ezra was knighted, and addition to Sheriff of the City was Director of the Reserve bank and Bengal Veterinary College and many other industrial organizations. He served as President of the Asiastic Society. His residence at 3 Kyd Street was one of the finest in the City. The building was palatial and the spacious grounds included a private zoo as Sir David was a great lover of animals. His home was next only to the official residence of the Commissioner of Police that lent prestige to the area.