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Magen David Synagogue, Mumbai, India

Description

The Synagogue: David Sassoon, founder of the Bombay Jewish community,[2] built the Magen David synagogue, which would become the largest Baghdadi-Jewish synagogue in India.[3]Sassoon fled to India in 1826 to escape Persian religious persecution. Indeed, since the beginning of his reign in 1817, the Ottoman governor Daud Pasha persecuted the Iraqi Jews, many of whom left for India, where they had often been for trade, but never settled. India, which was under British rule at the time, offered freedom of religion, burgeoning trade opportunities, and high-level education opportunities for children. The synagogue contains schools as well as a hospital.[4]

Stylistically, its architecture is Victorian while the inside is more representative of traditional Baghdadi-Jewish architecture,  such as the Tebah for the cantor and the Hekhal for the Torah scrolls.[5]  By 1910, the community around the synagogue had grown so much that the synagogue was no longer large enough to accommodate everyone.[6] It was expanded with the financial help of Jacob, David Sassoon’s grandson.

Due to the emigration of the Indian Jewish community to Israel, the size of the community has shrunk considerably.[7] In 2011, for the 150th anniversary of its completion, the synagogue was restored, and its original splendour was recovered. A new chapter begins for this historic synagogue.

Connection to Europe: One may wonder what ties Bombay’s Jewish Baghdadi community held with Jewish centers in Europe. One can study this question in relation to visual culture in Haggadot, a book used by Jews during Passover. Indeed, the Amsterdam Haggadah, printed in 1695 for both Ashkenazim and Sephardic audiences, had a significant impact on the visual culture of the Baghdadi diaspora in Bombay. In Iran, the Baghdadi Jews were unable to include figurative elements or symbols in their religious documents because of the repressive, anti-Jewish laws of the Islamic government. Once they arrived in Bombay, they imported haggadot from Europe, including from Amsterdam and Livorno, Italy. The major innovation of the Amsterdam Haggadah was the introduction of copper plate engravings rather than woodcuts which had been used for many centuries in  Jewish religious items. These copper engravings were often more detailed than the woodcuts. This feature became common among Baghdadi haggadot used in Bombay.[8] This example of cultural adaptation demonstrates how the Baghdadi Jewish community maintained connections with Jewish centers in Europe, and was influenced by them.

Acculturation in relation to Indian society: However, it would be misleading to believe that Europe was the only source of influence for the Baghdadi Jewish community of Bombay. In fact, one can argue that the community is “Eastern Sephardic” since its rites derive from Sephardic ones. One can appreciate the Indo-Jewish identity created by these Jews, which blends the traditions of their Indian, mostly Hindu, neighbors into Jewish rituals. For instance, the Indian tradition of burning incense near tombstones to honor the deceased was adopted by the Baghdadi Jewish community after its arrival.[9]

Mumbai, India

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