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Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue, Mumbai, India

Description

The Synagogue and the Sassoon Family: In an effort to remain true to his family's philanthropic tendencies, Jacob Sassoon sponsored the erection of the Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue in the neighborhood of Kala Ghoda [2]  in 1884 [1]. This was twenty years after his father, David Sassoon funded the construction of the Magen David Synagogue in a neighborhood of Southern Mumbai. 

David was the first of his family to migrate to British-dominated India, and he did so in the 1830s in order to escape the religious-based oppression that he was facing in Baghdad. The safe haven that India provided him with allowed David to establish an unimaginably prosperous trade empire [3], which in turn, gave the entirety of his family the ability to offer support to the Jewish community through the construction of religious, civic, and educational institutions .

Though the Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue was originally painted grey, a repaint about a decade ago lent the entirety of the building a light-blue color, accented with touches of white, prompting individuals from the community and beyond to refer to it simply as the "Blue Synagogue". The site’s architecture includes both neo-classical and Victorian aspects [4], and these styles can be attributed to its two English architects, David Gostling and James Morris, both notable for their work in the construction and reconstruction of establishments in countries under British colonial rule in the 19th century; these architecture styles can still be found across the previously colonized world [5]. As one enters the Synagogue, it is likely that their eyes will immediately rush to the altar at the opposite end of the room, as directly above it resides three panels, and multiple other circular windows filled with intricate stained glass work. This glass, which details indigenous plants, flowers, and fruits of India [6], is symbolic of how deeply the Jewish community has integrated itself into the country over, arguably, the last one or two thousand years [7]. On a less weighty note, the glass is also responsible for gorging the baby-blue space with light, which is further accentuated by the various vessels of artificial light that feature a prominent role in the setting, and which seem to be exclusively golden. The central chandelier aligns itself with the balcony that weaves itself through the entirety of the establishment, forming the space reserved for women for the duration of prayer and holiday services [8]. 

The Synagogue harbors plenty of hints to the fact that it is still active, such as the fans that dot the room, and which surely serve as a comfort to attendees in the hot and intensely humid months in the coastal city of Mumbai. Even if it no longer hosts hundreds of Mumbai's Baghdadi Jewish community members, the "Blue Synagogue" still  attracts the numbers necessary for regular services [9] unlike many previously bustling Jewish religious centers across the world. Though it was to be expected that Mumbai's Jewish community dwindled following the re-establishment of the state of Israel, the community persevered, and is now revered as "the last major center of organized Jewish life in India" [10]. Tourists still play a vital role in keeping services afloat, and the site's mikvah, or bath devoted to ritual immersion and purification, has been a particularly popular aspect for the Synagogues Asian tourists [11]. Further, the Synagogue is fortunate to have a group, the Sir Jacob Sassoon Synagogues and Allied Trusts, that has devoted itself solely to the maintenance of this site and those like it [12]. In 2010, the World Monuments Fund  designed a conservation plan for the future preservation of the historical site [13]. All in all, the Synagogue is not lacking helping hands. 

Jacob took care to ensure that his placement of the site in the very center of the city would allow it to be accessible to the greatest number of individuals from the Jewish community as possible, especially as “taking a motor vehicle is prohibited on Sabbath” [14]. Today, the Sir Jacob Sassoon Synagogues and Allied Trusts website continues to boast about the centrality of the Synagogue for visitors, explaining that it “is within walking distance of Taj and Oberoi hotels” [15]. The neighboring sites that Jacob took into consideration though, would have included the David Sassoon library [16], established in 1870 [17], and the Council of India Jewry (otherwise known as the Jew Club) [18], established in 1978 [19]. 

Mumbai, India

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