Career and civic activities

Joan G. Roland, ''The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era'', Piscataway, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1998, p. 1

/ref> An observant Orthodox Judaism, orthodox Jew, she always travelled with her own prayer quorum of ten Jewish male adults and was a strong supporter of the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

and a staunch

zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

. She also studied the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

and wrote articles about

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

, who were published in ''The Jewish Forum''. In 1924, she presided over the Annual Speech Day at the

Jews' College The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...

, stressing the importance of a Jewish education. She often hosted Middle Eastern/Indian luncheons and dinners with

Jewish cuisine Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...

, meticulously prepared following the

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

standards; to guarantee that, she always travelled with her personal ritual slaughterer.Richard Ayoun, Haïm Vidal Sephiha. ''Sefardíes de ayer y de hoy: 71 retratos'', pp. 146. Whilst living in India, Sassoon was a supporter of

Waldemar Haffkine Waldemar Mordechai Wolff Haffkine ( uk, Володимир Мордехай-Вольф Хавкін; russian: Мордехай-Вольф Хавкин; 15 March 1860 Odessa – 26 October 1930 Lausanne) was a Ukrainian-French bacteriologist kno ...

(1860–1930), who invented a vaccine against

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

, and encouraged reluctant Hindus and Muslims to take it. Once she moved to England, she often donated to Jews around the world who appealed to her for money in their hours of need.

Personal life and death

Sassoon married

Solomon David Sassoon Solomon David Sassoon (1915–1985) was an educator, Rabbi, philanthropist, fundraiser, and collector of Jewish manuscripts. Biography Early life Solomon David Sassoon was born in August 1915 in London.William D. Rubinstein, ''The Palgrave Dic ...

(1841–1894), the son of

David Sassoon David Sassoon may refer to: *David Sassoon (designer) (born 1932), British fashion designer *David Sassoon (treasurer) (1792–1864), Iraqi-Jewish treasurer *David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942), Iraqi bibliophile See also *Sassoon family *Albert A ...

(1792–1864) by his second wife, Farha Hyeem (1814–1886); so she married the paternal uncle of her own mother.Orpa Slapak, ''The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities'', UPNE, 1995, p. 3

/ref>Jewish Museum London: Bookplate of Solomon Sassoon
/ref> They had three children: *

David Solomon Sassoon David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942) (also known as "David Suleiman Sassoon"), was a bibliophile and grandson of 19th Baghdadi Jewish community leader David Sassoon. Sassoon travelled extensively with the sole intent of collecting Hebrew books ...

(1880–1942; had a son,

(1915–1985), and grandson, Isaac S.D. Sassoon) *

Rachel Sassoon Ezra Rachel Sassoon Ezra (18 May 1877 – 25 January 1952), known as Lady Ezra, was an Indian philanthropist and community leader, a member of the Sassoon family, and wife of banker David Elias Ezra. Early life Rachel Sassoon was born in Bombay ...

(1877–1952, married

Sir David Ezra Sir David Elias Ezra (1871-1947) (or simply Sir David Ezra) was a prominent member of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Calcutta, India. Early life and family David Elias Ezra was born in 1871, *Mozelle Sassoon (1884–1921) They lived in Bombay. After her husband's death, she moved to England. She and her children visited Baghdad for the Jewish High Holidays in 1910, and she was introduced by the

wali A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...

of Baghdad Hussain Nadim Pasha, the Chief Rabbi

Ezra Dangoor Hakham Ezra Reuben Dangoor (1848–1930) was the Chief Rabbi of Baghdad from 1923 to 1926, and the founder of the first publishing company in Baghdad. Early life Ezra Sasson ben Reuven Dangoor was born in 1848 in Baghdad, Iraq. He was educated ...

.The Sassoon's Return Visit to Baghdad
/ref> There were correspondences in writing between the family and Hakham Joseph Hayyim, the grand sage of Baghdad, revered for his piety and known also by his celebrated work,

Ben Ish Hai Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew: Yoseph Ḥayyim; he, יוסף חיים מבגדאד) was a leading Baghdadi ''hakham'' (Sephardi rabbi), authority on ''halakha'' (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist. He is best ...

. The latter died in 1909 and could not have been present for the Sassoon family visit in 1910. Sassoon died in 1936 at her mansion in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassoon, Flora 1859 births 1936 deaths Businesspeople from Mumbai

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

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