Magen David Synagogue is an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

synagogue located in

Byculla Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai. Location Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to the nor ...

, India.

History

Erected in 1864, the

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

was constructed by

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 ...

in Victorian style for the growing population of Baghdadi Jews who had fled from persecution by the governor and Wali of Baghdad

Dawud Pasha Dawūd Pasha ( ar, داود باشا '; ka, დაუდ ფაშა; tr, Davud Pasha) (c.1767–1851), who was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, of Georgian Christian origin, His full name was ( ka, დავით მანველაშვილი; ...

. By 1910, the Jewish community in the neighbourhood of Byculla had increased to the extent that the synagogue could no longer service all the devotees and the synagogue was extended with the help of Jacob, David Sassoon's grandson.

Legacy

The synagogue is one of the largest in Asia outside of Israel. Within the extensive grounds of the Synagogue there are two Jewish Schools which are operated by the Sir Jacob Sassoon High School Trust and the E.E.E. Sassoon High School Trust, in which Jewish children were originally educated. Over time most of the Bagdadi Jews moved to the more affluent Colaba area or abroad to Israel, Australia, Britain and Canada. With the scarcity of Jewish students, the Schools have opened to all communities and currently provide for the population in the vicinity, which is 98% Muslim. In 2011, for the celebration of the 150th anniversary, the Synagogue was restored.

Gallery

File:Magen David Synagogue (8295543840).jpg, Exterior File:Magen David Synagogue (8295519516).jpg, Ark File:Mumbai (8295540654).jpg, Interior File:Magen David or Sha'ar Ha-Rahamin Synagogue of Bombay.jpg, Old photo of Magen David Synagogue,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

File:Magen David Synagogue, Byculla, Mumbai, Interior 2.jpg, Interiors

References

{{Authority control Orthodox Judaism in India Orthodox synagogues Synagogues in Mumbai Iraqi-Jewish diaspora in Asia Synagogues completed in 1864 Sephardi Jewish culture in India Sephardi synagogues 1864 establishments in India