The Maghain Aboth Synagogue ( he, מגן אבות,

translit Informal or ''ad hoc'' romanizations of Cyrillic have been in use since the early days of electronic communications, starting from early e-mail and bulletin board systems.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 ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. It is located at 24/26

Waterloo Street Waterloo Street (Chinese: 滑铁卢街/四马路) is a two-way street in downtown Singapore stretching from Rochor Road to Bras Basah Road. It passes through the planning areas of Rochor and Museum Planning Area. Formerly a one-way street, th ...

Rochor Rochor is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area located within the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Rochor shares boundaries with the following planning areas – Kallan ...

, within the Central Area at Singapore's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. Constructed in 1878, it is the oldest and largest

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish synagogue in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. Managed by the Jewish Welfare Board, it remains to be the main place of worship for the Jewish community in Singapore. It was designated as a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

of Singapore in 1998. Until today, there are still several Jewish buildings standing within its vicinity, including a

kosher (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 ...

supermarket. Descendants of most of the earliest Jewish settlers in the country are today Singaporean citizens.

History

Early years

As early as 1831, Singapore's earliest Jewish settlers were merchants from mainly Iraq and Iran who came to trade. The synagogue started to hold a congregation of approximately 40 and served the local Jewish community for 30 years before it was sold. The building was later demolished after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1870, one of the Synagogue's new trustees, Joseph Joshua, negotiated to buy a plot of land owned by Raffles Institution at Bras Basah for $4,000 in order to build a new synagogue. However, not enough funds were raised to build the new synagogue within the 3-years period agreement.

Construction

Construction of Maghain Aboth began after the land was acquired and was completed in 1878. In 1893, a U-shaped balcony was added to form the second-storey of the building with the purpose of accommodating the female members of the community. Later in 1924 to 1925, extensions were made to the building and a more solid and permanent gallery was built which still remains in use in the present.

Japanese occupation

During the

Japanese Occupation of Singapore , officially , was the name for Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II. Japanese military forces occupied it after ...

, the synagogue was a significant gathering place for the local Jews to exchange news and collect funds to help those in need. In the past, oil lamps were used during services and they still remain in the present day, hanging from steel rods in loving memory of those who have passed on. The Maghain Aboth Synagogue was

gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

d as a

later on 27 February 1998.

Contemporary era

In 2007, a seven-storey building called the Jacob Ballas Centre was added to the compound next to the Maghain Aboth Synagogue. It was named after the late Jacob Ballas who was seen as a pillar of the Jewish community in Singapore. The centre provides facilities to meet the needs of the Jewish community such as offices and homes for the Rabbis and the Yeshivah boys, a women's mikvah, a slaughter room for kosher chickens, a

kosher restaurant A kosher restaurant or kosher deli is an establishment that serves food that complies with Jewish dietary laws ('' kashrut''). These businesses, which also include diners, cafés, pizzerias, fast food, and cafeterias, and are frequently in list ...

, a kosher shop and a social hall for events and functions including

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

and festival meals. In March 2021, the Internal Security Department reported that it had detained a 20-year old national serviceman, Amirull Ali, in February under the

Internal Security Act Internal Security Act may refer to: * Internal Security Act 1960, former Malaysian law *Internal Security Act (Singapore) * McCarran Internal Security Act, a United States federal law *Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, a South African law, rename ...

for plotting to attack three Jewish worshippers at the Maghain Aboth Synagogue. Ali was motivated by sympathy towards the

Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

and believed that these three men had served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and committed atrocities against the Palestinians. He also reportedly planned to travel to Gaza to join

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

' military wing, the

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB

Architecture

As Jewish men and women worship separately in an Orthodox synagogue, the synagogue's original single-storey building could only accommodate men. The U-shaped second-storey balcony was originally made up wooden slats of makeshift nature which the women were able to see through very clearly. Therefore, the original simple design was deemed inadequate and thus, later constructed to be a solid gallery which was added to the main building which remains in use today. The synagogue is a symmetrical building which has adopted a

neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

and

colonial architecture Colonial architecture is an architectural style from a mother country that has been incorporated into the buildings of settlements or colonies in distant locations. Colonists frequently built settlements that synthesized the architecture of their ...

. The design of the building was influenced by the Late Renaissance architectural style in Britain. The building has a repetitive sequence of

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

arcades and pedestals and within the building, the hall has traditional Roman columns and rusticated walls which is bare of any decoration or image. Along the corners and sides of the building are

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s topped with decorative

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

s. The synagogue's doorways are also adorned with arches with classical keystone architecture. A covered

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

fronts the building with steps leading up to the vestibule originally designed for

horse carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

s. Most of the

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent materia ...

s are of a similar rectangular design and are

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

d. The windows are an important feature of a synagogue because based on the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

, Jewish synagogues are required to have windows. Despite the deliberate simple design of the synagogue, the building still remains to be elegant due to the combination of its timber-louvred windows, marble floors and red carpets with teak and rattan pews. The prayer hall is facing west towards Jerusalem and the bimah, an elevated platform in the centre, faces the alcove known as the hekhal''', which is used to store the Torah scrolls, that is at the West wall of the hall. The

parochet A ''parochet'' (Hebrew: פרוכת; Ashkenazi pronunciation: ''paroches'') meaning "curtain" or "screen",Sonne Isaiah (1962) 'Synagogue' in The Interpreter's dictionary of the Bible vol 4, New York: Abingdon Press pp 476-491 is the curtain that c ...

which is an embroidered fringed curtain that is rich in details is used to cover the

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

. In front of it hangs the

sanctuary lamp file:Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in 57 ies.jpg, Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in 57 ies. A sanctuary lamp, chancel lamp, altar lamp, everlasting light, or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many Jewish and Christianity, C ...

which signifies the eternal flame that burned in the former

Temple of Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

References

External links

The Jewish Community of Singapore
{{Authority control Hasidic Judaism in Asia Synagogues in Singapore Landmarks in Singapore National monuments of Singapore Synagogues completed in 1878 Rochor Iranian-Jewish diaspora Iraqi-Jewish diaspora in Asia Neoclassical synagogues