The Ohel Leah Synagogue (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: בית הכנסת אהל לאה ''Beit Ha-Knesset Ohel Leah'') and its next-door neighbors, the Jewish Recreation Club and the Jewish Community Center, have formed the center of

Jewish 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""The ...

social and religious life in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

for over a century. Originally the community was mostly Baghdadi and the synagogue was under the superintendence of the Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation of London: it is now fully independent and has members from across the Jewish diaspora. Most of Hong Kong's Jews live only a short distance away from the Synagogue, which sits at the junction of Robinson Road and

Castle Road The Castle Road (german: Burgenstraße) is a theme route in southern Germany (in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) and a small portion in the Czech Republic, between Mannheim and Prague. It was established in 1954. In 1994 it was possible to ext ...

. An example of Colonial

Sephardic 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 ), ...

architecture, the two-storied,

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...

ed, multi-turreted Synagogue nestles amid the soaring high-rises of steel and glass perched on the

Mid-Levels Mid-Levels is an affluent residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located between Victoria Peak and Central. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals. The Mid-Levels is further ...

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

. The Synagogue was designed by the architects

Leigh & Orange Leigh & Orange Ltd ( Chinese: 利安, formerly known as 李柯倫治), founded in Hong Kong in 1874, is an international architectural and interior design practice. The group has a total of 550 staff and operates through its headquarter ...

and was erected in 1901–1902. It underwent a US$6 million restoration in 1998 which returned its interiors and exteriors to their original state. The name Ohel Leah commemorates Leah Sassoon, the mother of the Sassoon brothers Jacob,

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

, and Meyer who donated the land for building the Synagogue. The Sassoons were among the earliest Sephardic merchants from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to settle in Hong Kong during the mid to late 19th century. Ohel Leah is a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

congregation and received its first officially appointed

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

in 1961. Three other Jewish congregations have also emerged more recently in Hong Kong: the

, which is dominated by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i expatriates; the

Chabad Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups ...

; and the United Jewish Congregation, which is aligned with the more liberal

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

and

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movements. Many worshippers, however, hold concurrent memberships in several congregations.

Conservation

The historic Synagogue was first listed as a Grade I historic building in July 1987. By December 1987, the listing was voluntarily removed as there was talk of demolishing the building. In order to provide the building with immediate protection against demolition, the Antiquities Authority of the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

declared it a proposed monument. Ohel Leah Synagogue was consequently saved based on a preservation arrangement agreed between Government and the owner. It has been again a Grade I historic building since 1990.Report No. 60 of the Director of Audit
Chapter 1: "Conservation of monuments and historic buildings"
28 March 2013. Its renovation in 1998 obtained the Outstanding Project Award of the 2000

UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards (since 2000) are given with as the strategic purpose of UNESCO with in the region Asia Pacific. The objective is to motivate the protection of Cultural Heritage sites, which are initiated by any individual organi ...

for Culture Heritage Conservation.

References

*Leah Krakinowski, ''Can $150 Million Preserve Hong Kong's Jews'', ''Moment'', August 1997, pp. 52–7, 91.

External links

Ohel Leah Synagogue
{{Coord, 22.281611, N, 114.148915, E, source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title 1902 establishments in China Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong Mid-Levels Modern Orthodox synagogues Sephardi Jewish culture in Asia Synagogues in China Religious buildings and structures in Hong Kong Jews and Judaism in Hong Kong Iraqi-Jewish diaspora in Asia

Conservation

See also

References

External links