Indian Jewish Monuments
Indian Jewry
- Indian Jewry is an ancient community, and falls into three main
categories - Bene Israel, Cochinis and Baghdadi Jews, all following the
Sephardic form of worship and ritual, the Bene-Israels being the most
ancient. All the three groups came to India at different periods of time,
and their synagogues were established in Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Pune
and surrounding villages and towns, including New Delhi.
- This Indian Jewish Heritage Monuments Series depicts four
synagogues in India which are the cradles of an art expressive of our
yearning for Judaism, for communal devotion and worship.
Wherever he may be, the Jew can soon find himself at home in this
building on which the spiritual foundation of his Judaism rests.
The synagogues portayed through these drawings symbolize the power house of
Judaism which carry the current of the Jewish faith into the lives of Indian Jews.
The Synagogue
A synagogue is a place for Jewish worship, normally a separate building owned by a
congregation for the purpose of daily prayer. Frequently , it was also a
center of Jewish communal, educational and social activity. The synagogue
had come into existence long before the destruction of the Second Temple
in Jerusalem, and the cessation of sacrificial worship. The synagogue was
the one place where Jews could commune with God, finding solace and peace
in a troubled world.
Magen Abraham Synagogue, Ahemdabad, India.
A prayer hall was started in 1850 in the heart of Ahmedabad city. Its
foundation stone was laid on 19th October 1933, and on 2.9.34, the consecration
was held. The name commemorates the founder of the prayer hall, Dr. Abraham Erulkar.
This synagogue is well maintained, and looks after the religious welfare of the Bene
Israels in the city and the surrounding areas
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