Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue

1884

Photograph of building façade with significant decorative trim on window frames and beams.

Kneseth Eliyahoo was endowed in honor of Baghdad-born Eliyahoo (Elias) David Sassoon (1820–1880), son of textile magnate David Sassoon (1792–1864), by Elias’s sons. The synagogue was constructed in Mumbai’s Fort neighborhood and designed with a British neoclassical exterior and classical revival interior. The synagogue is noted for its imported Victorian stained-glass windows, Minton tile floors, cast-iron column supports, and a reader’s platform oriented toward the Torah Ark on the western wall. The synagogue building housed a social hall, classrooms, offices, and mikveh on the ground floor, and the double-height upper floor held the sanctuary. Although most Jews in India were either native Bene Israel and Cochin or Iraqi immigrants, the Sassoons (of Baghdadi Jewish background) hired David Gostling and James Morris to build a synagogue that reflected their Western orientations and loyalties. The synagogue was originally painted an indigo blue but has since been repainted in a much brighter blue.

Credits

Anil Dave / Alamy Stock Photo.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 7.

Engage with this Source

Related Guide

Synagogue Architecture, 1750–1880

Synagogues built in Europe in the age of Emancipation had somewhat contradictory goals. On the one hand, they were to articulate a proud Jewishness, which by definition meant a distinctive style. On the other hand, they wanted to announce that they were deeply embedded in the European cityscape.

You may also like

Cement and steel monument resembling a large firearm in a white base next to a building, surrounded by sand dunes.
Tooltip info icon

Jordan Valley Memorial Monument

Like other sculptures created by Yigael Tumarkin, the Jordan Valley Memorial Monument, erected to commemorate hundreds of Israeli soldiers who died fighting terrorists in the years immediately…
View Source
Illustration of four figures sitting at a table, sewing.
Tooltip info icon

Jewish Tailor’s Workshop

This engraving depicting a tailor’s workshop was printed along with others portraying Jewish immigrant life in London, England, in the Illustrated London News in 1891.
View Source
Ornately decorated cylindrical case with Hebrew writing on top and scroll inside; closed cylindrical case with ornate decoration.
Tooltip info icon

Torah Scroll and Case

The origin of this Torah scroll is in Turkey. It was donated by the Camondo family, one of the most important Jewish families in Istanbul, many of whose members settled in Paris and greatly…
View Source