Kolkata’s Victorian shuls shine again
WITH THE blowing of the shofar and lighting of the Chanukah lamps, the minuscule, Orthodox, Sephardi community of Kolkata celebrated the rededication of two magnificent synagogues last Sunday, 17 December.
Both over a century old and a fiveminute walk from each other, the Bethel and Magen David synagogues were renovated and restored over three years, bringing back the grandeur of these Victorian-era buildings.
For a community that has trouble getting a minyan, the presence of a large number of visitors from all over the world with ties to Kolkata recalled earlier days when the synagogues were full to capacity.
It was an informal and nostalgic rededication: ladies, long relegated to the upstairs galleries by custom, sat alongside men for the ceremonies. David Rivkin, a Chabad rabbi based in Bangalore, led prayers at both buildings for the community and the country. There was dancing and singing of hymns with the newly acquired Sefer Torah and there was a presentation of Israeli songs by students from the Jewish Girls’ School and the Elias Meyer Boys’ School, interspersed with short speeches by community members and other dignitaries.
The Jewish community of what was then called Calcutta dates back to 1798, when Shalom Cohen, a wealthy merchant and jeweller from Aleppo, decided to settle in the city. Finding it conducive to trade, he sent for members of his family and invited friends to share in his ventures. The community soon swelled with people from other parts of the Ottoman Empire. Many came from the towns and cities of Iraq and Syria, which gave rise to the name “Baghdadi”to describe the Calcutta Jew- ish community. By the late 19th century, the city was the world centre for printing in Judeo-Arabic.
The community’s contribution to the economic, social and cultural life of the city was considerable but the Jewish population never exceeded 5,000 — a number reached during the Second World War with the arrival of refugees from both German- and Japanese-occupied countries.
An exodus from the city was triggered by the independence of India in 1947 and of Israel the following year. Uncertainty about the future and hopes for a better life elsewhere fuelled emigration, not just to Israel but to Britain, Australia and the United States . Today, fewer than 30 Jews remain.
Kolkata, once the capital of British India, has its share of heritage buildings, these two synagogues among them. Bethel, built in 1856, is an elegant structure supported by iron pillars and has intricate embellishments, as well as a mikve, a cellar where Sabbath wine was made, and ovens to bake matzah for Passover. Magen David, with a ceiling 50 feet (15m) high, massive stone pillars, stained-glass windows and a 142-foot high (43m) steeple, stands out as the finest and certainly the grandest shul in this part of the world.
Lack of major maintenance over decades, and repairs with unsuitable materials, had left both buildings in a precarious condition. Planned tunnelling for a new underground railway made the case for a restoration even more urgent.
But funds from earlier benefactors and the sale of another community building helped give both structures a fresh lease of glory.
They now stand as a reminder of a once-vibrant Jewish community.