In our weekly series on lesser-seen sights and sounds in Mumbai, we step into its oldest synagogues, tucked away in the heart of Mandvi and Dongri
Shaar Harahamim
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A narrow, potholed lane is filled with slushy puddles, haphazardly-parked vehicles, carts hawking greasy food and tightly packed shops selling everything from plastic ware to dried fruits. It is here that we find the city’s oldest synagogues — Shaar Harahamim and Shaar Rason.
Today, they are overshadowed by mosques, including Minara Masjid, but over a century ago, the two places of worship were the only religious institutions here.
Shaar Harahamim
“Back in the 1700s, after the British attack that killed Tipu Sultan, they discovered that two of the prisoners were officers of the British Army, Samuel Ezekiel Divekar and his brother Issac. They were pardoned from being killed after Tipu’s mother Fatima realised they were Jews, a community that is looked on favourably in the Koran,” recalls Judah Samuel, director of marketing, Ministry of Tourism (Israel). Divekar had made a vow during his captivity that he would build a synagogue, if released. In 1796, he and Issac built the Shaar Harahamim (The Gate of Mercy) in Esplanade. As the congregation got larger, it was demolished and a bigger one was constructed in Mandvi, on a street named after Samuel, in 1860. The synagogue today is in a state of despair.
Police guard both synagogues, and it is necessary to seek permission to enter.
At: 254, Samuel Street, Mandvi
Shaar Rason are Bene Israeli Orthodox synagogues, the oldest in Mumbai. Pics/Shadab Khan
Shaar Rason
Shaar Rason, The New Synagogue, was built in 1843. “In 1840, there was a dispute in between the management of the Shaar Harahamim or Old Synagogue. So they inaugurated another one nearby. The idea was to be near Israel Mohalla, which was home to many Jews. The synagogue was named Shaar Rason (The Gate of Desire),” says Judah.
Shaar Rason was renovated in 2015. Inside, it has a high ceiling painted yellow, contrasting with the purple and gold of the curtain shielding the wooden Aron Kodesh (Torah ark). Upstairs is a women’s gallery. The oldest elements in the synagogue, besides the scrolls, are the tamid (eternal flame that hangs above the ark) and a chair on which children are circumcised. “There’s a full time cantor (clergy member) who says prayers thrice a day,” adds Judah who is president of the synagogue’s board of management.
At: 90, Tatanpura Street, Khadak, Dongri.
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