Mumbai’s Rich Legacy Restored After Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue Gets A Facelift

India is a secular country. It is home to at least nine recognised religions. One of the religion is Judaism. The country welcomed Jews centuries ago with their arms open. However, the community is shrinking now. To uphold the community and to restore its glorious past, JSW Group has taken a step to renovate a 135-year-old synagogue in Mumbai.

The city of Mumbai then known as Bombay became the home of several Jews. The city accepted them and never made them feel like they are away from their homeland, Israel. The city comforted them just like the way it did to the other millions. The all-embracing spirit of Mumbai helped the migrated Jews to rebuild their community in a foreign land. The Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue at Kala Ghoda, Mumbai build in 1884 helped the Jews to feel like home in the country. The Eliyahoo Synagogue also known as Blue Synagogue was built to help the Jews to come together as a community. However, over the years the community is becoming smaller in size as some of them have left for religious fulfillment to Israel while others have moved to more prosperous European land.

To lend a hand to the Jews community to rise again and to rehabilitate Mumbai’s rich legacy, JSW Group revamped the Keneseth Eliyahoo synagogue. The group after 20 months of relentless work has helped the worship place for the Jewish community to return to its former glory. The synagogue was inaugurated on February 7, 2019.

This synagogue is a symbol of secularism as it not only allows non-Jews to walk inside to admire the place of worship but also it welcomes them to take part in the prayers. Solomon Sopher, the leader of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Mumbai, said that everyone is welcome here irrespective of what religion they follow. This novel act by JSW Group helped the Jews to realise that even today the city is looking after them as if they are their own children.