Bene Israel is one of the distinct Jewish communities in India that lived in the coastal villages of Raigad. Shaul Sapir, professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, already an author of two books on Bombay – as he prefers to call the city, said that most of the theories he had heard about the origins of the Bene Israel had been passed through generations without research. The Jewish community needed something of more depth, felt Sapir.
These thoughts led him to do extensive research on the subject and has resulted in his third book on the city: Historical Geography of Bene Israel in Bombay and Konkan.
“Legends say there was a shipwreck (off the coast of Raigad) and only seven men and seven women survived. For me, it (the equal number of female and male survivors) is very suspicious. You have to question it, but it is a good story,” said Sapir at the David Sassoon Library, Kala Ghoda, on Thursday evening during the inauguration of the book.
He led the audience through a pictorial tour of the synagogues and other landmarks associated with the Bene Israel, a few hundreds of whom still stay in the district. Sapir said that there were probably 150-odd synagogues and prayer halls in the area of which only 20 survive. He described how the Bene Israel lived as a distinct community of oil pressers known locally as ‘Shaniwar Telis’ because they would not press oil on Saturdays, their Sabbath.
Later, Sapir spoke about the contribution of the philanthropic Sassoon family in a lecture titled, “The Architecture of Philanthropy in South Bombay”. Apart from places like Sassoon Dock and the David Sassoon Library that were funded by the family, Sapir spoke about landmarks and institutions in the city whose Jewish connection is not so well known. Among these are the Royal Institute of Science (now Institute of Science) which was built with a donation from Sir Jacob Sassoon. The Gateway of India was funded by the Sassoons. The David Sassoon Building at the Elphinstone Technical High School, the David Sassoon Building and Horniman Circle were also built by the family.
Sapir’s earlier books on the city are 'Bombay: Exploring The Jewish Urban Heritage', and 'Bombay/Mumbai: City Heritage Walks & The Jewish Route'.
