Shanghai Synagogue: The House of Rachel
Jacob Sassoon built an empire, but his sweetest legacy is the temple he built for his wife.
The Sassoon family made a fortune in Shanghai: everyone knows that. It was Sassoon money that built so many of Shanghai’s landmarks: the Peace Hotel; Grosvenor House; Embankment Building – everyone knows that, too. But what everyone perhaps does not know is that the fabulously wealthy Sassoons also gave generously back to their community, and their most significant gift was the Ohel Rachel synagogue.
Ohel Rachel (“house of Rachel”) stands quietly on North Shaanxi Road, a stately Greek Revival temple whose grandeur is enhanced by the patina of age. Today, it is part of the Shanghai Education Commission compound, (and used only occasionally by the Jewish community), but when it was first built, in 1921, it was the religious center of Shanghai Sephardic Jewish life.
Sephardic Jews are of Spanish/Middle-Eastern descent (the word is Hebrew for “Spain”), with a history that dates back to the Spanish Inquisition of 1478, which forced Spain’s Jews and Muslims to convert to Catholicism. Later, convinced that these new converts would be swayed by those who continued practicing Judaism, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled those who refused, or who continued to practice their faith in secret. The expelled Spanish Jews left for the Middle East, where, says Rebecca Weiner of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, “they were treated as elites among Jews. Many times they had a secular education and often had great wealth.”
Certainly that held true in old Shanghai, where Sephardic Jews from Bombay (Mumbai today) and Baghdad were among the first to arrive, and made the greatest fortunes. Patriarch David Sassoon was already wealthy when he opened a branch of the Sassoon Trading Company in Shanghai in 1845, and many of the Sephardic families who would become immensely wealthy first worked for the Sassoon Company when they arrived in Shanghai–the Hardoons, the Kadoories, the Abrahams, Ezras …
Left: David Sassoon, patriarch; right: Sir Jacob Sassoon, first baronet of Bombay, who established Ohel Rachel
Oppression from the Governor and Wali of Baghdad had caused the Sassoons to flee Baghdad for Bombay, where they grew to become the wealthiest family in India. There, they were great benefactors: David Sassoon established the Ohel David synagogue in Pune, India and the Sassoon hospitals; Jacob Sassoon, his grandson, established the Magen David synagogue in Bombay and an elementary school that later became the Sir Jacob Sassoon Free High School. Jacob worked for his father’s company, E.D. Sassoon, and was the uncle of Shanghai’s most famous Sassoon, the flamboyant, dashing Sir Victor (Victor’s father, Edward, was Jacob’s brother).
Sassoon Synagogues, from left: Ohel David, Pune, India; Ohel Leah, Hong Kong; Magen David, Bombay, India
The Sassoon’s generosity was not limited to India: in Hong Kong, where David Sassoon first set up a branch in 1844, Jacob and two of his brothers, Edward and Meyer, established the Ohel Leah Synagogue in 1901 in memory of their mother, Leah. In Shanghai, Jacob built Ohel Rachel, in memory of his wife, Rachel Simon Isaacs. Sir Jacob died before the temple was completed, and the Sephardic Jewish community dedicated Ohel Rachel to both Sir Jacob and Lady Rachel.
When it was built, Ohel Rachel was the largest synagogue in Asia, with the capacity to hold a congregation of 700 – not coincidentally, the number of the Sephardic Jewish population in Shanghai at the time. The Greek Revival style seems unusual – most synagogues took their cues from Middle Eastern tradition – but Sassoon wanted to commemorate the history of the Sephardic Jews, and the architectural inspiration came from a pair of London synagogues established for Spanish and Portuguese Jews: Bevis Marks Synagogue, the 1701 temple built by Spanish Jews, and the 1896 Lauderdale Road Synagogue with its imposing domed roof, established for Spanish and Portuguese Jews.
Inspiration for Ohel Rachel: Bevis Marks synagogue (left); Lauderdale Road synagogue (right).
The interior, say contemporary accounts, was as grand as you might expect of a synagogue attended by the wealthiest in Shanghai: grand crystal chandeliers; highly polished wooden pews; 30 19th century Torahs (scriptures used in Jewish services) from Baghdad; gorgeous marble pillars that still frame the entrance to the Ark, the Jerusalem-facing sanctuary set into the wall of the synagogue where the Torah is stored. In fact, it may have been too luxurious for some: Rabbi Hirsch, who consecrated the synagogue, is said to have left after some time, unhappy with all the wealth at Ohel Rachel.
Shanghai-born Flori Cohen, née Isaac, is a member of Shanghai’s prominent Toeg family. The family worshipped at Ohel Rachel, and in 1951, she married Meyer Cohen there – the very last wedding to be held at the synagogue. Her family left Shanghai for Israel soon after, and on a return visit, she arranged a visit to Ohel Rachel:
“I wanted to show my children and grandchildren the beautiful synagogue we used to go to every Sabbath and on all Jewish holidays. [While visiting the synagogue] we also reminisced about the High Holidays at Ohel Rachel and we were remembering all the beautiful Sephardic prayers and tunes. I kept hearing my husband’s beautiful voice, which could be heard way above the other members of the congregation.”
-Flori Cohen
Ohel Rachel, like many synagogues worldwide, was not merely a place of worship, but also a center for the community. Within its grounds was also a library, a mikveh, or ritual bath – both now gone – and the Shanghai Jewish School (SJS); a well-used soccer field stood between the school and the synagogue. The former school, designed by Hungarian architect Charles Gonda, still stands on the synagogue grounds, and is now occupied by the Worker’s Union of the Shanghai Education Commission. Founded in 1902 by David Abraham on Dixwell Road (Liyang Road today) within the Shearith Israel synagogue, it moved to its current location in 1930, with an endowment from Horace Kadoorie.
Left: Students at the Shanghai Jewish School, 1943. From “Goodbye Shanghai” by Sam Moshinsky (2nd row, 2nd from right); Right: Shanghai Jewish School 1941 directory listing
Betty Grebenschikoff (formerly Ilse Kohn, a refugee from Berlin), author of the memoir Once My Name Was Sara, remembers:
“My sister and I were transferred to the Shanghai Jewish School on Seymour Road, even though it would mean some financial hardship for my parents to pay the school fees [$5.00 per month] … Many nationalities were represented at the school. As Hongkew (Hongkou) refugees, we felt properly intimidated at first by so many different children, who took their time making friends with us and often made fun of our German accents. The girls’ serge school uniforms were always perfectly pressed, all the pleats in their skirts hung razor straight.”
Betty Grebenschikoff
Ohel Rachel suffered during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, when a Japanese garrison used it as a stable. Aba Toeg’s family, who attended Ohel Rachel, stored the Torahs and pews during wartime, and helped clean up the synagogue after the Japanese left. In 1952, Toeg’s family sent Ohel Rachel’s 30 19th century Torahs to Israel – never to be seen again – and handed over the synagogue to the government. Esther Isaac (Flori’s sister) was there:
My sister Rahma and I, as well as Moses Cohen, my sister”s brother-in-law, and other members of the Sephardic community, were present on that sad day when the last of our Sefer Torah scrolls was removed from the Holy Ark in the synagogue. The members of the Sephardic Jewish Community who observed this tragic moment in our history stood by in stunned silence, completely numb. There was not a pair of dry eyes. This was indeed the end of a Golden Era.
Esther Isaac
The synagogue was used primarily as a warehouse and office space in the intervening years, but in 1998, U.S. Rabbi Arthur Schneier met with then-Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdi as part of a religious delegation put together by U.S. President Bill Clinton, and an agreement was made to restore, protect, and reopen the historic synagogue. It was done, in part, by using the memories of Aba Toeg, who was invited back by the Jewish community to help with the restoration. The synagogue was re-dedicated during President Clinton’s 1998 visit, with then-Secretary of State Madeline Albright–who had just learnt the previous year that she had two Jewish grandparents– and First Lady Hilary Clinton in attendance.
Despite the fact that the building has been municipally protected since 1994, it remains in fragile condition. In 2002 and 2004 it was listed on the World Monuments Watch list of endangered buildings, with the hope of raising awareness for a proper restoration, but that has not happened and it is no longer on that list.
Judaism is not one of China’s five recognized religions, and Ohel Rachel’s location within the Education Commission grounds precludes its regular use as a synagogue, although it was used for regular Shabbat services during the 2010 World Expo. Nonetheless, for some years now, it has been used regularly for major holidays such as Hanukkah, Passover, and Purim — the continuation of a long and storied tradition within the walls built for Rachel, and for one of Shanghai’s most illustrious communities.
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An earlier version of this story first appeared in the Shanghai Daily as “The House of Rachel”, May 16, 2005.
Sources:
Cohen, Flori, “A Sentimental Journey Home,” Esra Magazine, accessed 6 December 2015.
Grebenschikoff, Betty I. Once My Name Was Sara, Original Seven Publishing Company, 1993.
Smith, Craig S., “Will Jews Be Able to Worship There, Or Just Visit the Temple As Tourists?”, Wall Street Journal, June 29 1998, accessed 8 December 2015.