Article
The Ohel Rachel Synagogue marked the culminating achievement of Shanghai's
First Wave of Jewish immigrants. It was built to accommodate the community of
Baghdadi Jews (which at its peak numbered 700), opened in March 1920, and was
consecrated by Rabbi W. Hirsch for worship on January 23, 1921.
An
imposing building, the Ohel Rachel Synagogue held up to 700 people in its
cavernous sanctuary. Marble pillars flanked a walk-in ark (which once held 30
Torah scrolls) and wide balconies overlooked the sanctuary. The site hosted the
Shanghai Jewish School (the 1932 building still stands on the left of the
courtyard), a playground, library and mikveh. It was located on Seymour Road
(now 500 North Shaanxi Road) and styled after the Spanish and Portuguese Bevis
Marks (1701) and Lauderdale Road Synagogues (1896) in London.
Sir
Jacob Elias Sassoon - a Sephardic Baghdadi Jew - endowed the Synagogue in loving
memory of his wife Lady Rachel. When Sir Jacob died a few months prior to the
Synagogue's completion, the Jewish community decided to dedicate it to both Sir
Jacob and his wife. Sir Jacob had also endowed Hong Kong's Ohel Leah Synagogue,
dedicated to his mother, consecrated in 1900.
Today and for the
future, the Ohel Rachel Synagogue remains the most significant symbol of the
crucial Jewish role in Shanghai's history. Ohel Rachel was the first of seven
synagogues built in Shanghai, and only one of two still standing Today. The
other, the Ohel Moishe Synagogue located in Hong Kou district, hosts a museum
dedicated to the history of the Jewish experience in Shanghai.
500 Shaanxi Bei Lu,Jing An District, near Beijing Xi Lu
