A Rare Indian Torah Scroll Case, Made of Silver and Coral Beads, Complete with Torah Finials and Torah Pointer. ...

A rare and unusual item that exemplifies the fascinating connection between the Jewish communities in India and Baghdad, and the prominent families within them.

An exceptional Torah case, overlaid with sheets of silver and furnished with a pair of silver Torah finials and yad. These items were hand-crafted by a talented silversmith for the community of Baghdadi Jews who had settled in Calcutta, India, and established the 'Beit El' Synagogue. The case houses a Torah scroll written in beautiful Sephardi square letters on soft, brown gvil.

A dedicatory and memorial inscription from the year 1903 is painted in square letters on the beautiful mirrored glass panels inside the Torah case: "This Torah case and Torah scroll within it were dedicated by R' Yehia Nissim Shlomo Yechia Gabbai in memory of his mother Mrs. Rachel, whose soul is in Gan Eden, daughter of Shlomo Yechezkel Katzuri, may his soul be bound up in the bonds of life, 5663 [1903]".

The Israel Museum collection includes a handsome parochet from the 'Beit El' Synagogue in the city of Calcutta-India, donated by a member of the same family: Aron Shlomo Yehiah Shlomo Gabbai. Katzuri is a known family from Baghdad.

The case is accompanied by a pair of original silver Torah finials, bulbous, smooth, and hung with bells, as well as a long narrow Torah pointer fitted at the end with large bells – also from Baghdad-India.

The fascinating story of the wealthy Jews of Baghdad is intimately tied up with the very special Jewish communities of India and China. At the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century, many prosperous Jews fled from Iraq, the most famous of which are from the Sassoon, Yehuda, Gabbai and Ezra families. These Jews left the cities of Baghdad and Basra due to the persecution of the Jews there and emigrated mainly to the cities of Calcutta, Mumbai and Poona. They settled mainly in port cities, and were well-known merchants and financiers with commercial interests that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. Calcutta Jews are in fact primarily Baghdadi Jews who came for trade purposes. At a certain point in time, the community numbered as many as 6,000 Jews. In the 1980's only some 30 Jews remained in the community. The first Jewish immigrant to arrive in Calcutta was Shelton Cohen, who arrived in 1798 from Aleppo, Syria. The Jewish community had five synagogues, of which only two remained in operation at the end of the 20th century: 'Magan David' and 'Beit El'.

The Beit El Synagogue, a magnificent architectural structure, was founded in 1856. It was the first synagogue ever built in Calcutta, and to this day houses an antique mikvah. Between the years 1858-1894 a member of the Gabbai family (apparently the father of this Torah case's donor) renovated this impressive synagogue, and a commemorative inscription remains there to this day.

Height of Torah Case: 86 cm.  Width: 26 cm.

Height of Torah Scroll: 40 cm.

A rare and impressive museum piece from the Indian Jewish community.