Pune, India – Over Two Decades Later, Indian Sifrei Torah Laid To Rest By NY Rabbi

Pune, India – Twenty two years after a suspicious fire ravaged the Aron Kodesh of a historic synagogue in India, the charred remnants of several Sifrei Torah have finally been given a proper burial by a Great Neck rabbi.

Rabbi Ya’aqob Menashe, who is heavily involved in the preservation and restoration of Sefardic heritage, was contacted last summer when several black bags that had been stored in the landmark Ohel David Synagogue in Pune, India, were found to contain fragments of the badly burned Torahs.

“There were seven large, heavy sacks that were stored in the synagogue,” Rabbi Menashe, founder of Midrash Ben Ish Hai, told VIN News.

The sacks had long been thought to contain charcoal, but when Solomon Sopher, head of Baghdad’s Jewish community in Mumbai and chairman of the Jacob Sassoon Trust that manages the synagogue, opened the bags with Ohel David’s new caretaker, he realized what he was looking at and called Rabbi Menashe for advice.

“I travel to India a few times per year to make sure that everything is running properly,” said Rabbi Menashe, who is involved with both the Sassoon Trust and India’s Jewish community.  “I was already planning a trip so we arranged to bury the Sifrei Torah when I got there.”

Rabbi Menashe flew to India with the Zhemigroder Rebbe of Borough Park, Rabbi Sinai Halberstam, and the two led the emotional levaya last summer.  Several members of Mumbai’s Jewish community made the three hour drive from Mumbai and were on hand when the remnants of the Sifrei Torah were buried in Pune’s Jewish cemetery.

“It was emotional, there is no getting away from that,” said Rabbi Menashe. “Everyone was visibly moved and when it was over, there was definitely a feeling of satisfaction that everything had been done properly.”

The fire took place in 1991 and police, who were never able to identify the cause of the fire, finally cited electrical issues as the cause of the blaze, a conclusion Rabbi Menashe wholeheartedly disputes.

“We suspect arson,” said Rabbi Menashe.  “The windows had all been locked when everyone left but when they went in after the fire, there was a window that was found to be wide open.”

Community members believe that someone hid in the synagogue building and started the fire after everyone had left, escaping through the open window.  The damage was confined to the area of the Aron Kodesh, with an unknown number of Sifrei Torah, some in silver cases, completely destroyed by the blaze.

The Ohel David Synagogue, reportedly Asia’s largest synagogue, was built by Sir David Sassoon in 1867 and is also known as “Lal Davel”, the red synagogue, because of its red brick construction.  While Pune’s Jewish community has dwindled over the years, it had long been a favorite summer spot for members of Mumbai’s Jewish community, then known as Bombay, because of its more favorable climate.  The English Gothic style structure, with a 90 foot high spire, is part of a compound that houses a non-operational mikvah as well as the burial site of Sir David Sassoon.

While there are no weekday minyanim at Ohel David, the synagogue still operates on Shabbos, and a chazan travels in weekly from Mumbai.  Once a popular tourist attraction, Ohel David is guarded by armed police officers and has been closed to non-Jews since a 2010 bombing near Pune’s Chabad House which killed 17 and injured over 60 people.