קהילת יהודי מומביי

Lloyd Moses Sassoon (Kandlekar) (Flt. Lt) (1942-1971), pilot with then rank of Flt. Lt. in the Indian Air Force, born to Mozelle and Moses Sassoon Kandlekar on July 15, 1942 in Bombay (now Mumbay), India. His father was a Chief Engineer of the Bombay Region in the Bombay Port Trust Authority. Being from a well established family, Sassoon attended St. Mary’s High School in Mazagon, Bombay, a prestigious Catholic Missionary School. Upon matriculation he studied up to the Inter-Science Level at K.C. College Churchgate in Bombay.

He then applied for and was selected as a cadet at the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakvasla, Deolali, Maharashtra, India in 1962. Upon completion of his officer’s Course at the NDA in 1965, he proceeded for his pilot’s training at the Indian Air Force flight training center in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Sassoon rapidly rose from Pilot Officer to Flt Lt. and was trained to be a Fighter/Bomber pilot. His last posting was to the 5th Squadron-Canberra Bombers. This was a very reputed and prestigious squadron and one of the coveted units of the Indian Air Force. Between the years 1967 to 1969 he saw service in Madras (Now Chennai) and Agra. In 1969 his squadron was posted to Ambala.

On 27 Nov 1966 Lloyd Sassoon married Sybia, daughter of Elizabeth and Robert Jacob Kasukar. Two sons were born to them, Dov (b. Nov 17, 1968) and David (b. Dec. 19, 1970).

In The India Pakistan war; which ultimately resulted in the establishment of Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), Sassoon fought on the western front against West Pakistan. On one of the sorties on Dec. 4, 1971, his Canberra bomber was shot down near Lahore, Pakistan. It should be noted that the Canberra bomber had a crew of two persons, a pilot and a navigator. The pilot had a parachute and the navigator did not have a parachute. When the plane was shot down the foregone conclusion was that the navigator was killed. During the war the Pakistani Government did parade some captured Indian pilots on television and many in India remember seeing Flt Lt. Lloyd Sassoon. But at the end of the war the Indian government declared Sassoon as missing in action and the Pakistani government claimed that Lloyd was killed when his plane crashed. Discrete inquiries through friends in senior positions in the Pakistani Air Force claim that he was brutally murdered by the local inhabitants (not officially confirmed or verified) when his plane was shot down near Lahore.

In 1974 his widow and her sons immigrated to Israel. Lloyd has a brother Norman, a captain in the merchant navy residing in Bombay, India

Years later the Indian casualties of the India-Pakistan wars from 1947 to 1999 were honored by the Indian Air Force and the Government of India and their names were inscribed on a monument in New Delhi on Nov. 27, 1999. The government of India invited the families of the fallen soldiers to this ceremony and presented them with mementoes.

Jacob Immanuel Ashton (1939- ), entrepreneur, leader of Freemason movement, born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. After completing his schooling in Bombay he together with his family immigrated to Israel in 1958. Ashton joined the IDF in 1961 and rose to rank of rav seren (major) in the air force specializing in advanced rocket air defence systems.

After retiring in 1980 he was appointed commander of an air force base in northern Israel. In 1981 he began to study business administration at the Haifa Technion after which he opened a business to export advanced products to India. Together with several associates he persuaded the Israel Lands Development Authority to establish a new settlement Adi near Shfaram in the Galilee. For many years very active in the Freemason movement, Ashton rose to the position of Grand Chaplain of the Israel Lodge.

Haeems Ralph Samuel Bamnolkar (1940-2005), jurist, born in Mumbay (Bombay), India, into a prosperous Bene Israel family. He graduated in engineering from the University of Bombay and then went to London, England, with the intention of obtaining a master's degree in chemistry. In order to support himself during his studies in London, however, he found work at a solicitors' office where he discovered an aptitude for law. He was given the assignment of supervising the defense of a man charged with murder. After his client’s acquittal, Haeems formally became an articled clerk at well known solicitors' office.

During his apprenticeship he represented several well known persons accused of criminal activities among them members of the Nash, Fraser and Mc Vicar gang, Charlie Wilson, the great train robber, and Charlie Mitchell, the alleged racing dog doper. Ralph played a major roll in the preparation of the defense of Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the first big blackmail trial when they were acquitted. He also acted for the Krays in the George Cornell, Jack “the H at” McVitie and Frank Mitchell “the Mad Axeman” murder trials of 1968 and 1969, and was involved in the trial of George Ince, who was acquitted of the Essex Barn murder.

In 1972 he qualified as a solicitor in his own right and opened his own office in London. He quickly acquired a reputation as a first class defense lawyer and he appeared in court in many criminal cases which hit the headlines in Britain. He defended the serial killer Denis Nilsen, Russell Bishop who was charged and acquitted of the Brighton Babes in the Wood murders, several defendants accused of involvement with the Brinks Matt bullion robbery, a number of police officers and such famous underworld characters as Joey Pyle and Dave Courtney. Another of his clients was the transvestite David Martin, who escaped from court and in mistake for whom the police shot Stephen Waldorf in traffic in Earls Court Road.

His son is a barrister and two daughters are both solicitors in the UK.

Samuel Marshall (b. 1935), businessman, born and educated in Mumbai (Bombay), India, into a family of four children. His main interests during his formative years included sports, history, archaeology and political science. Marshall’s entrepreneurial skills emerged at a very young age as he was already organizing Badminton tournaments in Mumbai, in which multinational corporations including Hindustan Levers, ESSO, Caltex and the Tata Group of Companies participated. He was very adept at applying his leadership talents and facets to the commodity business. He is considered the doyen of the commodity trading business in India, and his success has been illustrated by the fact that more than 500 of his former trainees successfully run their own companies around the world in countries such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Japan, Philippines, Brazil, Argentina, United States and in Europe.

Marshall received awards from the Grain and Pulses International Association, recognizing the services rendered by him to the industry. “He has been declared as the Father of the Indian Oil, Fats and Pulse trade and at one time his Company were the No.1 worldwide Brokers in Edible Oils”. He setup a brokerage company in Mumbai called Marshall Produce, and then he immigrated to London in 1965, where he setup Marpro Limited with which proceeded to open offices in over 25 countries and became the market leaders and No.1 in the world for Edible Oils. They were pioneer brokers in exports of Canadian, Australian, Turkish and Myanmar pulses to India establishing a substantial market share.

Marshall, had three children: Joseph, Maria and Veronica. Joseph (Yosi) is a leading musician. Maria is a renowned film maker, achieving fame at the Sundance Film Festival where she exhibited 14 of her boutique films and Robert Redford took her under his wings. His third daughter Veronica is an English Teacher.

Nissim Moses (1942-), son of Menachem son of Daniel Moses Talkar and Sophie daughter of Captain Solomon Samson Penkar, born in Bombay (Mumbay), India. He attended the Christ Church High School Byculla Bombay, and then studied for two years at the K.C. College completing his Inter Science Exams and then his Junior B. Sc. at the Institute (earlier Royal) of Science within the framework of Bombay University.


Nissim Moses graduated as an engineer in electronics and communication engineering from Birla Institute of Technology in Ranchi, India. He immigrated to Israel in 1966. He established and was Head of the Acoustic Department of Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. (IAI). While in this position he was appointed as an Advisor to the Environmental Protection Service later to become the Israel Ministry of the Environment. He established their Acoustic Unit and in parallel taught acoustics on a voluntary basis at the Masters Level at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a guide for candidates at the Master's and Doctoral level.

In 1982 Moses was elected by a landslide victory to the IAI Eng. Trade Union and went on to become a member of the Central Secretariat of both the Histadrut of Engineers and The Lishkat Ha-Mehandesim in Israel.

In 1993 he was appointed Director and given the task of establishing the Liaison Office of Israel Aircraft Industries in New Delhi, India. During his tenure of four years the sales of IAI to India went from zero to US$ 450 million. He won 19 contracts without loosing one; in addition contracts worth US$ 200 million were won during his tenure, but signed at a later date.

Moses has published several papers in acoustics and has been an advisor to the Supreme Court of Israel. In 1993, ninety percent of the professionals working in acoustics in Israel were his students.

In 1999 Moses initiated the project of creating a Communal Family Tree of the Bene Israel of India. Ten years later the data bank has more than 12,900 names and 10,000 photographs and several hundred biographies emphasizing the contribution of the Bene Israel community to the development of modern India. Several branches of the Family Tree go back to the year 1650. In parallel, he has undertaken the task of updating and writing the heritage and history of the Bene Israel (in digital format). The book includes the history, the cuisine, the recordings of prayer chants and a pictorial presentation of selected synagogues in India and most of the synagogues in Israel that were established by the Bene Israel community. He further researched the origin of the Bene Israel family names and has shown that they have a Hebrew/Aramaic origin. During his research he uncovered several important artifacts and historical facts.

In late 2000s, along with interested colleagues, he was instrumental in establishing The Bene Israel Heritage Museum and Genealogical Research Center foundation both in India and Israel. The aim of the foundation is to disseminate information about the Bene Israel community, their traditions, customs, social and cultural values and to try and establish a museum, a genealogy website and thus to enhance the exposure of talented artists, writers, and other professionals from the members of the Bene Israel community.

Haeem Samuel Kehimkar (1830-1907), Bene Israel pioneer educator and historian, born in Alibag, Konkan India. Kehimkar, his three brothers and some friends came together and, in the year 1875, under the auspices of the Benevolent Association decided to establish The Israelite School for the children of the Bene Israel community. The Israelite School was later renamed the Sir Eli Kadoorie School.

Kehimkar was the one who pioneered education for girls and his daughter Rebecca was the first girl from the Bene Israel community to graduate from this school. Kehimkar introduced Hebrew as a subject for studies and personally brought Bene Israel boys and girls from the Konkan villages to attend the school.

At first the Israelite School functioned out of rented rooms in Mandvi. The rent was Rs. 100. In April 1879 this branch had classes only up to English Std III. One class was added each year, till, in 1890, it had a matriculation class. The first group of students from the Israelite School took the matriculation examination in 1891.

The school moved, from Khadak to Umarkhadi, to Juna Bhootkhana and Samaji (Samuel) Hall. In the Samuel Hall branch Kehimkar later opened a night school where working persons could attend a Hebrew Class. At the time the Israelite School was the only Bene Israel institution teaching religion and the Hebrew language.

Kehimkar also established the Etz Haeem Synagogue on Jail Road Umerkhadi in Bombay. Besides these projects Kehimkar pioneered several other social and welfare projects for the community and obtained a large amount of funding from International Jewish Organizations.

הקלטה מקורית מדיסק אל אליהו: המסורת המוסיקלית של קהילת בני ישראל, מומביי. פורסם על ידי בית התפוצות בשנת 2001.

שיר זה כולל את מילות הסיום של יגדל, "אלה שלוש-עשרה", ובעקבותיהן שבע ברכות. את מנהג יהודי קוצ'ין לפתוח טקס נישואין בשורות האחרונות של הפיוט יגדל אימצה גם קהילת בומביי של יהודי בגדאד. השורה "תורת משה נאמן ומצוותו" היא גרסה מעוברת של שתי השורות האחרונות בפיוט המקורי. לחניהם של שני הקטעים לקוחים ממסורת בגדאד ומנעדם סקסטה גדולה וקווינטה זכה בהתאמה. את זמרת הברכות מוביל החזן, ומקהלת גברים קטנה עונה בעדו.

טקסט מאת ד"ר שרה מנשה ופורסם במקור על ידי בית התפוצות בספרון הדיסק אל אליהו: המסורת המוסיקלית של קהילת בני ישראל, מומביי.

הקלטה מקורית מדיסק אל אליהו: המסורת המוסיקלית של קהילת בני ישראל, מומביי. פורסם על ידי בית התפוצות בשנת 2001.

זהו פיוטו לשבת. משפט העולה ויורד במהירות ומעוטר בנגינת הרמוניום מוביל לזמרה, מפי הסולן, של ווקאליזה ("אה"), הסורקת את הארגון הטונאלי למחצה והכרומאטי של הלחן. מנעדו אוקטאבה מגובה הצליל הראשון בסולם. אל הסולן מצטרפים, בהדרגה, יתר חברי המקהלה. המנגינה עשויה ארבעה משפטים קצרים, המתאפיינים במוטיבים מלודיים וריתמיים חוזרים (אב; אג; דה; וב). פעמה נוספת בסיומו של כל משפט יוצרת תבנית בת שבע פעמות (משמאל לימין: 2+2+3).

טקסט מאת ד"ר שרה מנשה ופורסם במקור על ידי בית התפוצות בספרון הדיסק אל אליהו: המסורת המוסיקלית של קהילת בני ישראל, מומביי.

הקלטה מקורית מדיסק אל אליהו: המסורת המוסיקלית של קהילת בני ישראל, מומביי. פורסם על ידי בית התפוצות בשנת 2001.

הרמוניום מוביל אל לחן הפיוט, המושר במאראטי מפי סולן. פיוטים המספרים על כאבו של יעקב בעקבות היעלמותו של יוסף מהווים חלק מרפרטואר נרחב של שירי תפילה בשפת המקום. המנעד סקסטה גדולה. הלחן נפתח בגובה הצליל הראשון במודוס ומסתיים בגובה הצליל החמישי המונמך. המשפט המוסיקלי הראשון בפזמון מטפס לצליל הגבוה ביותר (גובה צליל שלישי במודוס). יתר הלחן מתאפיין, ביסודו של דבר, במשפטים יורדים. התבנית הריתמית עשויה תשע פעמות (משמאל לימין: 3+2+4).

טקסט מאת ד"ר שרה מנשה ופורסם במקור על ידי בית התפוצות בספרון הדיסק אל אליהו: המסורת המוסיקלית של קהילת בני ישראל, מומביי.

הקלטה מקורית מדיסק אל אליהו: המסורת המוסיקלית של קהילת בני ישראל, מומביי. פורסם על ידי בית התפוצות בשנת 2001.

הפיוט הוא חלק מן הבקשות בתפילת השחרית. הוא מופיע גם בספר הפיוטים של בני ישראל, בתעתיק למאראטי. קודם לו מבוא מהורהר קצר, ההמעוטר ומהורמן בנגינת הרמוניום ומסתיים בקדנצה פלאגלית. בעקבות זאת נסקרים גובהי הצליל המלודיים מפי הסולן בזמרת ווקאליזציה ('אה'). מנעד הלחן הוא ספטימה קטנה, המשתרעת מגובה הצליל השביעי עד לסקסטה הגדולה שמעל לגובהה הצליל הראשון.  הלחן מהורהר, דמוי מזמור, ומתאפיין בדקלום על גובהי הצליל השלישי והשני. המשפטים המלודיים (שצורתם, בדרך כלל, אבאג) מושרים בחופשיות, בתמיכת ליווי אקורדי וצלילים מתמשכים בנגינת הרמוניום.

טקסט מאת ד"ר שרה מנשה ופורסם במקור על ידי בית התפוצות בספרון הדיסק אל אליהו: המסורת המוסיקלית של קהילת בני ישראל, מומביי.