Ohel Leah Synagogue

The Ohel Leah Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת אהל לאה Beit Ha-Knesset Ohel Leah; Cantonese: 猶太教莉亞堂 jau4 taai3 gaau1 lei6 ngaa3 tong4, colloquial 猶太廟 jau4 taai3 miu6, lit. "Jewish temple") and its next-door neighbors, the Jewish Recreation Club and the Jewish Community Center, have formed the center of Jewish social and religious life in Hong Kong for over a century. Originally the community was mostly Baghdadi and the synagogue was under the superintendence of the Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation of London: it is now fully independent and has members from across the Jewish diaspora.

Most of Hong Kong’s Jews live only a short distance away from the Synagogue, which sits at the junction of Robinson Road and Castle Road. An example of Colonial Sephardic architecture, the two-storied, whitewashed, multi-turreted Synagogue nestles amid the soaring high-rises of steel and glass perched on the Mid-Levels of Hong Kong Island. The Synagogue was designed by the architects Leigh & Orange and was erected in 1901-2. It underwent a US$6 million restoration in 1998 which returned its interiors and exteriors to their original state.

The name Ohel Leah commemorates Leah Sassoon, the mother of the Sassoon brothers Jacob, Edward, and Meyer who donated the land for building the Synagogue. The Sassoons were among the earliest Sephardic merchants from India to settle in Hong Kong during the mid to late 19th century.

Ohel Leah is a Modern Orthodox congregation and received its first officially appointed rabbi in 1961. Three other Jewish congregations have also emerged more recently in Hong Kong: the Sephardic, which is dominated by Israeli expatriates; the Chabad Lubavitch; and the United Jewish Congregation, which is aligned with the more liberal Reform and Conservative movements. Many worshippers, however, hold concurrent memberships in several congregations.

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