Flora Sassoon

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Flora Sassoon (18 November 1859 – 14 January 1936) was a Jewish Indian businesswoman, scholar,

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

and philanthropist. Tombstone at the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel.">Jerusalem.html" ;"title="Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery in Jerusalem">Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel.

Early life

Flora Gubbay was born in 1859 in Mumbai">Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, India.Jewish Women's Archive: Flora Sassoon
/ref>William D. Rubinstein, ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 86

/ref> Her father was Ezekiel Abraham Gubbay (1824–1896), a trader and businessman whom had come to India from Baghdad, Iraq, and her mother was Aziza Sassoon (1839–1897). Her maternal grandfather was

Albert Abdullah David Sassoon Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, 1st Baronet, (25 July 181824 October 1896) was a Baghdad-born businessman and philanthropist. Biography Life and career Sassoon was born on 25 July 1818 in Baghdad, Ottoman Empire, into the Sassoon family o ...

(1818–1896). As a result, her maternal great-grandfather was David Sassoon (1792–1864), a leading trader of cotton and opium who served as the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829, and her maternal great-grandmother was his first wife, Hannah Joseph (1792–1826).Irene Roth, ''Cecil Roth, historian without tears: a memoir'', Sepher-Hermon Press, 1982, p. 9
">
/ref>Isaac Landman, ''The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times'', 1943, Volume 9, p. 375 ooks.google.co.uk/books?id=XZ4YAAAAIAAJ&q="Flora+Sassoon"+1859–1936&dq="Flora+Sassoon"+1859–1936&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-eBYUsijL4Kx0QWKkYC4Dg&ved=0CF0Q6AEwCA/ref>Richard Ayoun, Haïm Vidal Séphiha, ''Séfarades d'hier et d'aujourd'hui: 70 portraits'', L. Lévi, 1992, p. 13

/ref> She had five siblings (and half siblings with the first wife of her grand father). Sassoon went to Catholic school and was also tutored privately by rabbis from Baghdad. By the age of seventeen, she can speak multiple languages—

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

, Hindustani, English, French and German. ''

The Cairns Post ''The Cairns Post'' is a major News Corporation newspaper in Far North Queensland, Australia, that exclusively serves the Cairns area. It has daily coverage on local, state, national and world news, plus a wide range of sections and liftou ...

'' described her as one of the world's most learned women.

Career and civic activities

Sassoon took over her husband's trading business in India, David Sassoon & Company, shortly after his death.Joan G. Roland, ''The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era'', Piscataway, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1998, p. 1

/ref> An observant Orthodox Judaism, orthodox Jew, she always travelled with her own prayer quorum of ten Jewish male adults and was a strong supporter of the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

and a staunch

zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. She also studied the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

and wrote articles about

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

, who were published in ''The Jewish Forum''. In 1924, she presided over the Annual Speech Day at the

Jews' College The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and teacher training to the wider Jewish community. Many leading figures in Brit ...

, stressing the importance of a Jewish education. She often hosted Middle Eastern/Indian luncheons and dinners with

Jewish cuisine Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (''kashrut''), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions cen ...

, meticulously prepared following the

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

standards. To guarantee this, she always travelled with her personal ritual slaughterer.Richard Ayoun, Haïm Vidal Sephiha. ''Sefardíes de ayer y de hoy: 71 retratos'', pp. 146. Whilst living in India, Sassoon was a supporter of Waldemar Haffkine (1860–1930), who invented a vaccine against

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, and encouraged reluctant Hindus and Muslims to take it. Once she moved to England, she often donated to Jews around the world who appealed to her for money in their hours of need.

Personal life and death

Sassoon married

Solomon David Sassoon Solomon David Sassoon (14 August 1915 – 27 May 1985) was an educator, Rabbi, philanthropist, fundraiser, and collector of Jewish manuscripts. Biography Early life Solomon David Sassoon was born in August 1915 in London into the wealthy Sasso ...

(1841–1894), the son of her great-grandfather David Sassoon (1792–1864) by his second wife, Farha Hyeem (1814–1886). So she married her own grand-uncle (her mother's paternal uncle).Orpa Slapak, ''The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities'', UPNE, 1995, p. 3

/ref>Jewish Museum London: Bookplate of Solomon Sassoon
/ref> They had three children: *

David Solomon Sassoon David Solomon Sassoon (; 8 December 1880 – 10 August 1942) (also known as "David Suleiman Sassoon"), was a bibliophile and grandson of 19th century Baghdadi Jewish community leader David Sassoon. Family Sassoon was born in Bombay to Solom ...

(1880–1942; had a son,

(1915–1985), and grandson, Isaac S.D. Sassoon) *

Rachel Sassoon Ezra Rachel Sassoon Ezra (18 May 1877 – 25 January 1952), known as Lady Ezra, was an Indian philanthropist and community leader, a member of the Sassoon family, and wife of banker David Elias Ezra. Early life Rachel Sassoon was born in Bombay ...

(1877–1952, married Sir David Ezra) *Mozelle Sassoon (1884–1921) They lived in Bombay. After her husband's death, she moved to England. She and her children visited Baghdad for the Jewish High Holidays in 1910, and she was introduced by the

wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

of Baghdad Hussain Nadim Pasha, the Chief Rabbi Ezra Dangoor.The Sassoon's Return Visit to Baghdad
/ref> There were correspondences in writing between the family and Hakham Joseph Hayyim, the grand sage of Baghdad, revered for his piety and known also by his celebrated work, Ben Ish Hai. The latter died in 1909 and could not have been present for the Sassoon family visit in 1910. Sassoon died in 1936 at her mansion in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassoon, Flora 1859 births 1936 deaths Businesspeople from Mumbai

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

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