Indian Journal of Educational Research

Indian Journal of Educational Research, ISSN 2277-3819

Volume-VI, March 2017, Pp. 26-35

Educating Our Boys: Chronicle of the Elias Meyer Free

School and Talmud Torah

Kaustav Chakrabarti*

Abstract
Calcutta, for a long time, has had the reputation of being the cultural capital
of India. This was primarily owing to the presence of a large number of
educational institutions that contributed not only to the spread of knowledge
among the city’s inhabitants, but also contributed greatly to the task of national
regeneration. Calcutta, being a colonial city and once the second largest city
of the British Empire, was the earliest recipient of Western education. Practically
all the ethnic communities made an effort towards the task of educating their
brethren. Though Christians had a preponderant say in the field of public
instruction, yet one community made all possible effort in taking advantage of
the new mode of knowledge. This was the Jewish community of Calcutta. This
paper seeks to explore the educational and literary activities of the community,
particularly with regard to the role played by its boys’ school, generally known
as the Elias Meyer Free School and Talmud Torah.
Key Words: Jews, Calcutta, Talmud Torah.

Introduction
The Jewish Community of Calcutta contributed extensively towards building
and consolidating the rich socio-cultural heritage of the city through the creation
of social and cultural infrastructures like schools, hospitals, baby clinics, women
and youth organizations. Breaking social taboos, they were stimulated by the
attractions of western education and took up modern professions. A school for
Jewish boys was accordingly contemplated and eventually set up in 1882. It
was started by Elias David Ezra and was called Ezra’s Benevolent Institution. It
was ultimately called the Elias Meyer Free School and Talmud Torah after its
principal benefactor, Elias Meyer, a wealthy businessman of Singapore. From

* Assistant Professor, Dept. of History, City College, Kolkata, India, and Guest-
Lecturer, Dept. of Islamic History and Culture, University of Calcutta, Alipore Campus
Email: [email protected]

26 © University of Calcutta
 Chakrabarti

the day of its inception, the school was primarily oriented towards the poor of the
community and provided various subsidies to its students, both to minimize the
influence of Christian missionaries, as well as to preserve the ‘good name’ of the
community. Its objects were the cultivation of the Hebrew language, religious
traditions and enough education to fit the poor children of the community into the
responsibilities of adult life.2 There was provision of a mid-day meal for children,
it being realized that ill-fed children cannot be educated.3

Mode of Instruction
The School imparted primary education in English and Hebrew, a daily meal was
given on school days and the children were clothed twice a year on Passover and
Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). Reading, writing, grammar, dictation,
composition, translation, scripture and arithmetic comprised the curriculum. English
was taught up to standard IV under the European Code for Bengal.

Background to the Institution

The history of the Talmud Torah may be considered in four periods, the first from
its foundation as a Benevolent Institution, to the death of the founder in 1886,
during which time it was maintained at the founder’s sole expense. During the
next period, the Institution drifted into the hands of the community due to the lack
of support from the sons of E.D. Ezra and the name was changed to Talmud
Torah.4 The affairs of the Institution were thereafter managed by Moses Abeasis,
A.E.N.Judah and A.E. Gubbay, till his death in 1907.5 This period was a most
critical one in the affairs of the Institution. The cry for education for the children
of the poor was loud and the formation of a special Christian Hebrew mission
School provided a humiliating spectacle.
A picture of the inadequacy of the educational facilities for Jewish children
(due to the lack of funds only a limited number of children could be admitted and
Talmud Torah held classes up to Standard III only) may be had from I.A. Isaac in
The Voice of Sinai, July 8, 1904:

2
Calcutta Community Institution No.2, The Elias Meyer Free School and Talmud Torah
by Selrach, Shema, Calcutta, June 1947, Vol.2, No.1, p.6
3
Ibid
4
Ibid
5
Ibid
6
Ibid

27
 Indian Journal of Educational Research

“With a population of more than 2000 in Calcutta we have no school for our
boys; they are left to the mercy of Christian missionaries and those of the middle
class who attend Christian schools are blackmailed by being charged over and
above the sum paid by Christian children. Some time ago when it was rumoured
that the missionaries were going to open a boarding school for indigent Jewish
children we raised a hue and cry at the very idea, but since then have we stirred
ourselves even an inch to relive their want?”6 Again, Mr. Isaac wrote in the
“Hebrew” June 14, 1907 in an article entitled “THE HORRORS OF
HURRIAHUTTA”: “An Opportunity for a Millionaire” “You have just to go into
the heart of Hurriahatta leaving the Parsee Hotel and here you will find horrors
shocking to the civilized world.” “Behind the screen of this “City of Palaces”
there abounds untold misery and degradation…” “As soon as the child passes the
crawling stage, he is sent by his parents either to a Hebrew Mission School
contributed and controlled by the Christians where free education is imparted, or
to a sort of a Jewish School called Talmud Torah, where there is the only advantage
of getting one meal free with niggardly or no education at all.”7 “These young
souls are found at almost any time prowling around Jewish houses for pice. Most
of them are half-nude and those of them who have clothes are dirty and in attires.
Look at their faces, they look bright and promising with doubtful destiny in store
for them. Once this spirit of beggary is stamped into their system they find it very
hard, nay impossible to lift themselves to lead a life of usefulness. If men are so
very degraded, we leave our readers to imagine the condition of the weaker sex,
who entirely depend upon their lords for support and protection.”8 The Baghdadi
Jewish community has been categorized as ‘prosperous’; however, ironically,
perhaps half of the community was poor and dependent on Jewish charities.9 The
other half was divided between the middle class (about 35%) and the wealthy,
the affluent and the opulent.10

6
Ibid
7
Ibid
8
Ibid
9
Jael Silliman, Jewish Portraits Indian Frames Women’s Narrative From a Diaspora of
Hope, Seagull, Calcutta, 2001, p.28
10
Ibid

28
 Chakrabarti

The Poverty Commission set up by the British Government also included in

their programme the investigation of poverty among the Jews of Calcutta.11 The
Commission noted in its observation that, “there can be no doubt that great
destitution prevails among the Jewish poor in Calcutta. They are scattered in and
about the neighbourhood of Canning Street and Ezra Street, but their headquarters
(sic) are in Hurrinbari Lane and Chinapara, where they live in a state of utmost
filth, and do not live morally. We fear altogether clean lives. These Jewish poor
have come mostly from Baghdad, a city notable for a floating population of the
budmash (rogue) type, and some such budmashes one may encounter in the
environs of Coloohtolah.”12 The Commission obviously did not take a charitable
view of the extent of destitution faced by the community, despite its apparently
‘sympathetic’ stand, and some of its observations could not veil the patronizing
attitude prevalent in British official circles. For instance, beggary was rife in the
community among the early immigrants from Baghdad and Basra. The Commission
did not fail to take notice of this social problem, but its attitude with regard to this
demonstrated nothing but contempt. In its observations on the state of misery
being faced by the Jewish poor of Calcutta, the Commission further goes on to
add- “It must not be supposed that the wealthy Jews of Calcutta have done
nothing for their brethren in misery. On the contrary, they have cheerfully
consented to give from their purse, and even to be blackmailed till now. But, no
one likes to part with his money under threats, and with abuse and contumely for
reward, and this is just the attitude which the Jewish poor have taken up
recently…The wealthy Jews have been regularly taxed by their poor brethren.
Professional beggars from Jerusalem known as Hakhams, men learned in the
Hebrew religious lore, but generally devoid of anything else, even of outward
cleanliness, visit Calcutta every year. They have been to Bombay previously, and
made there what they have to call a good “list” or collection. In Calcutta, they
collected their hundreds as well, and next year they send other hakhams from
Jerusalem on the annual round of religious blackmailing…” 13

10
Ibid
11
The Jewish Question in Calcutta, The Statesman, Calcutta, July 15, 1891, in The
Statesman 100 Years Ago, July 15, 1991
12
Ibid
13
Ibid

29
 Indian Journal of Educational Research

The second period in the history of the Talmud Torah ended with the death of
A.E. Gubbay. The new period opened with a Committee of nine, including Ezra
Arakie as Hony Secretary and M.A.Sassoon as Hony Treasurer. Re-elections
were to be held every year at a general meeting of subscribers. The School
continued its shaky existence until 1907, when it was taken in by Ezra Arakie, a
barrister and Cambridge graduate. The remarkable courage and energy of Ezra
Arakie typifies the history of the following years stretching down to the time of
his death on the 1st of May 1942.14 Methodic in his works and painstaking in his
ways, under Ezra Arakie’s management, the progress of the school was underway.
From an establishment with a doubtful future, Talmud Torah became a very stable
institution financially.15 From teaching only up to Class III, it soon ran classes up
to the Cambridge School Certificate Exam, and in later years, even had a Board
of Apprentice Training Primary Exam Class.16 Owing to Ezra Arakie’s steady
work and keen interest, the school had its own premises and a large three-storied
building of its own. A great deal of credit must however, also go to Elias Meyer, a
millionaire of Singapore who in 1924 donated the land and half the cost of the
three-storied building comprising the school premises at No.50 Bowbazar street.17
In token of this gesture, the name of the School was changed to the “Elias Meyer
Free School and Talmud Torah.”18 In 1939, Mrs. Flora Meyer donated the sum of
Rs. 375,000 in terms of the trust deed, which is now the operative constitution of
the school.19 Success also marked the initiation of the Scout Movement in the
Talmud Torah. The School Scout Troop was for many years, the model troop in
Calcutta.20 The School sent four scouts to the All India Jamboree held at Delhi on
1 st February 1937. 21 With the advent of the Second World War and the
Independence of Israel, the exclusively Jewish character of the School underwent
a change.22 Due to the large scale exodus of the Calcutta Jews to Israel and

14
Ibid, p.7
15
Ibid
16
Ibid
17
Ibid
18
Ibid
19
Ibid
20
Ibid
21
The Jewish Advocate, Bombay, February, 1938, Vol.8, No.11, p.12
22
Isaac S.Abraham, A Short Account of the Jews of Calcutta, SenDaw&Co., Calcutta,
1969,p.40

30
 Chakrabarti

other countries, the number of pupils in the School diminished considerably. With
too few pupils and too many teachers, it was becoming uneconomical to run the
institution.23 Thus it was decided to take in non-Jewish children but only on a
paying basis.24 The benefit of the trust fund was exclusively reserved for the
Jewish students. This brought a welcome source of revenue to the school and
helped to offset the losses incurred in maintaining the hostel which had too few
boarders. It also helped to raise the teachers’ salaries and improve the school’s
amenities.25 Notwithstanding its success in the community, the Jewish Boys’ School
never got the popularity unlike the Jewish Girls’ School, which attracted a large
number of community members. The boys’ school was limited only to the poorer
sections of the Calcutta Jews. The sons of the elite usually went to missionary
schools like La-Martiniere, St. Josephs’ and St. Xavier’s’ and a few even went to
North Point and Mt. Harmon in Darjeeling. Abraham Cohen, a student of St.
Josephs’ High School of Calcutta and the son of M.E.Cohen, took first place in
the Preliminary Cambridge Examination. He obtained distinction in Religious
Knowledge, Latin, Geometry, Algebra and Drawing.26 Presently, the Boys’ School
is affiliated to the Central Board and is being run by the Jewish Association.
There are no Jewish pupils on their rolls, though the number of students have
increased many times over.

The State of Education in the Jewish Community

The early settlers of the community were not well educated. They knew just
enough to carry on their day-to-day business. Formal education among the older
members of the community usually stopped at fifteen or sixteen. Academic
qualifications were not considered necessary to the main business of life. In fact,
instances of dropouts were not rare. In contrast to the old timers, many members
of the younger generation went out into the world to make their own fortunes on
completion of college education. From that time onwards, higher education began
to be seen as a passport for a better life and overall progress of the self and
community. The majority of graduates worked in the concerns of the Jewish
firms like David Sassons’; E.D.Sassoons’; Curlender’s and B.N.Elias’s. The B.N.

23
Ibid
24
Ibid
25
Ibid
26
The Jewish Messenger, Calcutta, Vol.1, No.1, Friday, April 25, 1913, p.12 (Available at
the Jewish National and University Library, hereafter JNUL)

31
 Indian Journal of Educational Research

Elias and Co. was by far the largest employer of Jewish professionals in Calcutta
and the neighbourhood. Jewish men worked as clerks, assistants, managers and
even directors in these organizations. There were very few Jewish professional
men. This was in sharp contrast with the Armenians of Calcutta. For instance,
we have a list of 25 Armenian High Court Advocates between 1855 and 1891, 8
Solicitors (1856-91) and six doctors in the Indian Medical Service.27 The 1915
Thacker’s lists four Jewish barristers and one solicitor.28 The rate of literacy was
also much higher among Armenians than Jews-86% in 1911 compared to 60%
among Jews.29 Since 1891, female education made satisfactory progress among
the Jews.30 The distribution of literate male and female population among the
adherents of Jewish faith in 1901 as compared with 1881 and 1891 is as follows:

Percentage of Literates
Jew 1881 1891 1901
Male 63.5 62.9 65.9
FEMALE 29.3 36.2 44.8

Source: Census of India 1901, Vol.8, Part IV Report (Statistical): Calcutta Town
and Suburbs by J.R. Blackwood, p.57 31
Taking both the sexes together, about 69.3% of the Jews were literate in Calcutta
and the suburbs. By 1921, majority of the Jews could read and write English.

Vocational Education
The Jewish Association of Calcutta established a technical training school for
Jewish boys. It gave training to the boys from the age of fourteen upwards in
electrical engineering.32 The course lasted one and a half years, on the completion
of which the boys were expected to earn about Rs. 150 a month.33 The ORT
(Organization for Rehabilitation through Training) offered to lend assistance to
the scheme by agreeing to meet 80 percent of the capital expenditure and 60

27
Thomas Timberg, Jews in India, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1986, p.34
28
Ibid
29
Ibid
30
Ibid
31
Available at the National Library, Kolkata
32
Shema, January 1949, Vol. 3, No. 8, p.16
33
Ibid

32
 Chakrabarti

percent of the recurring expenses of the proposed school.34 In pursuance of the

decisions of the ORT Committee to establish a Vocational Guidance And Placement
Bureau, Mr. S.R. Ghosh, Second Master of the Elias Meyer School and Talmud
Torah was appointed officer concerned with the work.35 He was co-opted as an
ex-officio member of the ORT Committee.36 The other members of the Committee
were as follows:
Mrs. A. E. Solomon, Miss R. M. Luddy, Mr. R. Isaac, Mr. A. Aaron, Mr. S.
Ezra, Mr. M. Wekslar, Rev. D. G. Raymond, Mr. B. V. Jacob (Hony Secretary).37
The aims and objectives of the Committee were to popularize technical education
among boys of the community, assisting them in choosing a technical profession
suitable to their interests and aptitudes, find for them places in different technical
institutions and render monetary assistance for these purposes, where necessary.38
A drive for recruitment to technical schools was undertaken and within a fortnight
17 names were registered.39 Jewish firms were approached through Shema to
give these boys a chance of serving as apprentices in factories and workshops.40
Some of the intending candidates for technical training were examined
psychologically for their general intelligence, mechanical aptitudes and personality
traits, by arrangement with the Applied Psychology Department of the University
Science College. Quite a few of the boys tested very well though they were
branded as ‘never-do-wells’ in the classroom.41 Of the 17, 6 secured suitable
jobs. Of the remaining 11, 4 underwent training as automobile engineers and 3 as
radio mechanics and wireless operators.42 Of the remaining 4, one was too late to
make up his mind to join the Calcutta Engineering College for his Electrical
Engineering Course.43 The other three had very little education and before any
suitable apprenticeship could be secured for them, they made up their mind to
leave Calcutta.44

34
Editorial, ORT Proposal, Shema, February 1949, Vol. 3, No. 9
35
Shema, March 1949, Vol. 3, No.10, p. 7
36
Shema, January 1950, Vol. 4, No. 8, p.9
37
Ibid
38
Ibid
39
Ibid
40
Ibid
41
Ibid
42
Ibid
43
Ibid
44
Ibid

33
 Indian Journal of Educational Research

Hostel Accommodation
The Jewish Boys’ Hostel was officially opened on Sunday, 19th June 1949 with a
short but impressive ceremony.45 Situated on the top floor of the Elias Meyer
Free School and Talmud Torah, arrangements were initially made for the fifteen
boarders of the school.46 The brief opening started with the singing of the “Habu
Ladonai” conducted by Rev. D.G. Raymond followed with the benediction. Mr.
B. V. Jacob, Hony Secretary of the School told his listeners that this hostel was
just a beginning and its future development would depend largely on the interest
of the community. The visitors were treated with light refreshments and spent the
rest of the evening with the young folks who were perfectly at ease and happy in
their new home.47

Conclusion
On the whole, whatever may have been the socio-economic differences in the
community, the sense of fellow feeling outweighed all petty considerations as
each and every member strove towards its betterment, albeit, within his or her
means. The sense of being Jewish dissolved all artificial barriers, because to
every member, the community was ‘home’. In this respect welfare and
philanthropy alongside education took the center stage. Education provided not
only a window to the outside world, but also a ticket to freedom and dignity within
the constraints a colonial society. Apart from the examples set by the Hindu and
Christian communities in their endeavour to educate their brethren, the Jewish
community of Calcutta also took heart from the winds of change sweeping across
the Diaspora particularly in the West. As the Western Jews tasted the fruits of
emancipation and civil rights in their countries of residence, the Jewish community
of Calcutta, although suffering no discrimination in British India, nevertheless
were eager to get out of the inertia and prove themselves to be responsible and
progressive citizens of the country. Education and knowledge provided the keys
to a better and dignified existence. Thus when India attained independence and
Israel attained her statehood, this intellectual capital proved to an asset of
immeasurable consequence.

45
Shema, June 1949, Vol. 4, No. 1, p.12
46
Ibid
47
Ibid, p.15

34
 Chakrabarti

References
Abraham, Isaac S. (1969).Origin and History of the Calcutta Jews. Calcutta: Sen Daw &
Co. Cohen, David Haskell (2003). Angels, Snakes & Ladders Memoirs of a Jew from
British India, Israel: Yonaty Press.
Elias Flower and Elias Cooper, Judith (1974). The Jews of Calcutta Autobiography of a
Community 1792-1972. Calcutta.
Ezra, Esmond David (1986). Turning Back the Pages a Chronicle of the Calcutta Jewry.
Vols 1 & 2, London.
Hyman, Mavis (1995). Jews of the Raj, Bristol.

35