Four Sephardic Synagogues
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The Four Sephardic Synagogues are a complex of four adjoining synagogues located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The four synagogues include the Eliahu Ha'navi Synagogue (established c. 1586), the Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue (whose current building dates to the beginning of the 17th century), the Istanbuli Synagogue (established c. 1764), and the Emtsai Synagogue ("Middle Synagogue," also known as the Kahal Tzion Synagogue) formed from a courtyard amidst the synagogues that was roofed in the mid-18th century.[citation needed]
The synagogues were built to accommodate the religious needs of Jerusalem's
History
In 1586, the Ottoman government closed the Ramban Synagogue (est. circa 1400) because it shared a wall with a mosque. As the only other synagogue in Jerusalem at the time belonged to the Karaite minority, followers of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism, including many descendants of refugees from the 1492 expulsion from Spain, held services in private homes for several years until completing the new Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue nearby.[citation needed]
In 1835
In 1845, Joseph Schwarz, considered by the
All these four Synagogues form, properly speaking, but a very large single building, since they stand near one another, so that one can walk from one into the other, and the centre one, the smallest of all, has no entrance from the street, and you have to reach it through either of the three others. On my arrival, in the year 5593 (1833), I found them in a most miserable and lamentable condition, since they were at the time greatly out of repair, and almost threatened to tumble in, and were useless in rainy weather, inasmuch as they were roofed in with nothing but old and rotten boarding, and our brothers could not obtain the permission from "the pious faithful" to drive as much as a single nail to fasten anything in the building without being first authorized by the most worthy persons in authority… But in the year 5595, Abraim Pacha of Egypt, who understood and was able to instruct and convince his people "that even the Nebbi had grown more tolerant in modern times," gave the permission to rebuild anew from the foundation all these four Synagogues, and they are accordingly at present four fine buildings.
After the fall of the Jewish Quarter during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War the synagogues were damaged by shell fire. During the Jordanian rule, between 1948 and 1967 the buildings of synagogues were used as donkey stables.[3][4] After the Six-Day War the synagogues were restored by architect Dan Tanai.[citation needed]
Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue
According to legend, the Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue (
A piece of land below street level was chosen for the synagogue in order to conceal the building from the authorities.
Unlike most synagogues, the Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue contains two Holy Arks - one for the Torah scrolls and one for other holy books. Other unique features include the oil jar and Shofar that are kept on a glass shelf by the southern wall's window. Tradition held that these were ancient relicts of the Temple, which could only be used to herald the arrival of the Messiah and in his subsequent anointing ceremony, while a 19th century account by Abraham Moses Luncz implies that the oil jug's importance was connected to the ritual of Shituf Mevo'ot.[9] The original relics disappeared following the destruction of the synagogue in 1948 and were replaced with the modern iterations seen today.
Istanbuli Synagogue
As the Sephardic community of Jerusalem grew, a large group of immigrants arrived from Istanbul, Turkey, who used the adjacent building as a synagogue from 1764. Over time, the Istanbuli Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת האיסטנבולי), attracted worshipers from the Eastern communities, including Kurdistan and from North and West Africa.[citation needed]
The Hekhal dates from the seventeenth century and was imported from a synagogue which had been destroyed in Ancona, Italy. The Teba, constructed in the eighteenth century, came from a synagogue in Pesaro, Italy. The synagogue was renovated in 1836.[citation needed]
During the
Today, the Istanbuli Synagogue is used by a Spanish and Portuguese congregation following mostly the London rite.[citation needed]
A description of the synagogue was published in 1947 as follows:
Qahal Stāmbūlī (
finials (rīmonīm), and expensive silk curtains that have been embroidered in gold. The women's court in each of these synagogues is located on the inside of the synagogue, [on an upper storey] close to the ceiling, enclosed by a wooden lattice partition, having a separate entrance from the street or from the courtyard.[10]
Another synagogue was established in anno 1586
Emtsai Synagogue
The Emtsai Synagogue or Middle Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת האמצעי), also known as the Kahal Tzion Synagogue, forms the central chamber of the complex. It was originally a courtyard which was probably used as the women's section of the Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakai synagogue. During Sukkot it could be converted into a sukkah for the worshippers. With the growth of the community, it was decided during the middle of the 18th century to roof the yard. It was turned into what is today known as the Middle Synagogue, due to its location in the "middle" of the other three synagogues.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Joseph Schwarz
- ^ A Descriptive and Historical Sketch of Palestine, 1850, p.274-275, originally published in Hebrew in 1845 as Tebu'ot ha-Areẓ
- ^ The Beauty of Sephardic Life, Sam Bension Maimon, Albert S. Maimon, Eugene Normand · 1993 P:214
- ^ A Chronology of Israel: A Complete History from Biblical to Modern Times : with Photographs and Maps by Adrian Wolf,P: 262
- ISBN 9789652174017.
- OCLC 243425225)
- ^ Davidson, Eyal (2017). הרובע היהודי וכל נתיבותיו Hebrew. Jerusalem, Israel: Yad Itzhak Ben Zvi. p. 21.
- ^ Sephardic Synagogues of Old Jerusalem
- ^ Luncz, Abraham Moses (1882). מנהג אחינו באה"ק בדת וחיי הם (Hebrew). Jerusalem. p. 59.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - OCLC 243425225)
- OCLC 243425225)