Synagogue of Ben Ezra
When and where was the Ben Ezra Synagogue constructed, and what is its current location?
With its origins reaching back to the 9th century AD and its location deep among the twisting lanes of Coptic Cairo, the Ben Ezra Synagogue is the city’s oldest Jewish temple. In today’s world, it is little more than a tourist attraction, having been abandoned by nearly the entire Egyptian Jewish community in the 1950s following Israel’s establishment and the Egyptian Free Officers’ Revolution, but it is still significant in the history of Judaism, particularly in the contemporary history of Egypt. The discovery in the nineteenth century of a vast cache of documents, the synagogue’s treasury, which recorded the history and transactions of Cairo’s Jewish community since the 11th century, provided the most comprehensive account of medieval Jewry ever discovered anywhere in the world, according to historians. These materials, on the other hand, are currently in the possession of Cambridge University in England.
One tradition claims that the synagogue was erected on the spot where Pharaoh’s daughter discovered Moses hiding in the reeds of the Nile, while another claims that it was built over a site where Jeremiah’s Temple formerly stood.
What is the definition of a synagogue?
Synagogues, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, are places where Jews come to worship and learn about their religion. Also, back in ancient Greek times, the term “Synagogue” referred to the location where Jews received religious instruction as well as the place where they worshiped God.
The Synagogue of Ben Ezra in Cairo was previously known as El-Shamieen Church, and it is now situated behind the famous Hanging church in the district of ancient Cairo, behind the famous Hanging church.
The Synagogue previously housed an ancient copy of the Old Testament, which was said to have been penned by the prophet Ezra or Al-Azir, according to tradition. According to legend, the location of the Synagogue was where the box containing Baby Moses was discovered and seized by the wife of Pharaoh at the time of Moses’ birth in Egypt.
Ben Ezra Synagogue was once a Christian church that the Christians sold to the Jews in 882 AD to raise enough money to pay the yearly taxes levied by the Muslim authorities at that time. A result of this was that Abraham Ben Ezra, who had arrived from Jerusalem under the reign of Ahmed Ibn Tulun, purchased the church for 20,000 dinars.
The Synagogue has undergone several repairs and reconstructions over several hundred years. The current structure, which was constructed in 1892 after the first collapse, dates back to that year. It was constructed in the form of a basilica or a rectangular shape, with two levels on every side. Both the first and second floors are allocated to males, while the first and second floors are dedicated to women, and the entrance is placed on the north side of the building.
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