Ben Ezra Synagogue
The Ben Ezra Synagogue is the oldest Jewish temple in the city. It was built in the 9th century AD and is deep in the winding streets of Coptic Cairo. Nearly the whole Egyptian Jewish community left in the 1950s, after Israel was founded and the Egyptian Free Officers’ Revolution, making it little more than a tourist attraction today. However, it is still important in the history of Judaism, especially in the modern history of Egypt.
Historians say that the synagogue’s treasury, which was founded in the 1800s, is the most complete record of Jewish life in the Middle Ages ever found anywhere in the world. It contains a huge number of documents that record the history and transactions of Cairo’s Jewish community since the 11th century. On the other hand, these things are right now in the hands of Cambridge University in England.
One story says that the synagogue was built on the spot where Moses was found hiding in the reeds of the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter. Another story says that it was built on the spot where Jeremiah’s Temple once stood.
What is the definition of a synagogue?
The Encyclopedia Britannica says that synagogues are places where Jews go to worship and learn more about their religion. Also, in ancient Greece, the word “synagogue” meant both the place where Jews learned about their religion and where they went to worship God.
The Synagogue of Ben Ezra in Cairo used to be called the El-Shamieen Church. It is now located in the district of ancient Cairo, behind the famous Hanging church.
Tradition says that a very old copy of the Old Testament, written by the prophet Ezra or Al-Azir, was once kept in the Synagogue. Legend has it that the wife of Pharaoh found the box with Baby Moses in it and took it when Moses was born in Egypt. This is where the Synagogue is now.
Ben Ezra Synagogue was once a Christian church. In 882 AD, the Christians sold it to the Jews to get enough money to pay the yearly taxes that the Muslim government at the time required. Because of this, Abraham Ben Ezra, who had come from Jerusalem during Ahmed Ibn Tulun’s rule, paid 20,000 dinars to buy the church.
Over the course of several hundred years, the Synagogue has been fixed and rebuilt several times. The current building dates back to 1892, when it was built after the first one fell down. It had two levels on each side and was built in the shape of a basilica or a rectangle. Both the first and second floors are for men, while the first and second floors are for women. The entrance to the building is on the north side.
