Ben Ezra Synagogue In Cairo
Ben Ezra Synagogue of Cairo ( Arabic : ) is the oldest of Egypt. It is unique in its architecture Christian, Islamic arabesques, and ornaments Jews.
Summary |
The history of this synagogue is turbulent. The legend says that this is where the pharaoh's daughter has raised Moses in his basket. The legend also says that Moses grew up in those places.
During the reign of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar , the Jews returned to the country guided by Jeremiah , found accidentally in the footsteps of Moses, and there, near the city of Giza, they built a synagogue in the name of Jeremiah. Inside this temple was built a special place called Guenizah where Torah unfinished Sopher attributed to Ezra ( Ezra the Scribe ), was buried. To the west of the synagogue, is the church of Abu Sergius contains a crypt which history says that when Herod , the Roman governor of Jerusalem ordered the execution of all the children of his kingdom, the Virgin Mary , Joseph and baby Jesus fled and sought refuge in the crypt which sheltered them for three months. It is acknowledged that Joseph was a Jew, it was more logical to do was to seek asylum in his coreligionists. This, and many others constitute irrefutable proof of the existence of a Jewish neighborhood around the town of Old Cairo, there are two thousand years.
In their books, many historians cite as the synagogue located in these parts. One of them, Benjamin of Tudela , who came from Spain in 1169 in his book written in 1170 he visited the Jewish synagogue in a place called Old Cairo, and there he discovered the Torah of Ezra the scribe. Another historian, the famous Italian Jewish Vittelina Jacob , came to Egypt before Benjamin alluded to this synagogue. A third, Rabi Youssef recounts in his book written in 1630 that the original entry of Sambar at the University of Oxford Bodelaine contains several references to the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo. Among these references, there is a passage found in the book by the historian al-Makrizi who lived in the fourteenth century , Khetat book: "During my visit to the synagogue of Old Cairo, I found the side south where many centuries ago, the Old Torah of Ezra the Scribe was filed. " Dr. Solomon Schichter of Columbia University, came to Egypt from the time of Lord Cromer, supported previous reports about the synagogue.
During the invasion of Egypt by the Romans (in 30 BC), the invaders destroyed the synagogue of the prophet Jeremiah. In the year 641 , Amr Ibn Al-As, the great Arab general, defeated the Romans in Babylon and restored to their owners property usurped by the Roman plunderers. Copts then claimed the land on which was built the ancient synagogue of Jeremiah, justifying their claim to the fact that Jeremiah is quoted in the New Testament as one of their prophets. As they outnumbered the Jews, they managed to convince Amr Ibn Al-As and their land was allocated. On this same ground, then the Copts built a church historian El-Makrizi calls his work the Church of the Angel Gabriel. As for other historians, they refer to the appellant Church of St. Michael. Dr. Richard Gotheil of Columbia University and Professor William Worell University of Michigan, in their work "Cairo" report that the church was destroyed by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim Bi Amr-Ellah.
In 868 , Ahmed Ebn Tulun, governor of Egypt, the Copts imposed an annual tribute of 20,000 gold dinars.
In the year 1115 , Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra came to Jerusalem in Egypt and went to the scene where, before him, Moses and Jeremiah had their devotions. He then spoke to the leaders, told them what he knew of the synagogue and claimed the right to possession of the land. Then he intervened with the patriarch Alexander the 56th and said that the synagogue was to be restored to the Jews. The patriarch said then that the governor would call the annual tribute of 20,000 dinars. Finally, it was agreed that the synagogue would be restored to the Jews as the tribute would be paid. Ben Ezra rebuilt the synagogue that still bears his name.
The Guenizah
The Guenizah , warehouse texts, including ancient books of Torah, wearing one of seven names of God that we can not erase, the Ben Ezra Synagogue was visited for the first time by hakham Karaite Abraham Firkovich.
In 1894 , the rabbi, conservative American historian and Solomon Schechter , make a second visit to the Guenizah. It brought to light fragments and 100,000 copies of different dates, including:
- the manuscript of Ben Ezra,
- the marriage contract of Avraham Maimonides ,
- the Talmud and Mishna Torah manuscripts,
- Atlas of Moses called the Miraculous Rock or the Tomb of Jeremiah
- an ancient book of the Torah, written on gazelle skin in 457 before the Common Era.
- A wooden carved relating the impressions of Amr ibn al-As during his visit
- A drawing of the traditional seven-branched candelabrum on deerskin in the opinion of Moses Maimonides. Indeed, when the menorah is traditionally depicted with bent legs, and on the Arch of Titus, the Rambam believed that its branches were in fact straight.
- 2 copies of the Damascus Document , which other copies were found 50 years later among the Dead Sea Scrolls
With special permission of the Israelite Congregation, Professor Schechter took some fragments in America, which were dispersed among the Columbia University, the Jewish Theologica Seminary in New York, the British Museum, the University of Bodelaine and various places in Austria and Turin.
Besides Guenizah, Ben Ezra Synagogue offers visitors an arabesque style ceiling of about 1115 of the Common Era, a mikvah 900 years old and a few houses built by the Jewish community for the benefit of Jewish families in need.
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