Sunday, August 16, 2015

The Hurva Synagogue



203 Years Ago Today Zalman Tzoref Arrived In Israel


Today, on Hoshana Raba in 1811, my 3rd great grandfather, Avraham Shlomo Zalman Zoref arrived in Israel from Keidan in Lithuania.
Zoref, a student of the Vilna Gaon, was the leader of the pioneers who rebuilt the Ashkenazi community in the Old City of Jerusalem and was responsible in 1836 for obtaining the rights to build the synagogue. He was assassinated in 1851.
The Hurva Synagogue
Dsc_0809Dsc_0817Dsc_0805Dsc_0802Dsc_0790Dsc_0789Dsc_0782Dsc_0714Dsc_0710Dsc_0766Dsc_0707Dsc_0719Dsc_0729Dsc_0746Dsc_0741Dsc_0751
Chag Sameach

Hurva Synagogue
The Hurva Synagogue(Hebrew:בית הכנסת החורבה) , also called Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid , is a historic synagogue located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

In 1700, a group of European immigrants, followers of Rabbi Yehuda Hasid, settled in the Jewish Quarter and began building the synagogue.

In 1721, the synagogue was destroyed by Muslims.
Hurva Synagogue
100 years later, in 1821, followers of the GRA managed to obtain a license from the Turkish authorities in Kushta, annulling previous debts and permitting the rebuilding of the synagogue. It was inaugurated a second time in 1864.

The renewal of the synagogue and the restoration of the ruin were perceived as the initial phase of redemption.
In 1948, during the Independence war, the synagogue was destryod again, this time by the Jordanian Arab Legion.

In 2003, the Israeli government has decided to rebuild the Synagogue.
The Hurva Synagogue today stands off a plaza in the center of Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter.

Since it was funded the Hurva synagogue became the largest, most magnificent and most important synagogue in the entire Land of Israel and the center of life in the Jewish Quarter.

 
Credit : jewish-quarter.org
Photo: www.jerusalemshots.com

No comments:

Post a Comment