Old synagogues of Tiberias
Encyclopedia
The Old synagogues of Tiberias are a group of synagoues situated in the old city of Tiberias, Israel, that date form the 18th and 19th centuries.
They include:
They include:
- Etz Chaim Synagogue or Abulafia Synagogue, established in 1742 by Rabbi Chaim AbulafiaHayyim ben Jacob AbulafiaHayyim ben Jacob Abulafia , was a rabbinical authority. He was the grandfather of Hayyim ben David Abulafia and grandson of Isaac Nissim aben Gamil. Abulafia was a rabbi in Smyrna, where he instituted many wholesome regulations...
on the site of earlier synagogues. Abulafiah immigrated to Tiberias from Istanbul in 1740 at the invitation of al-Omar. The synagogue he built still stands, although it underwent major reconstruction following the Near East earthquake of 1759Near East earthquake of 1759The Near East earthquake of 1759 was a devastating earthquake that shook a wide region in November, 1759.-See also:Historical earthquakes...
, the Galilee earthquake of 1837Galilee earthquake of 1837The Galilee earthquake of 1837, often called the Safed earthquake, was a devastating earthquake that shook the Galilee on January 1, 1837.-Impact:...
and the great flood of 1934.
- Karlin-Stolin Synagogue, established by Karlin-Stolin Hasidim who arrived in the Holy LandHoly LandThe Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
in the mid-19th century, settling in Tiberias, HebronHebronHebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
and SafedSafedSafed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...
. In 1869 they redeemed the site of a former synagogue in Tiberias which had been built in 1786 by Menachem Mendel of VitebskMenachem Mendel of VitebskMenachem Mendel of Vitebsk , also known as Menachem Mendel of Horodok, was an early leader of Hasidic Judaism. Part of the third generation of Hasidic leaders, he was the primary disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch...
and destroyed in the Galilee earthquake of 1837Galilee earthquake of 1837The Galilee earthquake of 1837, often called the Safed earthquake, was a devastating earthquake that shook the Galilee on January 1, 1837.-Impact:...
. Construction of a new synagogue started in 1870 and was assisted by funds from the diasporaDiasporaA diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
. The synagogue has a notable Torah Ark in Eastern European style.
- Chabad-LubavitchChabad-LubavitchChabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
Synagogue.
- The El Senor Sephardic synagogue, now a standing ruin with an intact roof.
- A North African synagogue.