Ben Ezra Synagogue
The Ben Ezra Synagogue ,sometimes referred to as the El-Geniza Synagogue or the Synagogue of the Levantines ,situated behind The Hanging Church. It is an old building with inscription in Hebrew on the wooden door telling us, that it was built in 336 B.C. It has a copy of the Old Testament It is said that it was written by Ezra the Prophet (Al Azir).
The site of the Synagogue was where the box of Baby Moses, the Prophet stopped after his mother threw him into the Nile. The synagogue is still used today and the word means Judaic temple . It means in the Encyclopedia Britannica A prayer place for the Jews .
In old Greek the word synagogue means: The usual place where the Jews assemble to receive religious teachings and to worship . Some of these temples were built close to a source of water, not for ablution, as much as for protection from any attack. Ben Ezra synagogue was originally a Christian church.
Some texts mentioned that The Copts could not pay the taxes due to the Muslim ruler at the time and Abraham Ben Ezra who came from Jerusalem bought the church in 882 A.D, during the reign of Ahmed Ibn Tulun with the sum of 20,000 Dinars. Many restorations and renovation have been done to the Synagogue.The present building dates back to 1892 when the original, collapsed and was rebuilt following the old model.
The Geniza :
Geniza is a collection of papers and documents that can not be destroyed or neglected in accordance with the Jewish religion, especially if the name of God is included in it, but stored in an isolated room in the synagogue or the temple for generations, derived from the word funeral in Arabic, it's mean burial or burying. Because after all the time these documents must be collected and buried in the graves. A very rare collection of documents has been found in this temple, from which the living conditions of the Jews can be dated for centuries.
The description of the Synagogue. It take the shape of a basilica (rectangle), consists of 2 floors, the 1st dedicated for the men while the 2nd dedicated for the women. The entrance is situated on the north side.
The 1st floor:
It is rectangular in shape, measuring 17 m in length and 11,3 m in width . It is divided into 3 parts, the largest is the middle one (4, 75 m in width) these parts are divided by steel bars painted in a marble-like color. There is a platform located in front of the sanctuary, where the rabbi stands to read the Torah. The lector platform takes an octagonal shape, made of marble. A copper fence is situated to the 8th side of the rabbi platform, on this fence the Torah and its rolls are to rest. There is a memorial Stella located in front of the Platform in the middle of the Memorial Stella, There is a top part, consisting of 2 semi-arches carried on 3 pillars, with a height of 85 cm. There are 2 rooms on each side of the holly ark on the 1st floor
The Most Important Decorations of the Synagogue:
Geometrical Decoration:
This decoration goes back to the Turkish Period. It is clearly shown on the side halls. Such as star patterns, pentagonal patterns and rectangles.
Floral decorations:
It was used as a background for the geometrical patterns. They are also found around the Star of David in the middle of the ceiling. Here is a mixture of the Hatai and the Romans decorations which are floral patterns which are called the Ottoman arabesque. This decoration includes the floral patterns, palmettos and lotus flower. The south eastern side of the top of the Torah closet is decorated with stalactites, on top of which is a semi circle with ray decoration. The frame of the Torah Ark is in mimic decoration and on each of the two sides are 2 wooden columns with geometrical patterns. The 2 columns have stalactite capitals of the Ottoman period. The golden color is dominant in the frame of the Torah Ark and in the closet and this reminds us of the Baroque decoration of the Turkish period.
