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Maimonides Synagogue (Template:Lang-he Template:Hebrew, translit: Beit Knesset ha-Rambam; Template:Lang-ar), also known as Rav Moshe synagogue, is a historic synagogue in Cairo, Egypt. It is named for the famous Jewish philosopher, rabbi and physician Maimonides, who used to study and work in the temple and attached Yeshiva up to his death. The synagogue was built around two centuries before Maimonides, given the choice of conversion to Islam, death, or exile from Córdoba, chose exile and immigrated to Egypt around 1168. The synagogue is located in Harat al-Yahud, the Jewish quarter of medieval Cairo, and can only be reached on foot. In the time of Maimonides 97% of inhabitants of Harat al-Yahud were Jews. It was almost like all Jewish population of Cairo was able to live in ghetto-like environment, with its dead-end valleys, where all Jewish schools and synagogues were located.

Along with Maimonides tomb, the synagogue contains two areas that were for prayer and rituals, one of which included a section for women. Between the treasures there is the Bible that allegedly was written by Maimonides himself.

Maimonides

Maimonides was a 12th century rabbi, physician, and philosopher who was born in Córdoba, Spain in 1137 or 1138, and died in Egypt on December 12, 1204. When the Almohads from Africa conquered Córdoba in 1148, and threatened the Jewish community with the choice of conversion to Islam, death, or exile, Maimonides' family, along with most other Jews, chose exile. After moving about southern Spain for ten years avoiding the Almohads, they moved first to Morocco and then eventually to Fustat, Egypt around 1168. There he studied in a Yeshiva attached to a small synagogue that now bears his name. He gained widespread recognition and became a court physician to Qadi al-Fadil, Grand Vezier to Saladin, after whose death he remained a physician to the royal family.

People have said of him "From Moses unto Moses there arose not one like Moses." In his "Guides" he provided some independent criticism of Aristotle principals.

After his death in Fustat, it is believed that he was buried for a short while at the synagogue before being reinterred in Tiberias.

Mausoleum

Many legends are told about the burial of Maimonides. According to Jewish tradition, his bones were placed for a week in a small shrine where he used to study and to heal strangers. While some believe his bones never left Egypt, others believe that the permanent place of his burial was on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Tiberias is now sited. The legend says that Beduins who were about to attack his burial procession stopped in shame when they realized it was the burial of the man who attended them and their families for free. Another legend was told by Joseph ben Isaac Sambari, a Jewish-Egyptian chronicler of the seventeenth century, who lived probably between 1640 and 1703. In one of his books Joseph ben Isaac Sambari mentioned an oral anecdote about the people who carried his body to the Sea of Galilee for permanent burial mistakenly leaving one of his toes behind in the Maimonides synagogue, which at that time was called the synagogue of Western (Tunisian) Jews. Later one of the people who carried the body had a dream, in which a wise man of Egypt reminded him about the forgotten toe. The toe was recovered and buried next to the body.

Place of healing

Some people believe that the synagogue and accompanying yeshiva have miraculous healing powers. Maimonides was a physician and it is believed that those who enter the synagogue may be cured of illness. Until the Egyptian government forbade the practice in 1948, the synagogue was used as a place of healing by the local Jewish community. The ailing person was left to sleep in the special underground room in the hope that the sufferer would dream of Maimonides and get better.

Disuse and decay

The situation of Egypt's Jews became increasingly precarious in the middle of the 20th century. More than 20,000 Jews were expelled from Egypt between November 1956 and September 1957, and others left voluntarily because they lost all means to make a living. Some Jewish property was confiscated.

With only about 30 Jews (mostly elderly women) left in Cairo, the synagogue was closed, and almost collapsed due to underground water and earthquakes. The ceiling of the building collapsed in 1992, and the debris was left on the floor. The slum area in which synagogue was located was littered with garbage. The head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, said that the synagogue was used for the last time in 1960, and then was allowed to "crumble". The condition of the medieval synagogue had deteriorated further by 2005. A holy ark with a broken door was located in the small courtyard, covered with debris. The ark's Star of David was still present, but was hanging on only by a thread.

Restoration

In June 2009, the Egyptian government began a year-long restoration project. In August 2009 the head of antiquities unveiled the plans of the restoration and at the same time denied that the restoration was planned to lower Jewish anger over Culture Minister Farouk Hosny's remarks, in which he declared "I'd burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt." The Egyptian government also denied the rumors that the restoration of the synagogue had anything to do with Farouk Hosny's bid to become the next director general of UNESCO.

The $2 million, 18-month restoration project of the Rav Moshe synagogue, in an area of Cairo once called "the neighborhood of the Jews," was financed by the Egyptian government. The restoration work was finished in March 2010. Former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Zvi Mazel, said "the results were spectacular; the original colors were restored almost perfectly".

Inauguration controversy

As restoration work was nearing completion, the Egyptian authorities agreed that the small Jewish community of Cairo would organize a dedication ceremony on March 7, 2010. The official inauguration was planned for the middle of March. The dedication ceremony was closed to media but attendees said it was an emotional event, especially for the Egyptian-Jewish families invited, many of whom now live in Europe. About 150 people attended, none of them Egyptian officials.

On March 14, 2010 the official inauguration ceremony was canceled. In his email cancellation message issued in Arabic, Zahi Hawass described the event of March 7 as a "provocation to the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims in Egypt and around the world...” due to reports that Jews were seen dancing, drinking and singing in the restored synagogue. In an English-language statement issued a few hours later the remarks about "drinking and dancing" were removed. Hawass said that that the decision to scrap the formal opening was made at "a time when Muslim holy sites in occupied Palestine face assaults from Israeli occupation forces and settlers...". He later also said that canceling the ceremony was a "strong slap in the face" to "the Zionist enemy."

References

1. "A Synagogue in Cairo". New York Times. March 3, 2010.
2. ^ Michael Slackman (September 6, 2009). "Private Motive for Egypt's Public Embrace of a Jewish Past". New York Times.
3. Goitein, S.D. Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders. Princeton University Press, 1973 (ISBN 0-691-05212-3), p. 208
4. ^ Sherwin B. Nuland (October 2005). Maimonides. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. Epilogue.
5. ^ 1954 Encyclopedia Americana, vol. 18, p. 140.
6. Beshara Doumani (October 2003). Family history in the Middle East: household, property, and gender. State University of New York, Albany. p. 30.
7. ^ Omar Sinan (2009). "Egypt Unveils Restoration of Famous Synagogue". ABC News International.
8. Elkan Nathan Adler (October 1905). Jews in many lands. p. 21. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
9. Hugh Chisholm (1911). Encyclopedia Britannica. p. 431. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
10. The Life of Maimonides Jewish National and University Library
11. Leonard S. Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky (October 1999). Moses Maimonides. UHAC Press, USA. p. 129.
12. Dov Noy, Dan Ben-Amos, Ellen Frankel, Arkhiyon ha-sipur ha-ʻamami be-Yiśraʼel (October 2006). Folktales of the Jews: Tales from the Sephardic dispersion. p. 63. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
13. "Egypt completes restoration of Maimonides shul". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
14. Naomi Gale (April 2005). The Sephardim of Sydney: coping with political processes and social pressures. Sussex Academic Press. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Page= ignored (|page= suggested) (help)
15. Alistair Lyon (2005). "Israel's advent altered outlook for Middle East Jews". Reuters.
16. Itamar Levin (August 2001). Locked Doors: The Seizure of Jewish Property in Arab Countries. Greenwood Pub Group.
17. ^ Amiram Barkat (2005). "The end of the Exodus from Egypt" (PDF).
18. "Being Farouk Hosni". The Wall Street Journal. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
19. "Egyptian government restores historic synagogue - CNN.com". cnn.com. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
20. ^ "A bitter taste in Egypt". Jerusalem Post. March 29, 2010.
21. ^ "Egypt scraps synagogue ceremony after 'provocative' acts". Yahoo news. March 14, 2010.
22. "Egypt nixes synagogue ceremony citing 'Israeli aggression' - Haaretz - Israel News". www.haaretz.com. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
23. "Egypt Scraps Synagogue Ceremony". Business week. March 14, 2010.
24. "Egypt antiquities chief: I gave the Zionist enemy a slap in the face - Haaretz - Israel News". www.haaretz.com. Retrieved 2010-03-30.

External links

• The Cairo Rambam Yeshiva Part 1 (shows restoration works), Nebi Daniel Association

30°03′03″N 31°15′45″E / 30.050968°N 31.262627°E / 30.050968; 31.262627

• Synagogues in Egypt
• Religion in Cairo
• Medieval Cairo