Ben Ezra Synagogue | Coptic Cairo
Ben Ezra Synagogue
The exact date of the Ben Ezra Synagogue's establishment is uncertain, but documents found in the geniza suggest it existed before 882 CE and likely before the Islamic period. In 882, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church sold a church and its land to a Jewish group, leading some 19th-century scholars to believe this event gave rise to Ben Ezra. Yet, the purchasers supported the Talmudic schools in Babylonia, while Ben Ezra adhered to the teachings of the competing Talmudic schools in Syria Palaestina. Scholars today concur that the 882 land transaction was with a rival temple. Not much information is available about the original structure. Around 1012, Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Fatimid calipha, commanded the demolition of all Jewish and Christian religious sites. The original Ben Ezra Synagogue was demolished, with its bricks and timber being sold for scrap.
Building number two (11th century – 1168)
During the time frame of 1025-1040, the subsequent calipha, al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah, authorized the restoration of Christian and Jewish establishments, leading to the reconstruction of the synagogue. Research of a carved wooden Torah ark door, with a proven attribution to the synagogue, illuminates the history of the synagogue's renovations. The door is co-owned by both the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and the Yeshiva University Museum in New York. Radiocarbon dating confirms that the wood dates back to the 11th century CE.
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