Ari Synagogue
Encyclopedia
Ohr ha-Chaim Synagogue
The Ohr ha-Chaim Synagogue is situated on Ohr ha-Chaim Street in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located on the top floor of a building which also houses the Ari Synagogue and Old Yishuv Court Museum...
and Old Yishuv Court Museum. It is named after Rabbi Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
, (1534–1572), who was known as the Ari ' onMouseout='HidePop("99993")' href="/topics/Translation">trans:
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
The Lion), an acronym for haEloqi Rabbeinu Yitzhak (the divine, our master, Isaac). He was a great kabbalist who founded a new school in Kabbalistic thought, known as the "System of the Ari" or "Lurianic kabbalah
Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
".
Origins
According to tradition, it was in this building where Rabbi Isaac LuriaIsaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
was born and where he lived for 20 years. It is told that Eliyahu Ha-Navi was the sandek
Sandek
Sandak is the term for a person honored at a Jewish brit milah ceremony, traditionally either by holding the baby boy on the knees or thighs while the mohel performs the brit milah or by handing the baby to the mohel...
at his Brit milah
Brit milah
The brit milah is a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day old male infants by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal .-Biblical references:...
. At some stage, the room of his traditional birthplace became a Sephardic synagogue. The Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
of the yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
were forbidden by Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Law to establish any new synagogues. This led to inconspicuous prayer houses which, like the Ari Synagogue, were located in residential homes. During the riots of 1936 the synagogue was looted and burned.
See also
- Ari Ashkenazi SynagogueAri Ashkenazi SynagogueThe Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue is located in Safed, Israel. Built in the sixteenth century, the synagogue is named after Rabbi Isaac Luria, , who was known as the Ari , an acronym for Adoneinu Rabbeinu Isaac . He was a great kabbalist who arrived in Safed in 1570...
(Safat) - Oldest synagogues in the worldOldest synagogues in the worldThe designation oldest synagogue in the world requires careful definition. Many very old synagogues have been discovered in archaeological digs. Some synagogues have been destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site, so, while the site or congregation may be ancient, the building may be...