Shomrei HaChomos
Encyclopedia
The Ohel Yitzchak Synagogue previously known as the Shomrei ha-Chomos Synagogue and the Ungarin Shul (Hungarian synagogue) is located in the Muslim Quarter
of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built in the 1870s by Kolel Shomrei HaChomos
, an organization of Hungarian Jews, but was abandoned after the riots of 1938. Although the building was destroyed after 1948, it has recently been acquired by a Religious Zionist group for refurbishment.
, Rabbi Moses Sofer, arrived in Jerusalem from Hungary
and established a community called Shomrei HaChomos, meaning Guardians of the Walls. During the 1870s they built a synagogue situated about 100 meters from the Temple Mount
on el-Wad Street, in today’s Muslim Quarter
. The courtyard was purchased from the Muslim Khaladi family. Rabbi Yitzchok Ratsdorfer, a diamond merchant who belonged to the Hasidic
group Belz
, financed the building. In 1892 the community established a neighborhood outside the Old City walls called Batei Ungarin
, part of the neighborhood now known as Meah Shearim. In 1904 the synagogue in the Old City was expanded and a second story was added. While construction was taking place, the Ottoman
authorities warned that the extension would not be allowed. They opposed the fact that its roof would end up being taller than the Dome of the Rock
. Construction of the roof was completed overnight, ensuring that the synagogue would be finished. Turkish law stated that once a building had been erected, it could no longer be demolished. The building accommodated a yeshiva on the ground floor called Ohr Meir and its students held study sessions 24 hours a day. The top floor accommodated two prayer rooms, one for the Chasidim
(who use nusach
Sfard and one for the Perushim
, who use nusach Ashkenaz. The building also contained a mikvah
.
and 1929
disturbed the running of the yeshiva and synagogue, Jews still frequented the building until Arab violence forced them to vacate the premises during the 1938 riots. Members relocated to Meah Shearim, and the building was rented to Arabs until the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. The synagogue was almost totally destroyed during the ensuing 19 years of Jordanian rule. Its members relocated their entire organization, Kolel Shomrei HaChomos
, to other locations in the city, including Meah Shearim, Givat Shaul
, and more recently Ramat Shlomo
, where they built new buildings and synagogues called Kiryas Shomrei HaChomos. Kolel Shomrei HaChomos is closely affiliated with the Edah HaChareidis and considered part of it.
Years later the right-wing Religious Zionist organization Ateret Cohanim
encouraged an American charity funded by American Jewish businessman Irving Moskowitz
, a regular donor to right-wing groups in East Jerusalem, to buy the building. The organization then gave the Western Wall Heritage Foundation the right to manage the synagogue site and the excavations. In October 2008 the synagogue was officially reopened, though it now belongs to a right-wing Religious Zionist group instead of to the anti-Zionist Hungarian Haredim who founded it. Plans to refurbish the building are underway.
Muslim Quarter
The Muslim Quarter is one of the four quarters of the ancient, walled Old City of Jerusalem. It covers 31 hectares of the northeastern sector of the Old City. The quarter is the largest and most populous and extends from the Lions' Gate in the east, along the northern wall of the Temple Mount in...
of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built in the 1870s by Kolel Shomrei HaChomos
Kolel Shomrei HaChomos
Kollel Shomrei haChomos is the financial charity institute or kollel to hand support to the Hungarian-Jews who went up to the Holy Land, hence it is called by many the Hungarian Kollel...
, an organization of Hungarian Jews, but was abandoned after the riots of 1938. Although the building was destroyed after 1948, it has recently been acquired by a Religious Zionist group for refurbishment.
Establishment
In 1862 students of the Chassam SoferMoses Sofer
Moses Schreiber, known to his own community and Jewish posterity as Moshe Sofer, also known by his main work Chasam Sofer, , , was one of the leading Orthodox rabbis of European Jewry in the first half of the nineteenth century...
, Rabbi Moses Sofer, arrived in Jerusalem from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and established a community called Shomrei HaChomos, meaning Guardians of the Walls. During the 1870s they built a synagogue situated about 100 meters from the Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
on el-Wad Street, in today’s Muslim Quarter
Muslim Quarter
The Muslim Quarter is one of the four quarters of the ancient, walled Old City of Jerusalem. It covers 31 hectares of the northeastern sector of the Old City. The quarter is the largest and most populous and extends from the Lions' Gate in the east, along the northern wall of the Temple Mount in...
. The courtyard was purchased from the Muslim Khaladi family. Rabbi Yitzchok Ratsdorfer, a diamond merchant who belonged to the Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
group Belz
Belz (Hasidic dynasty)
Belz is a Hasidic dynasty named for the town of Belz in Western Ukraine, near the Polish border. The town has existed since at least the 10th century, with the Jewish community being established during the 14th century. The town became home to Hasidic Judaism in the early 19th century...
, financed the building. In 1892 the community established a neighborhood outside the Old City walls called Batei Ungarin
Batei Ungarin
Batei Ungarin is a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. It was built by Kolel Ungarin, a Hungarian Jewish charity supporting Jews living in the Land of Israel.-History:...
, part of the neighborhood now known as Meah Shearim. In 1904 the synagogue in the Old City was expanded and a second story was added. While construction was taking place, the 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...
authorities warned that the extension would not be allowed. They opposed the fact that its roof would end up being taller than the Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik...
. Construction of the roof was completed overnight, ensuring that the synagogue would be finished. Turkish law stated that once a building had been erected, it could no longer be demolished. The building accommodated a yeshiva on the ground floor called Ohr Meir and its students held study sessions 24 hours a day. The top floor accommodated two prayer rooms, one for the Chasidim
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
(who use nusach
Nusach
Nusach is a concept in Judaism that has two distinct meanings. One is the style of a prayer service ; another is the melody of the service depending on when the service is being conducted.-Meaning of term:Nusach primarily means "text" or "version", in...
Sfard and one for the Perushim
Perushim
The Perushim were disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, then under Ottoman rule...
, who use nusach Ashkenaz. The building also contained a mikvah
Mikvah
Mikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...
.
Abandonment
Although the riots of 19201920 Palestine riots
The 1920 Palestine riots, or Nabi Musa riots, took place in British Mandate of Palestine April 4–7, 1920 in and around the Old City of Jerusalem....
and 1929
1929 Palestine riots
The 1929 Palestine riots, also known as the Western Wall Uprising, the 1929 Massacres, , or the Buraq Uprising , refers to a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 when a long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into violence...
disturbed the running of the yeshiva and synagogue, Jews still frequented the building until Arab violence forced them to vacate the premises during the 1938 riots. Members relocated to Meah Shearim, and the building was rented to Arabs until the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. The synagogue was almost totally destroyed during the ensuing 19 years of Jordanian rule. Its members relocated their entire organization, Kolel Shomrei HaChomos
Kolel Shomrei HaChomos
Kollel Shomrei haChomos is the financial charity institute or kollel to hand support to the Hungarian-Jews who went up to the Holy Land, hence it is called by many the Hungarian Kollel...
, to other locations in the city, including Meah Shearim, Givat Shaul
Givat Shaul
Givat Shaul is a neighborhood in western Jerusalem named after the Rishon Lezion, Rabbi Yaakov Shaul Elyashar, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, and not, as commonly believed, for the biblical King Saul, whose capital was probably located on the hill Gibeah of Saul near Pisgat Ze'ev, on the way...
, and more recently Ramat Shlomo
Ramat Shlomo
Ramat Shlomo Heights) is a large Jewish housing development in northern East Jerusalem. The population, mostly ultra-Orthodox, is 18,000-20,000....
, where they built new buildings and synagogues called Kiryas Shomrei HaChomos. Kolel Shomrei HaChomos is closely affiliated with the Edah HaChareidis and considered part of it.
Rededication
In 1967, after the Six Day War, all that remained intact was the ground floor of the building, which was turned into a Jewish book store.Years later the right-wing Religious Zionist organization Ateret Cohanim
Ateret Cohanim
Ateret Cohanim, , also known as Ateret Yerushalyim, is a Religious Zionist yeshiva located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem in Israel. Founded in 1978, it uses the building of the historic Torath Chaim Yeshiva...
encouraged an American charity funded by American Jewish businessman Irving Moskowitz
Irving Moskowitz
Irving I. Moskowitz is a Florida-based businessman who built a business running hospitals and legal gambling in California. He is the founder of the eponymous "Moskowitz Foundation" which was created "to help people in need regardless of race, creed, politics or religion"...
, a regular donor to right-wing groups in East Jerusalem, to buy the building. The organization then gave the Western Wall Heritage Foundation the right to manage the synagogue site and the excavations. In October 2008 the synagogue was officially reopened, though it now belongs to a right-wing Religious Zionist group instead of to the anti-Zionist Hungarian Haredim who founded it. Plans to refurbish the building are underway.
Sources
- Rossoff, Dovid. Where Heaven Touches Earth, Guardian Press, 1998. ISBN 0-87306-879-3
- Horovitz, Ahron. Jerusalem, Footsteps Through Time, Feldheim, 2000. ISBN 0-58330-398-7
- Wagner, Maththew. 'Lost' synagogue reopens in Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter, Jerusalem Post, October 12, 2008.