Simon says: Let's explore some of the synagogues in the Old City of Safed"


Joseph Caro Synagogue

This week I took a group to the Old City of Safed - & stepped into history that spans over 400 years. We visited four synagogues, each with its own story, its own legends, & its own connection to the golden age of Jewish mysticism.
*Joseph Caro Synagogue
Named for Rabbi Yosef Caro, who authored the Shulchan Aruch -the foundational code of Jewish law - while living in Safed in the 16th century. He headed the rabbinical court on this very site. The synagogue was destroyed in the 1837 earthquake & later rebuilt, but the room where Rabbi Caro reportedly studied with a maggid (angelic teacher) can still be seen nearby.


*Abuhav Synagogue
Built in the 16th century & named for the Spanish Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Abuhav, who never actually visited Safed! His followers carried his Torah scroll with them after the expulsion from Spain and built the synagogue according to kabbalistic principles. The southern wall, with its three Arks, is the only original part to survive the earthquakes of 1759 & 1837. That wall still stands today.


*Ari Sephardi Synagogue
The oldest of Safed's synagogues, first mentioned in writings from 1522, predating the arrival of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the Ari). According to tradition, the Ari prayed here, & a small cave in the eastern wall is where he is said to have studied with the Prophet Elijah. Partially destroyed in 1759 & again in 1837, it was rebuilt with donations from Italian philanthropist Isaac Guetta.


*Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue
Built in the late 16th century by Sephardic immigrants from Greece, several years after the Ari's death in 1572. Rabbi Isaac Luria prayed here on the eve of Shabbat and would walk to a nearby field with his community to welcome the Sabbath. This tradition is echoed in Jewish communities worldwide during the singing of Lecha Dodi. It may be the oldest synagogue in Israel still in continuous use. The ornate Holy Ark, carved from olive wood, features a lion - alluding to the Ari's name, which means "lion."
Built before 1948?
That's putting it mildly! These synagogues were already centuries old when the Jews living in what is now the modern State of Israel declared independence from British rule.
Want to walk through streets & visit buildings that survived earthquakes, riots, and mortar fire?

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