The Heichal Shlomo (; hence Hekhal of

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

) is a building, which houses a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

Jewish museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

and teacher's college, located opposite the Leonardo Plaza Hotel, on King George Street,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. The building is the former seat of the

Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel (, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. It was established in 1921 under the British Mandate, and today operates on the basis of the ...

until the 1990s. The building also serves as the Jerusalem Campus of

Herzog College Herzog College (, ''Mikhlelet Herzog'') is an Israeli teachers' college with campuses in Jerusalem, Alon Shvut and Migdal Oz. History Herzog College is named for Jacob Herzog, Yaakov Herzog, an Israeli diplomat, scholar and son of Israel's secon ...

for their Masters in Education program, and houses the Jewish Heritage Center and Museum of Jewish Art.

History

The building was erected between 1953 and 1958, following plans by German-born architect Alexander Friedman. The building has housed the Jewish Heritage Center and Jewish Art Museum since 1992. The ''Renanim'' Synagogue was transferred from

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

together with its 18th-century

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...

and bimah, and decorated with modern stained glass windows. The Entrance Gallery displays temporary exhibitions of Israeli artists. The museum displaying traditional and modern Jewish art in permanent and temporary exhibitions is named in honour of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Jewish philanthropist, Sir

Isaac Wolfson Sir Isaac Wolfson, 1st Baronet FRS (; 17 September 1897 – 20 June 1991) was a Scottish businessman and philanthropist. He was managing director of Great Universal Stores (G.U.S. or Gussies) 1932–1947 and chairman 1947–1987. He establish ...

. Rabbi

Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik Yitzchok Zev Halevi Soloveitchik (), also known as Velvel Soloveitchik ("Zev" means "wolf" in Hebrew, and "Velvel" is the Diminutive#Yiddish, diminutive of "wolf" in Yiddish language, Yiddish) or the Brisker Rov ("rabbi of/from Brest, Belarus, Br ...

, the rabbi of Brisk, strongly discouraged entering the building, saying "every stone there is impure". In 2009, Pope

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

paid a courtesy visit to Heichal Shlomo, where he met with the two Chief Rabbis of Jerusalem.

Gallery

BentsviAndHotel144K.png, Mordechai Ish-Shalom and

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963; born Izaak Shimshelevich) was a historian, ethnologist, Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving president of Israel. He was 1952 Israeli presidential elec ...

standing across from Heichal Shlomo, 1959

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1953 establishments in Israel 20th-century synagogues in Israel Jewish museums in Israel Museums in Jerusalem Orthodox Jewish universities and colleges Orthodox synagogues in Israel Synagogue buildings with domes Synagogues completed in 1958 Synagogues in Jerusalem

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links