The Ohel Yitzchak Synagogue, also known as the Shomrei ha-Chomos Synagogue and the Ungarin Shul (Hungarian synagogue), is an Orthodox

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

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 ...

, located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of

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 ...

. It was built as a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

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 was reopened in October 2008 after acquisition by a Religious Zionist group and subsequent refurbishment.

History

Establishment

In 1862 students of the Chassam Sofer, Rabbi Moses Sofer, arrived in Jerusalem from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and established a community called Shomrei HaChomos, meaning ''Guardians of the Walls''. During the 1870s they built a yeshiva situated approximately from the Chain Gate on el-Wad Street, in today’s Muslim Quarter. The courtyard was purchased from the Muslim Khaladi family. The building was financed by Rabbi Yitzchok Ratsdorfer, a diamond merchant who belonged to the Hasidic group Belz, . 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 yeshiva 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 building would be finished. Turkish law stated that once a building had been erected, it could no longer be demolished. The building accommodated the 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 Sefard, and one for the Perushim, who use Nusach Ashkenaz. The building also contained a mikvah.

Abandonment

Although the riots of 1920 and 1929 disturbed the running of the yeshiva, 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, during which it was destroyed. 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.

Rededication

In 1967, after the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, all that remained intact was the ground floor of the building, which was turned into a Jewish book store. Years later the 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 yeshiva was officially reopened as a synagogue.

Gallery

Ohel Yitzchak Synagogue, Jerusalem - interior.jpg, Interior of the synagogue in the 1920s Madrasah al-Tankiziya (labelled 12) in the Old City of Jerusalem map by Survey of Palestine map 1-2,500 (cropped).jpg, The area of building (not highlighted) in the 1936-47 Survey of Palestine map of the Old City. The Madrasah al-Tankiziya is labelled 12). Shomrei haChomos.gif, The shell of the destroyed

, undated

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{Authority control 1892 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 19th-century synagogues Jewish organizations established in 1892 Late modern history of Jerusalem Muslim Quarter (Jerusalem) Orthodox synagogues in the West Bank Rebuilt synagogues Synagogues completed in the 1870s Synagogues completed in 1904 Synagogues in Jerusalem Yeshivas in Jerusalem