The Sha'ar HaShamayim Synagogue (; ), also known as Temple Ismailia and the Adly Street Synagogue, is an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 at 17 Adly Street in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

History

Its long-time leader was Chief Rabbi

Chaim Nahum Chaim (Haim) Nahum Effendi (; ; ) (1872–1960) was a Turkish Jewish scholar, jurist, and linguist of the early 20th century. He served as the Grand Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire.Kuneralp, Sinan. "Ottoman Diplomatic and Consular Personnel in t ...

. In 2008, the synagogue marked its 100th anniversary. The synagogue was built in a style evoking ancient

Egyptian temple Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the gods and in commemoration of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt and regions under Egyptian control. Temples were seen as houses for the gods or kings to whom they were dedicated. Within them ...

s, and was once the largest building on the boulevard. Work commenced on the synagogue in 1899 and it was inaugurated in 1908, at a time when there was a vibrant Jewish community in Cairo. The last time the synagogue was full was in the 1960s. Today the community numbers approximately six members, most of them older women. The building houses a collection of a few hundred books, ranging in age from the 1500s to contemporary times, concerning or relevant to the history of Jews in Egypt. Although it is considered a

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

synagogue, many

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

were members of the congregation and contributed to its construction and upkeep. The synagogue underwent minor exterior renovations in 2007.

2010 arson incident

In February 2010, a booby-trapped suitcase was hurled at the synagogue from a nearby hotel. The suitcase caught fire, but no one was hurt and no damage was reported.

Gallery

ben ezra 2.png, Renovations (2007) ben ezra 3.png, Exterior guard (Cairo police) ben ezra 4.png, Synagogue pews ben ezra 1.png, Synagogue bimah ben ezra 5.png, Older text from 1500s ben ezra 6.png, Collections in the Library ben ezra 7.png, Commemorative Plaque

History

2010 arson incident

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading