The Alsheich Synagogue
Rabbi Moshe Alsheich was born in Turkey in 1508. He moved to Tsfat and was
ordained as a rabbi by Rabbi Yoseph Karo.
Upon Rabbi Karo’s passing, Rabbi Alsheich
replaced him as head of the Tsfat Beit Din. Alsheich opened a yeshiva where he taught,
most notably, Chaim Vital, who later became
the foremost pupil of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, the Ari. In 1578, after plagues of typhoid and hunger struck Tsfat, Rabbi Alsheich
moved to Damascus. There he published
his most famous work, Torat Moshe, which is now known
as the “Holy Alsheich .” He returned
to Tsfat where he died in 1600 and was buried
in Tsfat’s old cemetery. Rabbi Alsheich
was one of the few Rabbis distinguished with
the addition of the word Kodesh (Holy)
to the end of his name. He was known for
his sermons and Torah commentaries. The Ari
often traveled to hear Rabbi Alsheich’s
sermons. However, much to Rabbi Alsheich’s
disappointment and frustration, the Ari refused
to teach Rabbi Alsheich the secrets of Kabbalah or to take him on as a pupil
The Alsheich Synagogue is the only structure in Tsfat that survived the 1759 and 1837 earthquakes and has remained intact since it was built in the
16th century by Jews who fled Spain. It survived the 1837 quake
thanks to a renovation carried out shortly before the earthquake in
which arches and beams were built in the
sanctuary. The arches are a Samarkand style
of building of the Jews of Bukhara. An inscription
on the facade of the building attests to
the renovation. The inscription mentions
three people: the builder, Ya’acov
Peleggi, philanthropist Yehezkel Reuven Menashe,
and the intermediary, Rabbi Ya’acov
Anavti, the rabbi of Damascus at the time.
After the renovation, the synagogue was renamed “Knesset
Yehezkel,” in honor of the philanthropist.
The synagogue was also called “The
Synagogue of the Ba’alei Teshuva” (penitent
Jews). In the synagogue is a Torah scroll
cover bearing an inscription from the year
1434: “for the synagogue of the Ba’alei
Teshuva.” It was speculated that
this phrase refers to the Conversos -
Spanish Jews who converted to Christianity
during the Inquisition and returned to Judaism
after fleeing from Spain. Another name the synagogue is known by is Kenis
el Istambulia– the
Synagogue of the Jews from Istanbul. This
is also an allusion to the Ba’alei
Teshuva of the 15th and 16th centuries.
The synagogue was built in the style of Sephardic synagogues of the 16th century.
It lacks a women’s section due to the
express wishes of Alsheich. Local legend
has it that the lack of a space for women
to pray in the sanctuary is the real reason
the synagogue survived the earthquakes.
For almost half a millennium, the synagogue
also never had bathroom facilities on the
premises. Rabbi Alsheich firmly opposed such
facilities that process human excrement within
close proximity to the house of prayer and
learning. After two failed attempts to build a bathroom,
one was finally completed in the outer courtyard. According to legend,
all three of the builders died shortly after
finishing their work
Sources: a href="http://www.eretz.com/NEW/rabbis.shtml" target="_blank">Eretz, Jewish Homemaker, Safed, Safed: The Mystical City (David
Rossoff and Fruma Spielberg), Tsfat Experience |