Ben Ezra Synagogue | Coptic Cairo
Synagogue of Ben Ezra
The specific founding date of the Ben Ezra Synagogue is unclear, however, evidence from geniza documents indicates it was around prior to 882 CE and possibly before the Islamic era. In 882, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church sold a church and its property to a Jewish group, causing certain 19th-century academics to speculate that this occasion led to the creation of Ben Ezra. However, the buyers backed the Talmudic schools in Babylonia, whereas Ben Ezra followed the teachings of the rival Talmudic schools in Syria Palaestina. Modern academics agree that the 882 land deal involved a competing religious institution. There is limited information regarding the original structure. In approximately 1012, Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Fatimid calipha, ordered the destruction of all Jewish and Christian places of worship. The Ben Ezra Synagogue was torn down, and its bricks and timber were sold for scrap.
Construction of the second building took place in the 11th century and was completed in 1168.
Between the years 1025 and 1040, al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah, the following caliph, approved the repair of Christian and Jewish institutions, resulting in the rebuilding of the synagogue. Studying a carved wooden Torah ark door, linked to the synagogue, sheds light on the synagogue's renovation history. The door is jointly owned by the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and the Yeshiva University Museum in New York. Radiocarbon dating has verified that the wood originates from the 11th century CE.
