Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue (Cairo)

{{for|similarly named synagogues|Shaar Hashamayim (disambiguation){{!}}Shaar Hashamayim}}

{{Infobox religious building

| name = Sha'ar HaShamayim Synagogue

| native_name = {{ubl|{{langx|he|בית כנסת שער השמים}}|{{langx|ar|كنيس عدلي}}}}

| native_name_lang =

| image = CairoShaarHashamayimSynagogue.jpg

| image_upright = 1.4

| alt = 6

| caption = The façade of the synagogue in 2013

| religious_affiliation = Orthodox Judaism

| tradition =

| sect =

| district =

| prefecture =

| province =

| region =

| deity =

| rite = Nusach Sefard

| festival =

| organisational_status = Synagogue

| ownership =

| governing_body =

| leadership =

| bhattaraka =

| patron =

| consecration_year =

| functional_status = Active

| religious_features_label =

| religious_features =

| location = 17 Adly Street, Cairo

| locale =

| municipality =

| cercle =

| state =

| country = Egypt

| map_type = Egypt Nile Delta

| map_size = 250

| map_alt =

| map_relief = 1

| map_caption = Location of the synagogue, relative to the Nile Delta

| grid_name =

| grid_position =

| sector =

| territory =

| administration =

| coordinates = {{coord|30|03|05|N|31|14|37|E|region:EG_type:landmark|display=it}}

| coordinates_footnotes =

| heritage_designation =

| architect = {{ubl|{{nowrap|Maurice Youssef Cattaui}}|Eduard Matasek}}

| architecture_type = {{nowrap|Synagogue architecture}}

| architecture_style = {{ubl|Ottoman|Art Deco}}

| founded_by =

| creator =

| funded_by =

| general_contractor =

| established =

| groundbreaking = 1899

| year_completed = 1908

| construction_cost =

| date_demolished =

| facade_direction =

| capacity =

| length =

| width =

| width_nave =

| interior_area =

| height_max =

| dome_quantity =

| dome_height_outer =

| dome_height_inner =

| dome_dia_outer =

| dome_dia_inner =

| minaret_quantity =

| minaret_height =

| spire_quantity =

| spire_height =

| site_area =

| temple_quantity =

| monument_quantity =

| shrine_quantity =

| inscriptions =

| materials =

| elevation_m =

| elevation_footnotes =

| nrhp =

| designated =

| added =

| refnum =

| delisted1_date =

| website =

| module =

| footnotes = {{cite news |newspaper=Cairo Times |url=http://www.egy.com/landmarks/99-09-02.php |first=Samir |last=Raafat |date=2 September 1999 |title=Gates of Heaven |access-date= }}

}}

The Sha'ar HaShamayim Synagogue ({{langx|he|בית כנסת שער השמים||Gate of Heaven}}; {{langx|ar|كنيس عدلي}}), also known as Temple Ismailia and the Adly Street Synagogue, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 17 Adly Street in Cairo, Egypt.{{cite web |url=http://www.nebidaniel.org/synagogues.php?|lang=en |title=Synagogues: Cairo |work=Association Internationale Nebi Daniel |date=n.d. |access-date=10 October 2024 }}

History

Its long-time leader was Chief Rabbi Chaim Nahum. In 2008, the synagogue marked its 100th anniversary.{{cite web |author=Stern, Yoav |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/cairo-synagogue-marks-100-years-of-grandeur-and-decline-1.232487 |title=Cairo Synagogue marks 100 years of grandeur and decline |work=Haaretz |date=4 November 2007 |access-date=2011-03-22 |url-access=subscription }} The synagogue was built in a style evoking ancient Egyptian temples, and was once the largest building on the boulevard.{{cite web |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2010-02-21/ty-article/bomb-hurled-at-main-synagogue-in-cairo-no-casualties/0000017f-e4cf-d804-ad7f-f5ffcb6c0000 |title=Bomb Hurled at Main Synagogue in Cairo; No Casualties |work=Haaretz |date= |access-date=21 February 2010 |agency=Associated Press |url-access=subscription }}

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.{{cite web |title=Shaar Hashamayim (Adly St.) Synagogue at Cairo, Egypt |url=http://archive.diarna.org/site/detail/public/83/ |work=Diarna.org |publisher=Digital Heritage Mapping |date=2015 |access-date=10 October 2024 |format=includes image gallery }} Today the community numbers approximately six members, most of them older women.{{cite interview |author=Meital, Prof Yoram |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/study-of-cairos-synagogues-reveals-an-egyptian-jewish-golden-age-abruptly-ended/ |title=Study of Cairo’s synagogues reveals an Egyptian Jewish ‘Golden Age’ abruptly ended |interviewer=Gavriel Fiske |work=The Times of Israel |date=17 August 2024 |access-date=10 October 2024 }}

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 synagogue, many Ashkenazi Jews were members of the congregation and contributed to its construction and upkeep.{{cite web |url=http://www.egy.com/landmarks/99-09-02.shtml |title=Egypt Landmarks |work=EGY.com |date= |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608010014/http://www.egy.com/landmarks/99-09-02.shtml |archive-date=2007-06-08 }}

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

Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue (Cairo)

History

= 2010 arson incident =

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading