WATANI International
14 March 2010
Following an 18-month long, USD2 million restoration project, the Moses Ben Maimon synagogue in the Jewish Quarter—known as Haret al-Yahoud—in Cairo is officially re-opening today, as good as new. The project, which was completed ahead of time since the works were expected to take until June 2010, involved a team of Egyptian experts ranging from art restorers to mechanical engineers and was carried out under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and the National Defence Council.
More to come
Members of the Cairo Jewish community, the Egyptian diplomatic corps, former Israeli ambassadors and representatives of the state celebrated the rededication prayers of the synagogue last Sunday. The event captured the attention of the international media.
The head of the Jewish community in Egypt Carmen Weinstein thanked the SCA for its effort to salvage Jewish monuments in Egypt. One of the attendants said he was indeed moved to be sitting in the renovated shul after so many years when it was in ruins, with broken walls and windows.
“The Egyptians transformed the structure from an earthquake-damaged, roofless and moldy wreck to a near picture-perfect replica of the synagogue that was built in the 19th century”, Rabbi Andrew Baker, director of international Jewish affairs at the American Jewish Committee and one of the team responsible for the restoration project, was reported by the The Jerusalem Post to have said.
The CNN on the other hand reported that there were no public officials on hand for the rededication of the Rabbi Moshe synagogue last Sunday, and Egyptian security forces prevented some journalists from entering the building.
The Ben Maimon restoration is among a national project to renovate 10 synagogues in Egypt. “I am proud to say that these synagogues belong to Egypt,” Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the SCA said. “We must take care of them.” Baker said he hoped one of the restored synagogues would become a Museum of Jewish Heritage in Egypt, thus preserving a legacy when the present day community has passed, he said.
In poor shape
The present synagogue, which was built in the late 18th century on the site which reportedly housed Ben Maimon’s medical clinic, had been the subject of a one-year study before the restoration work began. Due to the high water table and the need to wait until the sewage system in the area was upgraded, restoration work could not be immediately conducted. The synagogue was in very poor shape after centuries of damage caused by earthquakes, ground water and negligence.
Since work began, the dirt and debris that had built up over the years were cleaned. The walls and ceilings were reconstructed, the building was isolated with water-resistent material, and all the cement—the product of previous poor quality restoration work—was removed. The woodwork—the doors, windows and chairs—was restored. The old splendour was restored. Even the side rooms of the shul, where it was believed that Rabbi Moshe healed the sick and practiced medicine, were renovated.
Saladin’s healer
The synagogue was declared an Egyptian antiquity in 1986 due to its historical, architectural, and religious importance. It is named in honour of the Jewish scientist and healer Moses Ben Maimon, who was born in 1135 in Cordoba, Spain, but died in Egypt in 1204 and was initially buried at the synagogue before his body was reinterred in the Holy Land.
Ben Maimon—known also as Moses Maimondes or Rabbi Moshe—is famous as a gifted mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, and was the private physician to Saladin. He is considered the greatest intellectual figure in medieval Judaism. His synagogue retained its significance even after Rabbi Moshe’s body was moved to Palestine, and continued to function as an important place of worship and study.
The synagogue is divided into three sections; one area is dedicated to prayer and rituals; one for the cenotaph of Moses Ben Maimon, which includes a small area for people to come and pray for healing, as well as a shaft for purification; and a third section that consisted of rooms for supervisors, and for women to observe prayers.
The Egyptian Foreign Mininstry has received a letter signed by 21 members of the United States Congress appreciating the works that have been done. “We sincerely hope you will follow through on these efforts,” wrote the Members of Congress. “They will serve as a tangible reminder of the religious and cultural diversity and harmony that are hallmarks of Egypt’s past and, we foresee, of the entire region’s future as well.”