Ben Ezra Synagogue
| Ben Ezra Synagogue | |
|---|---|
The former synagogue, now Jewish museum, in 2011 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Judaism |
| Rite | Nusach Sefard, Palestinian minhag |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status |
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| Status |
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| Location | |
| Location | Fustat, Old Cairo |
| Country | Egypt |
Location of the former synagogue, now museum, relative to the Nile Delta | |
| Administration | Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities |
| Coordinates | 30°00′21″N 31°13′51″E / 30.00581°N 31.23097°E |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | Southeast |
| Length | 17 meters (56 ft) |
| Width | 11.3 meters (37 ft) |
The Ben Ezra Synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת בן עזרא; Arabic: معبد بن عزرا), sometimes referred to as the Geniza Synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת הגניזה), the Synagogue of the Levantines (Judeo-Arabic: כניסת אלשאמיין), or the Synagogue of the Jerusalemites (Judeo-Arabic: כנסית הירושלמים) is a former Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Fustat part of Old Cairo, Egypt. According to local folklore, it is located on the site where baby Moses was found.
Given the small population of Egyptian Jews, the synagogue is no longer active and is largely a tourism site and Jewish museum.
The geniza or store room of the synagogue was found in the 19th century to contain a treasure of forgotten, stored-away secular and sacred manuscripts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, and other languages. The collection of approximately 400,000 items, known as the Cairo Geniza, was brought to the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England at the instigation of Solomon Schechter. It is now divided between several academic libraries, with the majority being kept at the Cambridge University Library.