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The synagogue, which was first built in 1864, was to be call by the descendants of the Vilna Gaon’s students, “Beit Ya’akov in the ruined courtyard of Rabbi Yehudah the Chassid.”
On the top of one of the mountains around Jerusalem, the dome of the synagogue will be seen between the domes of each house, as large as the moon among the stars. This is how Rabbi Yosha Yossef Rivlin expresses his excitement at the dedication of the synagogue
In 1948, during the War of Independence, Jordanian Legion soldiers blew up the synagogue, the day after the Jewish Quarter fell. After the Six-Day War, upon the return of the Jews to the Jewish Quarter, it was decided to rebuild the synagogue and the Ashkenazi courtyard but for many reasons the synagogue was not built immediately. In the meantime, the arch was built by as remember by many from the ruins of the Hurva. The arch was built as a symbol in place of the synagogue.
The Hurva Synagogue was re-inaugurated on March 15, 2010, 62 years after its destruction, which began with the demolition of the synagogue by Jordanian Legion forces during the fall of the Quarter in 1948 during the War of Independence.
The decision to plan and rebuild the synagogue, was accompanied by a wide public debate, was the end of a long and winding process that began with the liberation of the Jewish Quarter in the 1967 Six Day War.
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Modern civilization began right here in the Tigris-Euphrates river valley. Also known as the Fertile Crescent or Mesopotamia, this is the place where, six thousand years ago, agriculture, writing and mathematics were brought into widespread use.The term "Middle East" comes from the British navy, which used it to describe the countries on the trade route from Europe to India and China. Everything from Afghanistan to Morocco may possibly be classified as "middle eastern", depending on whom you ask -- and when.Only a partial list of past Empires in the middle eastern territory includes Sumeria, Babylonia, Persia, the Ottoman Empire and the Roman Empire!When northern Europe was still lurking about in slimy cold stone castles playing chess, the Middle East was enjoying the flowers of poetry, luxurious craftsmanship, music and literature. In fact, the Renaissance in Europe was partly inspired by stories brought back from the middle east by travelers along the trade route.Strategic location, religious history and the world's largest supply of crude oil have kept the Middle East at the center of world activity for centuries. The saga continues.Text by Steve Smith.
