Ben Ezra Synagogue
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Ben Ezra Synagogue | |
Annex of the Library of Jewish Heritage in Egypt at Ben Ezra Synagogue, Old Cairo |
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Basic information | |
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Location | Cairo, Egypt |
Religious affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
Rite | Sephardic |
District | Fustat |
Architectural description | |
Year completed | 1892 |
Specifications | |
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 El-Geniza Synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת אל גניזה), is situated in Coptic Cairo, Egypt. According to local tradition, it is located on the site of where baby Moses was found. The land for the synagogue was purchased in 882 CE for 20,000 dinars by Abraham ibn Ezra of Jerusalem.
This was the synagogue whose geniza or store room was found in the 19th century to contain a treasure of abandoned Hebrew secular and sacred manuscripts. The collection, known as the Cairo Geniza, was brought to Cambridge, England at the instigation of Solomon Schechter.