The Sidon synagogue (Arabic: كنيس صيدا) is one of the

oldest synagogues in the world Historic synagogues include synagogues that date back to ancient times and synagogues that represent the earliest Jewish presence in cities around the world. Some synagogues were destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site. Others wer ...

.Sacy, Andre. 2011. Saida D’hier Et D’aujourd’hui. Beyrouth: Editions Aleph It is located in the old city of

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

(Saida,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

) in the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

neighborhood or quarter known colloquially as ḥarat al-yahūd (Arabic: حارة اليهود).

History

Built in 833, it is believed to rest on an older synagogue which dates back to the destruction of the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

in 66 AD.

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

is said to have preached in it and in its vicinity as attested in Matthew (15:21) and Mark (7:24).“Sidon.” 2007.

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...

. MacMillan Although not big in size, it is considered one of the main synagogues in

which includes the

Maghen Abraham Synagogue The Maghen Abraham Synagogue ( ar, كنيس ماغين أبراهام - ''Kanīs Mā'ghīn Abrā'hām''; he, בית הכנסת מגן אברהם - ''Beth HaKenesset Magen Avraham'') is one of the main synagogues in Lebanon. Located in the Jewi ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

completed in 1925. In April 2012, prayers were said for the first time after decades of desuetude by two rabbis from the

Neturei Karta Neturei Karta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: , , ) is a religious group of Haredi Jews, formally created in Jerusalem, then in Mandatory Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisrael. Neturei Karta opposes Zionism and calls for a "pea ...

International movement who were participating in a march to mark

Land Day Land Day ( ar, يوم الأرض, ''Yawm al-ʾArḍ''; he, יוֹם הַאֲדָמָה, ''Yom HaAdama''), March 30, is a day of commemoration for Arab citizens of Israel and Palestinians of the events of that date in 1976 in Israel. In 1976 ...

.Mohammed Zaatari, "Sidon synagogue opens for rare prayers", The Daily Star Lebanon, April 03, 2012
/ref> Many

Lebanese Jews Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people, people from Lebanon or of Lebanese descent * Lebanese Arabic, the colloquial form of Arabic spoken in Lebanon * Lebanese culture * Lebanese cuisine ...

began to leave

after the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

began in 1975, which explains the synagogue's dilapidated state.

References

Sephardi Jewish culture in Asia Sephardi synagogues Synagogues in Lebanon Jewish Lebanese history Sidon District 9th-century synagogues Religious buildings and structures completed in 833 {{Lebanon-synagogue-stub

History

See also

References