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Cairo Captivates
With Hebrew Treasures

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ou're going to have to walk
from here," my guide Sarni
says as we leave our vehi-
cle and head toward the
short tunnel that took us into Old
Cairo, once the Jewish district.
Through a narrow maze of
walkways, the cobblestones give
way to unpaved streets covered
with sand, while the old walls
seem to encapsulate pedestrians.
Children hurry by; old women,
draped in black, huddle together,
telling what seems to be precious
secrets; a dog sleeps in the after-
noon heat and storekeepers beck-
on you to come and "just take a
look" at their wares.
Another turn leads us to a low
stone archway and not far away
is the Church of St. Barbara.

Pharaoh's daughter found Moses
in the reeds.
Once a large and thriving com-
munity of 75,000 Jews, the Jew-
ish quarters in Old Cairo now is
completely devoid of Jews. The 42
families left in Cairo have chosen
to live in the city center.
After the 1967 war, the Arabs
severely damaged the Ben Ezra
Synagogue. Now the exterior, a
mix of Jewish, Christian and Is-
lamic architecture, has been com-
pletely renovated.
Islamic-style carpets cover the
floors. Quite unexpected is the
basilica-like layout with a nave
and aisles in Coptic Christian
fashion. A white marble memori-
al featuring a set of steps has gold
inscriptions of the Ten Com-

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A new labyrinth appears and
we head down a slightly wider
street. Then, before me is a
wrought-iron gate with a Star of
David. Beyond is the Ben Ezra
Synagogue, a Sephardic temple
built in 1892, the oldest in Egypt
and named after a 12th century
rabbi of Jerusalem.
It is best known as the site
where the Cairo Geniza, or store-
room, housed a treasure trove of
Hebrew manuscripts dating from
the 10th century. Twenty thou-
sand of these fragments, un-
earthed in 1986, are now at the
Jewish Theological Seminary in
New York. Another 140,000 frag-
ments are at the Taylor-Schecter
Geniza Research University Li-
brary, England. These collections
of sacred and secular documents
are probably the most important
in medieval Hebraica in the
world.
Surrounding the synagogue
are the 4th century Roman walls
called the Fortress of Babylon.
Legend has it that under this
building is a spring where

mandments. Ten wood columns
have been painted in a faux-mar-
ble technique which may have
been close to the original but
somehow look jarringly modern.
The ceiling and walls are heavi-
ly decorated and the bimah is in
off-white alabaster. Beneath the
synagogue, the guide tells me, is
the mikvah.
For the time being, the Torah
which dates from 350 C.E., is be-
ing stored by the government un-
til the renovations are complete.
The guide assures me "as soon as
we've finished the work, the Torah
will be returned." Since the work
is still being carried out, it wasn't
possible to get upstairs, where the
women sit during the services.
Making the restoration of the
Ben Ezra Synagogue possible is
a large donation from Canadian
architect Phyllis Bronfman Lam-
bert, director and founder of the
Canadian Centre for Architec-
ture.
The majesty of this monument
to Jewry, with its long and trou-
bled history, is very humbling.

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