Abraham Avinu Synagogue

Abraham Avinu Synagogue
Interior, 2008
Basic information
Location	Jewish Quarter Hebron, West Bank
Affiliation	Judaism
Status	Active
Completed	1540

The Abraham Avinu Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת על שם אברהם אבינו‎‎) was built by Hakham Malkiel Ashkenazi in the Jewish Quarter of Hebron in 1540. The domed structure represented the physical center of the Jewish Quarter of Hebron, and became the spiritual center of the Jewish Community there and a major center for the study of Kabalah. It was restored in 1738 and enlarged in 1864.

The synagogue stood empty since the 1929 Hebron massacre and was destroyed after 1948.

Jordan took control of the area in 1948, and after this time a wholesale market, trash dump and public toilet were placed on the site of the Jewish Quarter. The ruins of the synagogue were turned into a goat and donkey pen. The adjacent, "Kabbalists' Courtyard" was turned into an abattoir.

When Israel conquered the West Bank after the Six Day War in 1967, a gradual return of Jews took place to the Jewish Quarter in Hebron. In 1971 the Israeli Government approved the rebuilding of the synagogue, courtyard and adjoining buildings. Work on the restoration was underway in 1976.

The man instrumental in re-discovering and rebuilding the synagogue was local Hebron resident Professor Ben Zion Tavgar. He was a prominent physicist in the Soviet Union at Gorky University noted for his work in the Magnetic Symmetry phenomenon. He moved to Israel in 1972 and became a chair at Tel Aviv University. Prof. Tavger wrote in his book My Hebron about the Avraham Avinu synagogue:

I let my eyes wander around the interior of the synagogue. I had time to think and recall its previous state, five or six years ago, and thought of the sequence of events that had transpired. When I first came here, the place had indeed gone by the name of "Avraham Avinu Synagogue", but its name had seemed completely disconnected from its essence... To me it had seemed obvious that we had to dig and clear out the refuse and rubbish from the site, to reveal the splendor of the synagogue for all to see.

Today, the rebuilt synagogue is used each Friday night by the Jewish residents of Hebron to hold prayer services. The synagogue is also open to visitors each day of the week so they can learn about the history of the synagogue, and hold private services. The synagogue is mentioned by Rabbi Naftali Hertz Bachrach in his 1648 book Emek HaMelech. The book deals with the kabbalah, but in the introduction, he mentions a dramatic story about the Avraham Avinu synagogue:

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