Tzfat Synagogues

('''Hebrew:''' בתי כנסת בצפת / '''Spelling:''' Zefat, Zfat, Safed, Tsfat, Zefas, Tzfas, Tsfas and Zfas / '''Other Names:''' Tzfat Shuls, Bati Kneset / '''Definition:''' Old and Ancient Jewish places of worship in Safed, Israel.)

The famous synagogues of [[Safed]] encompass [[Safed History|Tzfat history]] alongside Kabbalistic tradition. Some of the most famous synagogues include the [[Ari-Ashkenazi-Synagogue|Ari Ashkenazi]], [[Ari-Sephardi-Synagogue|Ari Sephardi]], [[Avritch-Bat-Ayin-Synagogue|Avritch]], [[Abuhav-Synagogue|Abuhav]], [[Beirav-Synagogue-Safed|Beirav]], [[Yosef-Caro-Synagogue-Safed|Yoseph Caro]] and the [[Yossi-Banaah-Synagogue|Yossi Banai]]. These synagogues are all located in the [[Old City Safed|Old Jewish Quarter of Tzfat]]. They are all functioning synagogues and have regular prayer times.

The ARI Ashkanazi synagogue is located along the Ma’alot Gur Aryeh stairway that descends from the main public square of Tzfat’s Old City, “[[Kikar HaMeginim Safed|Kikar HaMeginim]] -- Defender’s Square.”  The synagogue was originally called the “Grigoros Synagogue,” established by Sepharadi Jews who arrived in Tzfat from the Greek island of Grigoros after escaping the Spanish Inquisition. Rabbi Isaac Luria, the great Kabbalist known as The ARI, initiated the tradition of “Kabbalat Shabbat,” in Tzfat. He would welcome the Sabbath by singing and dancing with his students in the field next to the Grigoros shul. After The ARI died the synagogue was renamed “ARI Ashkanazi” in honor of The ARIZ'L.

The ARI Sepharadi is one of the oldest standing synagogues in Safed. It is perched on the road above the ancient Safed cemetery and overlooks the cemetery and surrounding valley. The synagogue was called the “Eliyahu Hanavi” (Elijah the Prophet) synagogue when the ARI came to live in Tzfat in the [[Ottoman Rule of Safed 1517 to 1759|16th century]]. The ARI prayed and studied in the synagogue, sitting, legend says, with Elijah the Prophet in a small room within the synagogue as he expanded on the existing knowledge of Kabbalah through Divine Inspiration. After the ARI’s passing the residents of Tzfat renamed the synagogue “ARI Sepharadi” in honor of the ARIZL.

[[Rabbi Yosef Karo|Rabbi Joseph Caro]] came to Tzfat in the early 1500s from Turkey. His family had escaped the Inquisition in Spain. Rabbi Caro worried that, in the face of the dispersion caused by the Inquisition, Jews would not know how to perform the Jewish rituals and traditions according to Jewish Law. He sat in a small room and wrote the “[[Shulchan Aruch|Shulhan Aruch]].” The Shulhan Aruch guides Jews in the performance of the commandments of the Jewish religion. The Joseph Caro synagogue, on Alkabetz Street, stands above the room where Rabbi Caro wrote the Shulhan Aruch. It served as the Rabbinical Court over which Rabbi Caro presided and later as a study hall. Today it houses a Sepharadi minyan.

Rabbi Ya’akov Beirav lived in Tzfat in the 16th century. He was best known for his efforts to re-establish the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court of the Temple era. During Rabbi Beirav’s lifetime many Jews who had converted to Christianity under the Inquisition escaped from Spain and Portugal. They made their way to Jewish communities where they tried to return to the faith of their ancestors. A large number of Jewish leaders refused to accept these returnees, arguing that by converting to Christianity they forfeited their claim to Judaism. Rabbi Beirav believed that a Sanhedrin would provide the authority to convince the Jewish leadership to welcome these Jews back to Judaism. Ultimately, Rabbi Beirav was not successful in his endeavors to establish the Sanhedrin, but together with Rabbi Moshe Alsheich, also of Safed, his view, to accept the returnees back into the Jewish community, prevailed.