The Mystery of Jerusalem's 'Cursed Building'

The Year: 1960s, approximately. Location: Agripas Street, Jerusalem. Rumor Level: Urban Legend.

Sunlight, that is the main issue for the residents of the densely constructed buildings nestled between the Nachlaot neighborhood and the bustling Mahane Yehuda Market. Agripas Street, winding along the Nachlaot boundary, became the subject of a captivating urban myth linked to one of its older buildings — 'Enai's Building.'

This prominent building, according to the legend, became cursed: business after business went bankrupt within its walls and had to close down. Even the politically right-wing Kach Party, led by the late Meir Kahane z"l, set up headquarters in the building, only to be outlawed and evicted by court order. The fact that, for decades, the building's fortunes failed to improve, cemented its haunted reputation. It eventually housed foreign workers and those down on their luck, earning the nickname "the cursed building" in local lore.

And then, an explanation emerged. It was attributed to a revered figure, Rabbi Mordechai Sharabi ztz"l, head of the Kabbalists’ Yeshiva 'Nahar Shalom.' The story goes that one morning, Rabbi Sharabi awoke to discover sunlight blocked from his window. He found that a new building constructed by the well-known Jerusalem contractor Meir Enai was obscuring the sunlight's sole path. According to the tale, Rabbi Sharabi approached Enai, requesting the removal of the offending structure, and when his request was denied, he placed a curse on the building, with the disastrous outcomes as proof.

Contractor Enai fought for years against this story's proliferation, claiming it was a fabricated prank by journalist Dan Margalit in the Jerusalem newspaper 'HaIr.' Years later, Margalit admitted it was indeed his creation, a mere jest — as proof, Enai cited the sun's actual path, wholly refuting the legend's truth.

One successful business did operate out of the building, 'The Redhead's Steakhouse,' which thrived until the late '80s. Its owner, Mizrahi, took no chances and sought a blessing from Rabbi Sharabi. One of his friends told 'Bekehilla,' "I don't know if there was a curse or not. We didn't want to take a risk, so we asked for the rabbi's blessing. We also brought a scholar to affix a mezuzah. It's a wonder that despite all the years since, hardly any business has thrived there. Only us, with the rabbi's blessing."

Urban legend, or truth? Only Rabbi Sharabi ztz"l knows for sure.