Time Travel: The Fascinating Story Behind Tiberias's Shaloh Synagogue
A group of rabbis, including elders, gathered around the Greek church building at the southern end of the famous promenade, where they climbed one by one up a tall ladder placed against the church wall. At the top, they grasped the stone wall on the roof and jumped onto it. What's the connection between rabbis and a Greek church in Tiberias?
Eighteen years ago, a peculiar event unfolded in Tiberias: a group of rabbis, including elders like Rabbi Dan Segal, gathered around the Greek church building at the southern end of the famous promenade. They climbed, one by one, up a tall ladder placed against the church wall. At the top of the ladder, they grasped the stone wall on the roof and jumped onto it.
Why were rabbis interested in a Greek church in Tiberias? What drove them to engage in such extreme actions?
The answer lies in history, reaching back hundreds of years. Over five centuries ago, the Jews of Tiberias established a synagogue. The exact date of its founding is uncertain, but even in the days of the holy Ari, it was considered a place of unique virtues. R' Chaim Vital, in his "Book of Reincarnations," describes the ancient sanctity of the place and notes that his teacher, the Ari, often prayed there due to its holiness. Over the years, it was said that "the synagogue survived four earthquakes and always endured." Legends tell of great miracles occurring within its walls: barren women giving birth and the sick unexpectedly recovering after visiting. These miraculous stories spread by word of mouth, making the synagogue a pilgrimage site and one of the sacred places for Jews.
About four hundred years ago, Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horowitz, known by his work "The Shaloh HaKadosh," came to Israel. Born in Prague in 1558 to the esteemed Horowitz family of Ashkenazi Jews, his father was a student of the Rama. The Shaloh himself studied under MaHaRaM of Lublin and later served as a rabbi in Prague.
When his wife, Chaya, passed away in 1620, he decided to move to the Land of Israel. He embarked on a long journey by foot that took him through Syria, as he wished to meet Rabbi Samuel Vital, son of Rabbi Chaim Vital. He sought to learn the secrets of the Torah revealed by the Ari to Vital's father to prepare himself spiritually for the eventual holiness of the Land of Israel.
The Shaloh settled in Jerusalem, engaged in meditations and mystical practices for the coming redemption. However, after some time, the Ibn Faroukh family, corrupt and violent, seized control of Jerusalem. They imprisoned the Shaloh along with 14 other rabbis, demanding an exorbitant ransom, threatening their execution. The community managed, through pleas, to reduce the ransom to eleven thousand grush. Once released, the Shaloh fled from Jerusalem to the Galilee.
Initially, he settled in Safed, the city of the holy Ari, but at that time, more scholars were in Tiberias, and livelihood was more accessible there. Thus, he moved to Tiberias, made the ancient synagogue his home, and renovated it. From then on, it was called "Shaloh Synagogue." It became the Jewish center of Tiberias: all the city's great minds and scholars discussed Torah there, every guest to the Land of Israel visited the blessed synagogue, and figures like the holy Ari prayed there, attesting to its status.
The Shaloh was a prolific writer of prayers, creating various prayers found in his book "Two Tablets of the Covenant," including a prayer for the descendants, traditionally recited on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the time of his passing. The Shaloh was buried near the graves of great figures like Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and Rambam.
Around 150 years after the Shaloh's death, the Jewish settlement in Tiberias dwindled. Tax payments escalated, leaving the few Jews deeply indebted, facing prison for life unless they found a creative solution. Christian institutions had long coveted the area around the Sea of Galilee, tied to numerous Christian stories. The Greek church offered to buy the synagogue for a substantial amount, covering all their debts and leaving them extra for living expenses. Community leaders reluctantly decided to sell the synagogue, but the contract allowed the Jews to repurchase it at any time for a pre-set amount. They hoped, with Hashem's will or through fundraising, to eventually reclaim the ancient synagogue.
Unfortunately, due to changing times, the sale contract was lost, and the Jews of the city lost their only hope of regaining the sacred and cherished property. Reluctantly, they built new synagogues, and Shaloh Synagogue became legendary. The Greek church is highly secretive and provided no information, especially fearing Jews might find historical documents enabling them to reclaim the property.
About eighteen years ago, a city council member contacted the Greek patriarch, the decisive figure, who finally allowed a small group of rabbis to visit the ruins of Shaloh Synagogue. Since entering the church was forbidden, the rabbis had to climb a ladder to jump onto its roof and view what remained of the synagogue from there. Remarkably, they discovered remnants of the synagogue, and even the ancient Jewish mikveh remained unchanged. Let us hope a way can be found to return this sacred place to Jewish hands.
