Discovering the Lost History of the Abraham Avinu Synagogue in Hebron

About four hundred years ago, a creaking ship set sail from Spain toward the shores of the Land of Israel. A group of Jews expelled from Spain, led by Rabbi Malkiel Ashkenazi, were aboard. They disembarked in Jaffa, paid port taxes, bribes, and whatever else was required in those times, and began searching for a place to settle. They found what they were seeking in the city of Hebron.

At that time, not a single Jew lived there, yet they were undeterred. They purchased land, established a large courtyard surrounded by buildings, and erected a synagogue at its center. This community flourished until the riots of 1929, when Hebron’s Arabs brutally murdered dozens of Jews and the British authorities expelled the remaining Jewish population. Owing to this community’s presence, Hebron became one of the four holy cities of the Land of Israel—Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, and Tiberias. Each of these cities maintained a communal fund that collected donations from Jewish communities around the world to support the inhabitants of the Land of Israel, serving as emissaries of the entire Jewish people.

The synagogue built by the Spanish exiles was magnificent—large, fortified, and imposing, as was customary in Spain. In contrast, most local buildings in the Land of Israel were small and dilapidated. The local Arabs rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the sight of such an impressive structure erected by the Yahud. At the time, however, the Jews were not viewed as a threat. The Arabs merely imposed heavy taxes and harassed them for financial gain.

Hebron is the city of our forefather Abraham, peace be upon him. Its Arabic name, Al-Khalil—“the Friend”—refers to Abraham, the friend of the Almighty. Nearby lies the Cave of the Patriarchs, burial place of the forefathers of humanity—from Adam to the holy patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—rendering the city sacred to all nations.

The Jewish community of Hebron experienced many ups and downs. One year, several community members traveled on business to neighboring lands, leaving only nine Jewish men behind for Yom Kippur. The entire community—men, women, and children—was deeply distressed. How could they observe Yom Kippur without a minyan? Suddenly, just as the sun began to set, a mysterious man appeared and joined them, completing the quorum. At the conclusion of the holy day, he blew the shofar and disappeared.

The following day, the synagogue’s gabbai dreamt of the man, who revealed himself, saying: “I am Abraham, your father. I saw your distress, and therefore I came to join you for the prayers of Yom Kippur.” From that time onward, the synagogue became known as the Abraham Avinu Synagogue.

In 1835, the tyrannical Turkish ruler Ibrahim Pasha decided to build a fortress on the coast at Majdal (modern-day Ashkelon). For this purpose, he required building stones and dismantled the ancient synagogue of Gaza, using its materials for his fortress. The Jews managed to preserve the synagogue’s carved wooden doors and, at the first opportunity, transported them to Hebron, where they were installed at the entrance of the Abraham Avinu Synagogue.

The synagogue was regarded as especially holy and believed to possess unique spiritual powers. Hebron’s midwife, Bolisa Hannah, would tie a thread from the synagogue’s sacred ark, pull it across rooftops, thread it through a window, and place its end upon the heart of a woman in labor.

In 1858, the renowned kabbalist Rabbi Eliyahu Mani—one of the great sages of Baghdad and a disciple of Rabbi Abdullah Somech—immigrated to the Land of Israel. The Jews of Hebron accepted him as their rabbi. He refused to take a salary and devoted himself entirely to serving the community. Through his connections in Baghdad, he secured vital financial support for Hebron’s Jews. He expanded the Abraham Avinu Synagogue, which had grown old and cramped, repairing and beautifying it. In 1869, his close friend, the esteemed Ben Ish Chai—leader of the Babylonian Jewish world—visited Hebron. In his honor, Rabbi Mani constructed a special chamber within the synagogue, sanctified for prayer according to kabbalistic intentions and spiritual unifications.

After the 1929 riots, the Arabs turned the synagogue into a goat pen. Following the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jordanians completely destroyed the structure. When Hebron was liberated in 1967, no trace remained of the synagogue or the Jewish quarter as a whole. Only ten years later did experts succeed in identifying the synagogue’s remnants. After a prolonged public struggle, permission was granted to restore the site based on historical descriptions and surviving evidence. Torah scrolls rescued from the 1929 massacre were returned to the synagogue, and homes were built around it, forming what is now known as the Abraham Avinu Neighborhood.