Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue-Alexandria

The Elijah the Prophet's Synagogue on Nabi Daniel Street in Alexandria was a central synagogue. It was built between 1848 and 1850, and was then called the "New Synagogue". The building was designed by architect Léon Barcilon in an eclectic style. There is currently no activity in the synagogue, and it is open to visitors Sunday through Thursday. Around the synagogue there is security on behalf of the Egyptian government.

The history of the synagogue

Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenora, who visited Alexandria in 1487, found two synagogues there. One of the synagogues was the Elijah Synagogue named after Elijah the Prophet, founded in 1354.
Interior of the Elijah the Prophet Synagogue in Alexandria

This synagogue was destroyed in the 18th century, by order of Napoleon, and in 1848 was designed and rebuilt by an Italian architect in a format reminiscent of a large European cathedral, as the building now looks in Alexandria. The size and splendor of the synagogue is a testament to the large and vibrant Jewish community that was in the city during this period.

Although the present synagogue is large and impressive, it is probably not like the great synagogue that existed in the city in the days of the Talmud, called "Dioploston of Alexandria" - and is described as such in the appendix to the Sukkah Tractate:

Rabbi Yehuda said, Anyone who has not seen Alexandria's Dioplestone has not seen great respect for Israel all his life. As a sort of large basilica was, Stew ahead of Stew. Times there were doubles in it like the Exodus, and seventy-one chairs were in it of gold, against seventy-one elders, and each one was made of twenty-five ribs, and a wooden platform was in the middle, and the cantor of the Knesset stood on the horn, and the sudrin in his hand. A burden to happen - Hela waves in Sudrin, and the whole nation wants an artist. And there were no mixed settlers, but gold in themselves, and scrapes in themselves, and tercites in themselves, that he might be a lodger in it and take care of his foster-mother, and from there his livelihood would come

The synagogue from the Talmudic period was destroyed in 115 AD.
The "Elijah the Prophet" synagogue today gives a feeling of a large and vibrant Jewish community, but in practice the community is poor and scarce. The synagogue complex houses the community institutions: the synagogue, the building of the community offices, the office of the Rabbinical Court of Alexandria, the Jewish school building, and a large courtyard with vegetation and a well-kept garden but in practice there is no Jewish presence and they are used only for visitors and tourists.

Today - there is no quorum in the synagogue, only the signs and furniture remain in the courtrooms, the Jewish school is rented to a Muslim school and only the title at the top of the building mentions the thousands of students who passed through it over the years. The school, founded in 1907, operated until 1956 and included a kindergarten, a boys 'school and a girls' school.
Mr. Yosef Gaon, the current president of the community, comes from a privileged family in Egypt as his father was many years ago the personal tailor of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and therefore always protected his father and family from the various divorces and disturbances that fell on the Jews. On his table is a picture of the Rebbe of Lubavitch. He sits in his office in the community for most of the day and tries to take care of all the areas necessary for the continued existence of the community. And makes every effort to preserve the synagogue and Jewish life for the few Jews living in the city. Today there are 23 Jews in Alexandria - four men and nineteen women, most of whom are married to Christians or Muslims, but come to the synagogue on Israeli holidays. In preparation for the Jewish holidays, terrible days and Passover, the community makes an effort to bring young people out of the country to complete a minyan and great joy when the sound of prayer can be renewed in the great and glorious synagogue of Alexandria.

In recent years the synagogue has been neglected and without maintenance. But the visits of many Jews from different countries have continued throughout the years since the peace treaty with Egypt.

Due to water damage on the top floor, the ceiling collapsed with the help of the women and it was learned that the Egyptian government had allocated about $ 6 million for a general renovation of the synagogue. In December 2019, it was announced that the renovation was completed. The synagogue was inaugurated after the renovation on January 9, 2020.