The Abraham Avinu Synagogue was built by HakhamMalkiel Ashkenazi in the Jewish Quarter of Hebron in 1540. The domed structure represented the physical center of the Jewish Quarter of Hebron. Located in the Old City of Hebron, it became the spiritual hub of the Jewish community there and a major center for the study of Kabalah. It was restored in 1738 and enlarged in 1864. The synagogue stood empty since the 1929 Hebron massacre and was destroyed after 1948.
History
The synagogue is mentioned by Rabbi Naftali Hertz Bachrach in his 1648 book Emek HaMelech. The book deals with the kabbalah, but in the introduction, he mentions a dramatic story about the Avraham Avinu synagogue. Jordan took control of the area in 1948, and after this time a wholesale market, trash dump and public toilet were placed on the site of the Jewish Quarter. The ruins of the synagogue were turned into a goat and donkey pen. The adjacent, "Kabbalists' Courtyard" was turned into an abattoir. In 1971 the Israeli Government approved the rebuilding of the synagogue, courtyard and adjoining buildings. Work on the restoration was underway in 1976. The man instrumental in re-discovering and rebuilding the synagogue was local Hebron resident Ben Zion Tavger. He was a prominent physicist in the Soviet Union at Gorky University noted for his work in the Magnetic Symmetry phenomenon. He moved to Israel in 1972 and became a chair at Tel Aviv University. Tavger wrote in his book My Hebron about the Avraham Avinu synagogue:"I let my eyes wander around the interior of the synagogue. I had time to think and recall its previous state, five or six years ago, and thought of the sequence of events that had transpired. When I first came here, the place had indeed gone by the name of "Avraham Avinu Synagogue", but its name had seemed completely disconnected from its essence... To me it had seemed obvious that we had to dig and clear out the refuse and rubbish from the site, to reveal the splendor of the synagogue for all to see." Today, the rebuilt synagogue is used each Friday night by the Jewish residents of Hebron to hold prayer services. The synagogue is also open to visitors each day of the week so they can learn about the history of the synagogue, and hold private services. Today, a plaque with the cover of the book Emek HaMelech and the full text in the original printing hangs on a plaque on the wall of the rebuilt Avraham Avinu synagogue.
