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The Isaac Kaplan Old Yishuv Court Museum |
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The Isaac Kaplan Old Yishuv Court Museum is located in Or Ha-Haim
Street, a narrow passageway that winds its way from the Jewish Quarter to the Armenian
Quarter. The museum, housed in an enchanting, ancient building, offers a glimpse
at the daily life of the Jewish community in Jerusalem living between the walls
of the Old City in the 19th and 20th centuries, until their expulsion in 1948. This
courtyard, one of the few owned by Jews, was the home of the Weingarten family,
descendents of Shlomo Pach, one of the first Ashkenazi Jews to settle in the Quarter
at the beginning of the 19th century.
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Rabbi Abraham Haim Weingarten and his wife lived in one of the rooms in the courtyard
until the capture of the Jewish Quarter in 1948, when they were taken into Jordanian
captivity. After the Six-Day War, the Weingarten family returned to their courtyard
and established a museum that was opened to the public in 1976. Many items of clothing,
documents, furniture, utensils and tools that were a part of the everyday life of
members of the old community were concentrated and put on display – even though
many of the residents were unable to afford most of these items, as most of the
Jewish residents in the Old City were extremely poor.
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A room dating from the Ottoman era, with a richly embroidered divan
and copper utensils. A room from the mid-nineteenth century – exhibiting period
furniture, inscriptions and amulets to protect newly born infants and their mother.
A room from the British Mandate period – the living room of a wealthy family using
a new and unique implement to light their home – an electric lamp.
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The building's courtyard has been preserved in its original condition. A special
display depicts the residents' sources of income and one of the building's eight
rooms houses a rotating exhibition.
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Two ancient synagogues are located in the courtyard. One is named after Rabbi Lurie
Ashkenazi, the kabbalist known by his Hebrew acronym "The Holy ARI", born according
to tradition in one of the rooms in the house, in 1564. The ARI was an important
leader of the kabbalists of Safed during the sixteenth century and one of the proponents
of the late kabbala doctrine.
When the first Ashkenazi Jews arrived in Jerusalem and established the Sha'ar Shamaim
(Gateway to Heaven) Yeshiva, this building was used as their synagogue, which they
named after the Holy ARI. The synagogue was closed after it burned down in the riots
of 1936.
Or Ha-Haim (Light of Life) synagogue was located adjacent to the ARI synagogue.
Rabbi Haim Ben Atar left Morocco and came to Jerusalem in 1742, and established
the Knesset Yisrael Yeshiva. This is where he completed his Biblical commentary,
The Or Haim. The yeshiva and synagogue he established remained after him. The great
Sephardi rabbis studied here, and it remained in existence until the end of the
19th century.
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Both of the synagogues were active until the War of Independence
in 1948. The buildings themselves were not destroyed, but they were badly damaged
and all their contents were looted. After the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967,
the synagogues were found undamaged, but empty of their contents. The contemporary
Old Yishuv Court Museum incorporates both of the reconstructed synagogues.
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The Site List
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