Maghen Abraham Synagogue Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Maghen Avraham Synagogue

Religion
Affiliation	Judaism
District	Wadi Abu Jamil
Rite	Sephardic
Leadership	Lebanese Jewish Community Council (Isaac Arazi)
Status	open
Location
Location	Beirut, Lebanon
Architecture
Completed	1925

The Maghen Abraham Synagogue (Arabic: كنيس ماغين أبراهام - Kanīs Mā'ghīn Abrā'hām; Hebrew: בית הכנסת מגן אברהם - Beth HaKenesset Magen Avraham) is a very important synagogue in Lebanon. A synagogue is a special place of worship for Jewish people.

This synagogue is located in the Wadi Abu Jamil area, which is a Jewish neighborhood in downtown Beirut. Sadly, the synagogue was damaged during the Lebanese Civil War. But good news! Work to fix it began in May 2009. By August 2010, the repairs were almost finished, and the inside looked beautiful. The synagogue reopened, but it was slightly damaged again during the huge 2020 Beirut explosions.

Did you know? The Maghen Abraham Synagogue has a "daughter" synagogue far away in Canada. It's called Congregation Maghen Abraham.

History of the Synagogue

Long ago, there was an older synagogue in Beirut. It was destroyed in the year 502 by a big earthquake that damaged many cities in Lebanon.

The Maghen Abraham Synagogue was built much later, in 1925. It was named after Abraham Sassoon, whose son, Moise Abraham Sassoon from Calcutta, helped pay for it. The land for the synagogue was given by Isaac Mann. An architect named Bindo Manham designed the building. Ezra Benjamin and Joseph Balayla watched over the construction. Josef Farhi, who was the leader of the Jewish community, helped raise more money to finish the inside of the synagogue. This special building was also used for teaching about the Torah (Jewish holy texts) and for science lessons. It was also a place for weddings and other happy events.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Beirut had sixteen synagogues, and they were all full of people! Even after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the number of Jewish people in Lebanon grew. By then, there were about 14,000 Jews living there. In 1976, when the civil war started, Josef Farhi moved the precious Torah scrolls from the synagogue to Geneva. He gave them to a famous Jewish-Lebanese banker named Edmond Safra, who kept them safe in his bank. Most of these scrolls are now in Sephardic synagogues in Israel.

Maghen Abraham Synagogue in Beirut, Lebanon, before it was restored.

Even though many Jewish families had already left Lebanon after the 1958 Crisis and the Lebanese Civil War, about 100 Jewish families still lived near the synagogue before the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. During the 1982 war, different groups were in the Wadi Abu Jamil area. On August 12, 1982, the synagogue was damaged by shelling. The building was left with rubble and broken pieces on the floor. Two marble tablets that looked like the Ten Commandments and a marble Star of David were also shattered. Many Jewish families had to leave their homes because of the shelling.

Bringing the Synagogue Back to Life

Work to fix the damaged synagogue started in 2009. The Lebanese government, Hezbollah, and other community leaders all agreed to the project. The repairs cost about $200,000, which came from private donations. A company called Solidere, owned by the family of Rafik Hariri (a former Prime Minister), also gave $150,000.

Long ago, Rafik Hariri had decided that the synagogue should be restored and surrounded by a garden.

By 2008, Jewish people living outside Lebanon wanted to fix the synagogue. They hoped to start once Lebanon became more stable. Later, they said the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery in Sodeco would be repaired starting in October 2008. The Prime Minister at the time, Fouad Siniora, said:

We respect Judaism, just as we respect Christianity. Our only problem is with Israel.

Hassan Nasrallah, a leader of Hezbollah, also welcomed the renovation. He said, "This is a religious place of worship and its restoration is welcome." Another spokesman for Hezbollah, Hussain Rahal, added that his group supported fixing the synagogue. He said, "We respect the Jewish religion just like we do Christianity. The Jews have always lived among us. We have an issue with Israel's occupation of land."

Isaac Arazi, the 65-year-old leader of the small Jewish community, had already received some money. He thought the synagogue would need up to $1 million for all the repairs. He managed to raise about $40,000 and hoped for more. Solidere SAL, the construction company, also gave $150,000 to each of 14 religious groups fixing places of worship in Lebanon. This was about $2.1 million in total. Nasser Chammaa, the chairman of Solidere, said, "We help all the communities." Also, some banks in Switzerland, whose owners had Lebanese-Jewish roots, agreed to help with money. One bank offered $100,000, but Arazi did not say its name.

The restoration was supposed to begin in November 2008. However, the global financial crisis caused delays. But the work did start, along with other building projects in the area. By October 2010, the renovations were almost done. News reports said the "synagogue restored to glory" and "has been renovated beautifully." The synagogue reopened, but it was slightly damaged again in the 2020 Beirut explosions.

Maghen Abraham Synagogue facts for kids

History of the Synagogue

Bringing the Synagogue Back to Life

See also