Bar'am National Park, Ancient synagogue ruins near Sasa, Israel

Bar'am National Park is a national park on a hilltop 755 m above sea level between Kibbutz Sasa and Moshav Dovev, near the Lebanese border. Its centrepiece is the large synagogue, a rectangular building 15.2 by 20 m facing south toward Jerusalem, with a six-column portico and a water cistern in front. Three doorways pierce the facade; the central lintel carries a wreath with vine and grape clusters and traces of two winged figures. A smaller ruined synagogue and an active Maronite church also stand on the hill.

The village of Bar'am is first mentioned in 1210 by the traveller Rabbi Shmuel bar Shimshon, and it apparently ended in the Mamluk period. The large synagogue was built between the 2nd and 4th centuries; archaeologically its construction is dated to the late 4th or early 5th century, possibly because it was dismantled and rebuilt in the 5th century, a practice called spolia. In 1905 Heinrich Kohl and Carl Watzinger excavated here during their survey of Galilee's ancient synagogues.

The site's name comes from Kafr Bir'im, the Maronite Christian village whose houses stand among the ruins; its residents were evacuated in 1948 and not allowed back despite promises, and the displaced villagers have pursued legal claims to return. The Maronite church on the hilltop south of the large synagogue is still used on feast days and special events.

The site sits at about 755 meters elevation and has marked paths that connect the main ruins. The ground is uneven in places, so sturdy footwear helps, especially around the synagogue foundations and carved stone remains.

The small synagogue's decorated lintel, photographed by a British survey expedition in 1865, is now in the Louvre in Paris; a copy is displayed at the Bar-David Museum in Kibbutz Bar'am. Its Aramaic inscription asks for peace for the place and all Israel and names Yose HaLevi ben Levi, who made the lintel.