Ari Synagogue, Heritage synagogue in Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem

The Ari Synagogue sits on the ground floor of the Old Yishuv Court Museum building, showing Ottoman-era design with traditional religious elements. The space holds artifacts and records that show how Jerusalem's Jewish community lived in the 1800s.

The Ari Synagogue occupies the room where, by tradition, Rabbi Isaac Luria was born in 1534 and lived for 20 years. Under Ottoman rule Jews could not build new synagogues, so the room became a discreet Sephardic prayer house; it operated openly from the second half of the 19th century until the 1936 riots, when it was looted and burned.

The synagogue is named after Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572), known as the Ari, who founded the Lurianic kabbalah school. Tradition holds he was born in this building and lived here 20 years, with the prophet Elijah as sandek at his circumcision. A narrow, dark room holds a perpetual light and the inscription "Here Elijah the Prophet appeared."

You can visit this space along with the museum exhibits about Jewish life in the Old City. Plan for narrow stairs and compact rooms, which are typical of this part of the Old Quarter.

A narrow, dark room in the corner of the building holds a perpetual light; a Hebrew inscription on its wall reads "Here Elijah the Prophet appeared", marking the tradition that Elijah was sandek at Luria's circumcision in 1534.