Zoharei Chama Synagogue, Orthodox synagogue on Jaffa Road, Jerusalem, Israel
Zoharei Chama Synagogue is a tall, narrow four-story stone building with a wooden attic on Jaffa Road, opposite Mahane Yehuda market. Its façade carries a 5-metre-diameter half-circle sundial with a horizontal gnomon, flanked by two mechanical clocks, one set to European time and one to local time. The upper floor holds the synagogue and study hall; the lower floors once housed a hostel for immigrants.
The building was constructed between 1908 and 1917 under the direction of Rabbi Shmuel Levy and initially served as both a prayer space and lodging for Jewish immigrants. This dual purpose reflected the needs of Jerusalem's growing Jewish population at that time.
The synagogue is known for the vasikin prayer tradition, where worshippers gather specifically at sunrise following precise time calculations. This ritual shapes the daily prayer life of the congregation.
The building stands on Jaffa Road opposite Mahane Yehuda market, and the 5-metre sundial and two mechanical clocks face the street, visible from outside. On weekdays the ground-floor synagogue holds Mincha and Maariv services every few minutes until the building closes at 22:30, with a single Shacharit minyan at sunrise. Women may pray in the side room on Shabbat only.
The sundial was designed by Rabbi Moshe Shapiro, a self-taught watchmaker from Mea Shearim who learned astronomy from the writings of Maimonides and the Vilna Gaon. The head of the Haram al-Sharif waqf asked him to build a similar sundial on the Temple Mount and offered large payment; after consulting Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, Shapiro refused and fled to Petah Tikva.
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