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In 1832, the Ashkenazi Jews in Jerusalem managed to obtain a permit from Muhammad Ali Pasha, ruler of Egypt, allowing them to build a synagogue in the Hurva courtyard. The permit was obtained by Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Tzoref, one of the great leaders of the Jerusalem Ashkenazim, who journeyed to Egypt expressly for this purpose. “In the month of Elul we began the clearing of refuse, and the building began. And on the first day of Shevat, 1837, the Old Beit Midrash (ãòø àìèòø îãøù) was inaugurated amid much joy. However, we have not been able to build the Great Synagogue, as the King of Egypt has been deposed, and the Ottoman Sultan rules in his place.”
Perceiving there was hope, the Ashkenazi leaders decided that it was appropriate to build a large and magnificent synagogue in the Hurva courtyard. Two elements were lacking, however:
- Permission from the king’, permitting them to legally build the synagogue
- The necessary funding for such an ambitious construction project
The issue of the permit was more pressing, however, as at that time they had no representative at the court in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople, and the term Ashkenazi Jews did not ring well in the ministers’ ears.
For this reason the community leaders decided to wait with the permit request, but they did not stop their efforts to raise the necessary funds. It appears that in this case the Lord decided to come to their assistance, for in 1847, Yehazkel Reuven, a rich Jew from the town of Babel, vowed to donate money for the project. However, despite the receipt of funding, the issue of the permit was still delayed.
In 1855, Lord Napier, the British consul in Constantinople, visited the Land of Israel. The community leaders met him and invited him to a praying ceremony at the Beit Midrash Shaarei Tzion, which had recently been completed. Lord Napier agreed to attend, and did so with the British consul in the Holy City. As he was leaving, the community leaders showed him the large plot of land intended for the new synagogue, and told him of their extended, unsuccessful efforts to obtain a building permit. Lord Napier promised to raise the matter with the Ottoman authorities upon his return, and within the year the permit was received. The community immediately sent word to the descendants of Yehazkel Reuven, who promptly sent the promised funding, amounting to three thousand four hundred golden edoms. Further good fortune was in store for the community. It happened that at that time, the great architect Assad Effendi was in Jerusalem, sent by the Sultan to examine the buildings on the Temple Mount. He agreed to the community’s proposal to design the synagogue and oversee the initial building, to ensure the construction of a great and magnificent synagogue.
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