Remains of a synagogue from 1,500 years ago in Horbat Kanaf (Ivrit)

Our Land Is Full of Batei Kenessiot, the Presence of Yehudim and Their Connection to Hashem

  

 The site of Horbat Kanaf was discovered about four kilometers east of the northeastern shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee in 1885 by Lawrence Oliphant. The ancient synagogue was located in the prominent stone structure at the top of the hill. This structure is new, it was built in the nineteenth century on the ruins of the ancient synagogue.

The northern entrance of the building corresponds to the original entrance of the synagogue from which the threshold stone and the three lower courses have been preserved. The most impressive find from the synagogue was discovered in the nineteenth century by Lawrence Oliphant. He discovered a stone lintel 3.5 meters long, on which is an Aramaic inscription that in Hebrew reads: 

"This lintel, remember well Yossa ben Halafu ben Haniyu who made it." The inscription expresses the volunteerism of the community for the purposes of building the synagogue. 

In 551, a strong earthquake struck the north of the country, and the synagogue of Kanaf was probably damaged by the same earthquake. The building was restored and continued to serve as a synagogue, but the renovated building was smaller and simpler than the original. 

However, the synagogue was divided by two rows of four columns each. The excavation found many capitals in a simple Doric style, some large and some small, from which it was concluded that there were two floors of columns, with the upper floor containing the smaller columns and capitals being a gallery.

Deir Aziz - A 1,500-year-old synagogue 

 

Until the Six-Day War, the village, which was built on the ruins of a Jewish settlement from the Mishnah and Talmudic period and included: a synagogue, a wine press, a cemetery and probably also a place to manufacture pottery, was under Syrian control. The findings of the excavations at Deir Aziz indicate that the Jewish settlement there existed until the earthquake of January 18, 749, which was one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the Land of Israel.

The uniqueness of the synagogue at Deir Aziz lies in the evidence we find in it for two traditions: originally, the building was built on an east-west axis with the direction of prayer facing west, but later the direction of prayer was changed to the south. Why and how was the change made? The answers are in the film.

Where did the name come from - near the western entrance, three fragments of a decorated lintel were discovered, on which were inscribed in Greek and which mention, among other things, the name 'Azizus'. Apparently, the name "Aziz" is related to the original name of this Talmudic settlement. Further excavations uncovered additional fragments of a Greek inscription that are related to the first inscription and can be seen as a single inscription that wished blessings to the donors. 

Most of the inscriptions in the synagogues deal with donations and the commemoration of the donors, thus emphasizing the synagogue's place as a central institution in the life of the Jewish community in the city and the village. Naturally, in the mountainous Galilee and the Golan, in buildings paved with stone tiles, the inscriptions are found engraved on stone items, while in buildings paved with mosaics, both in the Galilee and in the valleys, most of the inscriptions are in mosaic. Regarding the language of the inscriptions, in rural areas most of the inscriptions are in Hebrew and Aramaic. 

The site was discovered by Lawrence Oliphant in 1885. Oliphant described a large building built of ashlars and another building that was a synagogue. At the time, the lintel of the eastern doorway was still in place. For more information in Hebrew: https://historicalsitesinisrael.com/%... For more information in English: https://historicalsitesinisrael.com/e... Yehuda Holtzman