صفد: مدخل كنيس الرابي يوسف كارو

This is the entrance to the synagogue of Rabbi Joseph Caro, one of the most important Jewish scholars of the 16th century. The original synagogue was destroyed in an earthquake in 1759, and rebuilt shortly thereafter. It was rebuilt again after an earthquake in 1837. Until 1903, it was maintained as a "beit midrash", or house of learning. It was then refurbished as a synagogue, which has been kept under the continuous care of the Ben-Shimon family ever since. The lower floor of the synagogue was the home of Rabbi Caro, who was the Chief Rabbi of the city, and head of its Beit Din (religious court) until his death in 1575, at age 87. The site is in the middle of the old Jewish quarter, and has never been in non-Jewish hands.