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Haim Capousi Synagogue (Capoussi) at Cairo, Egypt
The Haim Capousi (חיים כפוסי) Synagogue in the Muski neighborhood of Cairo (Jewish quarter, חארת אל-יהוד, حارة اليهود), Egypt. [1] An arched doorway in a weathered stone wall leads to an open courtyard littered with debris and construction materials. To your left, the front doorways lead down to a neglected but beautiful sanctuary, illuminated by natural light that pours through the windows and glass-domed roof. Midway through the interior, four pillars uphold archways between the Ark, on your left, and the Bimah on your right. [2]
Description
The Capousi Synagogue, named after Rabbi Haim Capoussi (d.1631), dates back to the late 17th century. [3] Over the years, various modifications and remodels were done to the synagogue, although certain elements are original. [4] The sanctuary has two stories with the second containing seating for women. Besides the sanctuary, the synagogue compound also has a space for a sukkah, and a residence for the shamas (sexton/ beadle). [5]
History of the Synagogue
The Capousi Synagogue is an Ottoman-style building that can be found at 3 Darb El Noussayr in Haret El-Yahud in, the Jewish quarter of Cairo. [6, 7] At the beginning of the 20th century, a restoration project was undertaken by the combined efforts of Jacob de Menasce, Jacob Menasce Bey Cattaui, and B. Green [8, 9, 10]. Jacob de Menasce was the president of the Jewish community in Alexandria, Jacob Menasce Bey Cattaui was the president of the Jewish community in Cairo, and B. Green was a noted philanthropist [11].
Since its founding, the synagogue has remained "under the constant care of d’Abramino Caro and his family" [12]. The family built an oratory next to the Rabbi’s tomb so people could visit and pay their respects [13]. The tomb serves as a pilgrimage site that is especially busy during the anniversary of the Rabbi's death, the 12th of Shevat, and the night before Yom Kippour [14]. In March 1986, the synagogue was registered as an antiquity. [15] It was briefly closed down by the government after squatters occupied it during Egypt’s January 2011 Revolution [16].
Rabbi Haim Capousi
Haim Capousi (Capoussi) was born in 1540 in Algiers and by 1555 had reached Cairo where he died in 1631. [17, 18] His family moved to Egypt during his early childhood where he went on to become a sage, Rabbi, and Dayan (Jewish religious judge). [19, 20] He was taught by the cabalist Ibn Fodeila and became a disciple of Rabbi Isaac Luria. [21] Two written works are attributed to his name, one unpublished and one published. His unpublished work, entitled Sifsei Chaim, discusses classical Jewish legal texts that critically examine and interpret the Bible. His other work, Be’or Hachaim, is on Chumash and was published 300 years after his death [22]. He died at the age of 91 and was buried in the Cairo Jewish cemetery, Bassatine [23, 24].
Haim Capousi was once involved in a dispute with Bezalel Ashkenazi, a leading Rabbi, Talmudist, and halakhic authority [25]. The dispute arose regarding a lawsuit for debt in which Capousi was found in favor of the defendant. When Capousi later went blind, a general suspicion arose that he had accepted a bride in the suit. When his sight was restored, however, it was understood as a vindication of the accusations. After this, Haim Capousi was referred to as “Ba’al Nes” (the subject of a miracle) [26].
Sources
Notes
[1] Yoram Meital. Atarim Yehudiim Bemisrayim, (Yad Ben Zvi, 1995), 56-61.
[2] DiarnaInfo, “Video Tour, Haim Capousi (Capoussi) Synagogue, Cairo, Egypt, 2017,” December 27, 2017, Youtube, Accessed July 12, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DelsaEi68Y&t=3s.
[3] Sven Baruchel, “Synagogues,” Association Internationale Nebi Daniel, http://www.nebidaniel.org/synagogues.php?lang=en.
[4] Yoram Meital.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Sven Baruchel.
[7] Gilbert Cabasso, Juifs D'Egypte: Images Et Textes, (Éditions Du Scribe, 1984).
[8] Sven Baruchel
[9] Gilbert Cabasso.
[10] Alain Soriano, “Yskor," (Institut Sépharade Européen, March 22, 1996), accessed July 11, 2022, http://sefarad.org/lm/022/yskor.html.
[11] Gilbert Cabasso.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Samar Samir, "Fallen from Grace: Rabbi Hayyim El-Imshati Synagogue," Egypt Today, https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/38844/Fallen-from-Grace-Rabbi-Hayyim-El-Imshati-Synagogue.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Dotan Arad, “Welfare and Charity in a Sixteenth-Century Jewish Community in Egypt: A Study of Genizah Documents,” Al-Masaq 29 (3): 258–72, https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2017.1383822.
[18] Abraham David, "Capusi, Ḥayyim," In Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 458, Vol. 4, (Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007), Gale eBooks (accessed July 11, 2022). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2587503943/GVRL?u=ucsantacruz&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=a0c40ca8.
[19] “Hilula and Yarzeit for the Hebrew Month of Shevat,” Yeshshem.com, http://www.yeshshem.com/hilulashevat.htm.
[20] Dotan Arad.
[21] Gilbert Cabasso.
[22] Yeshshem.com.
[23] Gilbert Cabasso.
[24] Yeshshem.com
[25] Abraham David, "Ashkenazi, Bezalel ben Abraham," in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 572-573, Vol. 2, Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007, Gale eBooks (accessed July 12, 2022). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2587501465/GVRL?u=ucsantacruz&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=a7ad7902.
[26] Abraham David, "Capusi, Ḥayyim."
Works Cited
Arad, Dotan. “Welfare and Charity in a Sixteenth-Century Jewish Community in Egypt: A Study of Genizah Documents.” Al-Masaq 29 (3): 258–72, https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2017.1383822.
Baruchel, Sven. “Synagogues.” Association Internationale Nebi Daniel. http://www.nebidaniel.org/synagogues.php?lang=en.
Cabasso, Gilbert. Juifs D'Egypte: Images Et Textes. Éditions Du Scribe, 1984.
David, Abraham. "Capusi, Ḥayyim." In Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 458. Vol. 4. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. Gale eBooks (accessed July 12, 2022). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2587503943/GVRL?u=ucsantacruz&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=a0c40ca8.
David, Abraham. "Ashkenazi, Bezalel ben Abraham." In Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 572-573. Vol. 2. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. Gale eBooks (accessed July 12, 2022). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2587501465/GVRL?u=ucsantacruz&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=a7ad7902.
DiarnaInfo. “Video Tour, Haim Capousi (Capoussi) Synagogue, Cairo, Egypt, 2017.” Youtube. December 27, 2017. Accessed July 12, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DelsaEi68Y&t=3s.
“Hilula and Yarzeit for the Hebrew Month of Shevat.” Yeshshem.com. Accessed July 12, 2022. http://www.yeshshem.com/hilulashevat.htm.
Isarël, Herbert. "Yskor.” In Los Muestros. Institut Sépharade Européen, March 22, 1996. Accessed June 18, 2018. http://sefarad.org/lm/022/yskor.html.
Meital, Yoram. Atarim Yehudiim Bemisrayim. Yad Ben Zvi, 1995. 56-61.
Samir, Samar. "Fallen from Grace: Rabbi Hayyim El-Imshati Synagogue." Egypt Today, December 30, 2017. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/38844/Fallen-from-Grace-Rabbi-Hayyim-El-Imshati-Synagogue.
Photos
Radovan, Zeev. "Interior. Photograph of: Rav Haim Capusi Synagogue in Cairo." From the collection of the National Library of Israel, courtesy of The Center for Jewish Art.
Radovan, Zeev. "Exterior. Photograph of: Rav Haim Capusi Synagogue in Cairo." From the collection of the National Library of Israel, courtesy of The Center for Jewish Art.
Radovan, Zeev. "Interior. Photograph of: Rav Haim Capusi Synagogue in Cairo." From the collection of the National Library of Israel, courtesy of The Center for Jewish Art.
Radovan, Zeev. "Interior. Photograph of: Rav Haim Capusi Synagogue in Cairo." From the collection of the National Library of Israel, courtesy of The Center for Jewish Art.
Radovan, Zeev. "Interior. Photograph of: Rav Haim Capusi Synagogue in Cairo." From the collection of the National Library of Israel, courtesy of The Center for Jewish Art.
Radovan, Zeev. "Interior. Photograph of: Rav Haim Capusi Synagogue in Cairo." From the collection of the National Library of Israel, courtesy of The Center for Jewish Art.
Radovan, Zeev. "Photograph of: Rav Haim Capusi Synagogue in Cairo." From the collection of the National Library of Israel, courtesy of The Center for Jewish Art.