When the Earth Shook

In the autumn of 1759 a great earthquake struck the Galilee and brought down much of Tzfat. Maran’s beit midrash was ruined with the rest; when it was rebuilt, it was on a smaller scale than before.

Then, on the first day of January 1837 — 24 Tevet 5597 — came the most terrible earthquake in Tzfat’s memory. In moments most of the Jewish quarter, terraced up the steep hillside, collapsed onto itself; the houses of the upper streets fell onto those below. Thousands were killed. The Beit Yosef synagogue was badly damaged once again.

The treasure under the floor

It was rebuilt — and Tzfat tradition links the rebuilding to a philanthropist named Yitzchak Guetta. And here the legend begins. Guetta, it is said, gave all that was needed — and then set aside half of it again and buried it beneath the synagogue floor. It is waiting there, the old people of Tzfat would say, for the day the Messiah comes, when it will be needed to rebuild the synagogue in the rebuilt Land.

No one has dug to look. Perhaps no one ever should.

The floor itself

Look down when you visit. The floor is laid with Italian marble tiles, and tradition draws attention to how they were set: so that no corner of one tile touches the corner of another. Some say it was simply the craftsman’s art; some say it had a meaning of its own. The gabbai will tell you his version.