Caro Synagogue

Caro Synagogue Review

Tucked among art galleries, the Caro appears quite run-down, but it is considered one of the Old City's most interesting and even charming synagogues by those who feel a deep spiritual connection to the great scholar after whom it was named. Rabbi Yosef Caro arrived in Tzfat in 1535 and led its Jewish community for many years. He is the author of the Shulchan Aruch, the code of law that remains a foundation of Jewish religious interpretation to the present day, and this synagogue is said to have been Caro's study hall. It was destroyed in the great earthquake of 1837 and rebuilt in the mid-19th century. If you ask, the attendant might open the ark containing the Torah scrolls, one of which is at least 400 years old. A glass-faced cabinet at the back of the synagogue is the geniza, where damaged scrolls or prayer books are stored (because they carry the name of God, they cannot be destroyed). The turquoise paint here—considered the "color of heaven"—is believed to help keep away the evil eye.