First Shul In 3,000 Erected On Har Hazeisim

The Donors The Ginzbergs 

 Just three days before the celebration of Yom Yerushalayim, the first shul to be erected on Har Hazeisim in 3,000 years was dedicated by Rabbi and Rebbetzin Chaim Aryeh Zev Ginsberg in memory of their daughter Sarala, a”h, who passed away six years ago at the tender age of 17.

When Rabbi Ginzberg began his search to dedicate a shul in the memory of his beloved daughter who is buried in the family plot on Har Hazeisim, he didn’t have to look too far. Through a chance meeting with Josh Wander, one of the most knowledgeable people in the history and location of graves on Har Hazeisim, Rabbi Ginzberg learned of a community of 200 families that live at the foot of the mountain – one that Josh now calls home.

As Josh showed the Ginzbergs around his community of Maalei Zeisim, they were shocked to see a thriving, bustling community with hundreds of children living in spacious apartments in a completely protected, walled complex.

Noticing a large, empty hole in the ground in middle of the community, Rabbi Ginzberg asked Josh what it was intended for. Josh explained that it was a parcel of land that had been purchased years earlier by Irving Moskowitz z”l, who intended to build a shul on it. Unfortunately, the project had never gotten off the ground and the parcel remained undeveloped for over a decade.

Hearing that, Rabbi Ginzberg realized the incredible Hashgacha Pratis that had sent him there and immediately sprang into action build a shul – Ohel Sarah – in the memory of his daughter on the empty land parcel.

Following five years of meetings, transatlantic trips, and countless sleepless nights, the community last Wednesday held a beautiful Chanukas Habayis for Ohel Sarah, providing the community a real shul to daven in for the first time in twenty years – a welcome change from the underground parking where minyanim were held until now.

At the Chanukas Habayis, one of the Rabbanim noted that Ohel Sarah is the first Shul on Har Hazeisim in 3,000 years, and as the Medrash says that Moshiach will ascend Har Habayis by passing through Har Hazeisim, Ohel Sarah could very well be the very first shul to be visited by him.

For Rabbi and Rebbetzin Ginzberg, the promise they made to their daughter Sarala a”h close to 6 years ago has now been fulfilled.