Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue

The most visited of Tzfat's ancient synagogues, built shortly after the death of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari) in 1572 and named in his honour. Luria was the central figure of the 16th-century Kabbalistic revival in Tzfat, and his influence on Jewish mystical thought was enormous. The synagogue is a modest stone structure set below street level, with a characteristically simple Sephardic interior — the wooden ark painted in deep blue and gold, the bimah at the centre, oil lamps on the ceiling.

The synagogue is in the old Jewish quarter, down a steep alleyway from the main square. Active worshippers use it daily; visitors are welcome at non-prayer times. Dress modestly and bring a head covering for men.

things to do sight
A story
Isaac Luria — the Ari — arrived in Tzfat from Egypt in 1570 and died just two years later at around 38 years old. In those two years he developed the system of Kabbalistic thought that would shape Jewish mysticism for centuries. He never wrote down his teachings; they were transcribed by his student Chaim Vital and published posthumously. The synagogue was built in his memory after his death, by disciples who revered him as one of the greatest Jewish thinkers who ever lived.