Construction
Funds for the ambitious, multi-million dollar project were raised among Belzer Hasidim and were supplemented by various fund-raising projects throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Like the original synagogue, which took 15 years to complete, the new Belz synagogue that now dominates the northern Jerusalem skyline also took 15 years to construct. It was dedicated in 2000.
Its main sanctuary seats 6,000 worshippers. The ornate wooden ark, an item for the Guinness Book of Records, is 12 meters high and weighs 18 tons. It has the capacity to hold 70 Torah scrolls. Nine chandeliers, each standing at 18 feet (5.5 m) high and 11 feet (3.4 m) wide, each contain over 200,000 pieces of Czech crystal.
In stark contrast to the majestic synagogue, the simple wooden chair and shtender used by Rabbi Aharon Rokeach when he came to Israel in 1944 stand in a glass case next to the ark.
Read more about this topic: Belz Great Synagogue
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