| Building Name: | Sha'ar HaShamayim Synagogue |
| Religious Affiliation: | Orthodox Judaism |
| Rite: | Sephardic |
| Functional Status: | Active on High Holidays |
| Year Completed: | 1899 |
| Architect: | Maurice Youssef Cattaui, Eduard Matasek[1] |
| Specifications: | no |
The Sha'ar HaShamayim Synagogue (בית כנסת שער השמים, lit. Gate of Heaven) is located in Cairo, Egypt. The synagogue was also known as Temple Ismailia and the Adly Street Synagogue.
Its long-time leader was Chief Rabbi Chaim Nahum. In 2008, the synagogue marked its 100th anniversary.[2] The synagogue was built in a style evoking ancient Egyptian temples, and was once the largest building on the boulevard.[3]
When the synagogue opened in 1899, there was a vibrant Jewish community in Cairo. The last time the synagogue was full was in the 1960s.[2] Today the community numbers 6 members, most of them older women.[2]
Presently, it houses a collection of a few hundred books, ranging in age from contemporary to the 1500s, concerning or relevant to the history of Jews in Egypt.
Although it is considered a Sephardic synagogue, many Ashkenazi Jews were members of the congregation and contributed to its construction and upkeep.[4]
The synagogue underwent minor exterior renovations in 2007.
In February 2010, a booby-trapped suitcase was hurled at the synagogue from a nearby hotel. The suitcase caught fire, but no one was hurt and no damage was reported.[3]
Rivka Ulmer, “The Sha‘ar Ha-Shamayim Synagogue (Keniset Isma‘iliyah,) in Cairo, Egypt,” in Maven in Blue Jeans: A Festschrift in Honor of Zev Garber (Shofar Suppl.; West Lafayette, in: Purdue University Press, 2009), 431–40.