- Porat Yosef Yeshiva
The Porat Yosef Yeshiva ( _he. ישיבה פורת יוסף) is a
Sephardic yeshiva in the Old City ofJerusalem .History
Joseph Shalom, of
Calcutta ,India , bought the building intending to have it used for a hospital. However, the Ben Ish Hai ofBaghdad persuaded him to endow a yeshiva instead. [Aharon Surasky, "V’zos La’yehuda", Jerusalem 1996, pg. 47.] The cornerstone was laid in 1914, but theFirst World War delayed its construction. Theyeshiva was finally inaugurated in 1923 and consisted of a large "bet medrash" (study hall), two other smaller halls where married men studied, plus fifty other rooms including dormitories, offices and a library.During the
1948 Israel War of Independence , the building was destroyed and a newyeshiva was opened in the Geulah neighborhood, still in existence today. After theSix Day War architectMoshe Safdie rebuilt the Old City complex on the original site. The new building, based on the original design, evinces a present-day look, blending "traditional" with "modern". In both texture and colour, the stone walls echo the dominant building material of Jerusalem. The synagogue itself is a substantial structure of six stories, seating 450 worshippers. The edifice is covered by a large semitransparent dome that permits light to enter by day, while at night it glows with interior illumination.Alumni of the yeshiva include: Rabbi
Ovadia Yosef , Rabbi Benzion Abba Shaul, Rabbi Yehuda Tzadkah, RabbiYitzchak Kaduri , Rabbi Sion Levy, Rabbi Saadya Lofes, RabbiMordechai Eliyahu andAryeh Deri .Rashei Yeshivah
*Rabbi
Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel
*RabbiEzra Attia
*Rabbi Yehuda Tzadkah
*Rabbi Benzion Abba Shaul
*RabbiShalom Cohen References and footnotes
* "Where Heaven Touches Earth", Rabbi Dovid Rossoff, Guardian Press, Jerusalem 1999.External links
* [http://cac.mcgill.ca/safdie/searchengines/showrecord.php?id=118 Porat Yosef Yeshiva] in the Moshe Safdie hypermedia archive at
McGill University
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.