Sounding the Horn of the Messiah From Jerusalem
Though it is impossible to say with absolute certainty when the Messiah will come, in an ancient synagogue in Jerusalem’s Old City, a shofar and jug of oil are patiently waiting on a high shelf for his arrival. They are replacements for the originals, supposedly rescued from the Second Temple amidst Roman destruction, which disappeared in the heat of the 1967 battle for Jerusalem. Legends and mysteries surround the simple items.
One of the landmark holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City, the Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai Synagogue was built at the beginning of the 17th century. The synagogue is believed to stand on the location of the original study hall of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai, a major rabbinic and scholarly figure in the Second Temple era, quoted throughout the Talmud.
