The Beirav Synagogue is named for the famous 16th century Torah sage, Rav Yaakov Beirav, best known for his attempts to revive the process of rabbinical ordination and re-establish the Sanhedrin, Judaism’s highest court of halachah (Jewish religious law).

Rav Yaakov Beirav, a native of Spain and disciple of the Ari HaKadosh, was the teacher of the Tzfat illuminary, Rabbi Yosef Caro, who compiled the Shulchan Aruch (”Set Table”), a compendium of those areas of the halachah that are applicable today.

Constructed in the late 19th century by the Hungarian Marmorush community, the small Beirav building served as a synagogue and study hall for nearly a century, until members of the congregation aged or moved away.

A new chapter in Beirav history began to unfold in the mid-1990’s when the unused building was made available to a fledging minyan of English speakers. In 1997, the Rabbinical Beit Din of Tzfat officially presented the synagogue in receivership to the new Beirav board.

That same year, two members, Shmuel Polsky and Meir Glaser, introduced the Carlebach-style tefilah to the congregation, and the transformation of Beirav was complete. Within months, the small minyan became a nucleus for the crowds who pack the synagogue each week, all year round.