More on Zichron Ya'acov

I wanted to give you a picture of my friend, Ohad, from an earlier post. This is his wonderful wooden toystore, Noah's Ark. We've already been able to bring some of our friends here, 2 by 2!

In the late 1800's when Zichron Ya'acov was established, it was under the control of the Turks as a part of the Ottomon Empire. It was illegal to build a synagogue, so they got around it by building a haybarn which they needed for their farming operations. It was not illegal to convert an existing building into a synagogue, so soon their barn became what is the oldest continuous synagogue in the Land.