There isn’t much left of Alexandria’s once vibrant Jewish community, but that didn’t prevent us from going into our own time warp

Photos:  Ari Z. Zivotofsky and Ari Greenspan

Thousands of years after Yosef and his brothers sojourned to Egypt, there isn’t much left of Alexandria’s once vibrant Jewish community, but that didn’t prevent us from going into our own time warp. Standing on the site of what the Gemara describes as the world’s most magnificent synagogue, or visiting the location where, 2,300 years ago last week, 72 scholars translated the Torah into Greek, we again became part of a lost world.

Whenever we travel to ancient cities that once boasted vibrant, historically-relevant Jewish communities, we usually find some remnant of a kehillah, however small, holding down the mesorah and faithfully clinging to the significance of their position. But in Alexandria, Egypt, the city founded by Alexander the Great and considered one of the great centers of civilization whose once-venerated Jewish community goes back to 332 BCE, the living connections have dwindled to a trickle — in fact, the closest we got to an old-timer was a phone call to a woman who lived in the epicenter of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Over 2,300 years ago, the Great Library of Alexandria, the largest library in the ancient world — cemented the city’s position as a center of knowledge and learning. And that, of course, attracted a Jewish community as well. From far out in the sea one could see the city’s colossal Pharos Lighthouse, considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. In more recent times, during the period of the British Protectorate from the late 19th century until the 1950s, Alexandria had a cosmopolitan European culture and was a popular tourist attraction for upscale Europeans, including writers, poets, and artists. During this period as well, the city attracted Jews who prospered economically and socially, supplemented by an influx of European and Yemenite Jews, and peaked with a Jewish population of approximately 25,000.

Alexandrian Jewry had its ups and downs throughout its long history, but while very few Jews live there today and the community has essentially disintegrated, there are still structures that reminded us of its ancient past and even its more recent glory days. We’ve twice explored this still-majestic city, one of those times as guest speaker on Miriam Schreiber’s Legacy Kosher Tours.

Alexandria, or Alex, as it’s fondly called by the locals, might have fewer historic monuments and tourist attractions than either Cairo or upper Egypt, as the south of the country is called, but it’s still a favorite vacation destination for Egyptians, as well as an important port. Until the murder of two Israeli tourists by an Egyptian policeman on the second day of the current war in Israel, there has been a small but constant stream of Jewish tourists ever since the Camp David Accords.

As is our habit in preparation for such trips, we contacted the head of the local Jewish community before arrival. Little did we know that he reported this to the government authorities, and we were met at the airport by two police cars, which became our personal escorts. At first, these “chaperones” made us nervous, especially as communication with them was difficult. When we decided to take a stroll along Alexandria’s wide, waterfront Corniche Road with a view of the boats gently bobbing up and down, and even a much later 2 a.m. walk through the souk which was still a buzz of activity at that late hour, they made sure to accompany us.

While driving around the city, they finally relaxed enough that one of the officers let his weapon casually rest on the seat, and at one point we communicated to them that if they would put their lights and sirens on, it would make our trip through the terrible traffic a bit quicker. They were happy to oblige.