And later in the 9th Century, the Jews bought the church and the land around it. The place is considered holy and blessed to the Jews because it was proven that Moses prayed there. Before Moses left Egypt, he prayed there for the last time leaving traces or mark signs, which prove his existence in Egypt in those early times. When the great Rabbi Abraham Ben Ezra came to Egypt from Jerusalem and visited the Holy place where Moses prayed, he insisted to return the synagogue to the Jews. Ben Ezra rebuilt the synagogue, which is still called after his name.
Within the synagogue a special place called “Guenizeh” or Safe Keeping was built, where the old Torah was kept. The old Torah was written on deer skin around the year 475 B.C.

Many centuries later (in 1894), the American Historian -Shichter- came to Egypt and he visited the synagogue, he found the Guenizeh in which the Old Torah has been kept. He also found thousands of books of various dates. Professor Shichter also found traces of another synagogue (Maimonidi’s Synagogue), which is now the Saint Barbara Coptic Cemetery. With the permission of the Jewish Congregation, the professor took part of the Old Torah back to America with him. The Old Torah is now spread over the Western world: a part is in Columbia University, another in New York, a third one in the British Museum and a further part in Austria and Torino.

Ben Ezra synagogue is worth visiting. One will see features from the three religions: a Byzantine architecture, a wooden clock in which is carved Kofic writings referring to the visit of Amr Ibn El Ass and the Old Torah written on deer skin.