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Nicanor who made the gates . .  .


Yoma 37


In today's daf we have a list of important donors to the Temple. One of the most famous is Nicanor of Alexandria, who donated beautiful gates. The dramatic story of their arrival in Jerusalem only appears on tomorrow's page, have patience. But Barnea Selavan pointed me in the direction of the today's post.

In 1902 in Jerusalem an ancient burial cave was discovered on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. The cave was significant because of the ossuary (burial box for bones) it contained. Many ossuaries have been discovered in Jerusalem from Second Temple times but the ones with inscriptions are the most rare and the most valuable. This one has an inscription in Greek and one in Hebrew. The Hebrew only contains two names: Nicanor Alexa. The Greek is more expansive (translated quote from Wikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Nicanor, which also has some nice pictures):

"the bones of the family of Nicanor the Alexandrian who made the gates"

The cave can still be seen on Mount Scopus, by the Botanical Gardens of the University. The ossuary was quickly taken to the British Museum where it can still be seen today. For more information:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/l/limestone_ossuary-1.aspx

Did Nicanor stay on in Jerusalem after he delivered the gates? Or did he return to Alexandria and instruct his family to bury him in Jerusalem when the time came? Either way, both the gates and the man left their impression on Jerusalem and on our history.

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