ABSTRACT
In Yemen the Jews lived a life which was grounded in Jewish law and tradition. They knew no other way of life, save that of the religious Muslims who surrounded them, nor, from all indications, did they desire another one. Jewish boys and men were concerned with prayer and study from a very early age. Where conditions permitted the boys spent many hours, over a period of years, in study with a mori, and much time with their fathers in religious study. There are six Yemenite synagogues in Kiryat Eliahu. Three of these were built by individuals who wanted to be leaders in their own right and felt that they had sufficient religious learning and the financial ability to undertake the project. The three larger synagogues are each associated with one of the larger cities from which Kiryat Eliahu’s Yemenites have come: San’a, Dhamar, and Amran.
