Jerusalem - Chief Rabbinate Hekhal Shelomo

On the south side of the Great Synagogue in Jeruslaem is the Chief Rabbinate (Hekhal Shelomo), the highest religious authority in the country. It is the seat of the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbis, who determine questions of Jewish law. On either side of the entrance to the building, which was donated by Sir Isaac Wolfson, are the scales of justice, with the Hebrew inscription "And they shall judge the people with just judgment" (Deuteronomy 16,18). On the facade is a representation of a menorah (seven-branched candlestick). Within the Rabbinate are a synagogue with an Ark of the Covenant from Padua, a museum of Jewish sacred and popular art bearing the name of the donor and a library.