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The site of three 19th-century synagogues at the heart of the old town.
In the hilly upper neighborhood of Tiberias. It's about a 2-km uphill walk from the city center, so you may prefer to take local bus 6 instead, which runs every 20 minutes.
Not the Biblical Rachel. This Rachel is the wife of Rabbi Akiva, who is buried in a different part of town.
Maimonides
This revered rabbi, who died in 1204, was one of 12th-century Egypt's most highly regarded sages, while working as a doctor in the court of the Muslim ruler Saladin. Legend has it that before his death in Cairo, he instructed followers to load his remains onto a camel and bury him wherever the camel expired. The camel was apparently drawn to Tiberias. Next to the grave is the Maimonides Heritage Center museum. Also buried here is Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai, the leading rabbi at the time of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. Ben Zakkai is said to have faked his own death, escaping the city hidden in a coffin, and then prophesizing that the Roman general Vespasian would become the new Caesar. When the prophecy came true, Ben Zakkai was granted one wish by the new leader; a Jewish learning centre for him and students.
This 2nd-century rabbi, who helped to compile the Mishnah, is buried here. The tomb is marked by two synagogues: Sephardic (on the left with the white dome) and Ashkenazic (with the blue dome). In the courtyard of the Sephardic synagogue is a pillar topped by a large bowl, and four days before the Lag B'Omer holiday a bonfire is lit here on the Pesah Sheni (second Passover) holiday. Crowds of religious Jews visit throughout the year to pray, and it is a belief that God will answer the prayers of pilgrims with personal problems.
Dona Gracia Nasi was a wealthy 16th-century Jewish woman. In 1558, the Ottoman Empire granted her control of the Tiberias region in exchange for an increase in tax revenue. She began to rebuild the abandoned villages in the area, hoping that Jewish refugees would be able to settle there. However, she died not too long afterwards in 1569. She is seen as an early predecessor of the Zionist movement, and all the more notable because female leaders were rare at the time. This museum is dedicated to her story. There is also a hotel located next to the museum, if you need a place to stay.