About the project
The Tiferet Zion Veyerushalayim (Glory of Zion and Jerusalem) Immigrants’ Shelter was a hostel and seminary founded in 1908 by Rabbi Shmu’el Levi. The facade of the building’s fourth floor features a set of clocks and a sundial (one clock showing European time, one showing hours from sunset and the sundial showing Jerusalem time) that was assembled by Rabbi Moshe Shapira, a self-taught astronomer. Until the clock’s construction, it was customary to observe sunrise from the Mount of Olives and set the end of day from the ridges of Bayit Vegan, on the western outskirts of town. The clock was built on what was the highest point in the city. The building was damaged by an earthquake in 1929 and by fire in 1940. In 1980, the Jerusalem Foundation supported a project to restore the building’s facade, including the unique sundial, which was carried out by Vera Ronen and Dorit Harel.
