The Great Synagogue (known in Hebrew as Beth Yisrael - "House of Israel") is one of Sydney's most beautiful, fascinating and historic heritage buildings. The Synagogue has stood on its present site for well over a hundred years, since 1878, but the congregation itself has a history going back at least 50 years before that date, to the decade of the 1820s. Home to a prominent and vibrant congregation with a full range of religious services and activities throughout the week, The Great Synagogue is considered by many to be Sydney's most celebrated Shule.