The Talmud (Berakhot 30a) instructs Jews outside the Land of Israel to face the Holy Land while praying; Jews residing in Israel should turn towards the city of Jerusalem; those living within Jerusalem should orient themselves towards the Temple Mount, and those next to the Temple Mount should turn towards the former site of the Holy of Holies. The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) thus specifies that in synagogues, the Ark should be placed such that worshipers may pray in the direction of the Holy Land and the place of the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. When synagogues are erected, they are built to face Jerusalem.