Ottoman Rule of Safed 1517 to 1759
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|data8 = Development and history of Safed during the first part of the Turkish-Ottoman rule, years 1517 - 1759.}} | |data8 = Development and history of Safed during the first part of the Turkish-Ottoman rule, years 1517 - 1759.}} | ||
− | In 1517 the Turks defeated the [[Mamluke-Era-of-Safed-1266-to-1517|Mamlukes]], starting almost 400 years of | + | In 1517 the Turks defeated the [[Mamluke-Era-of-Safed-1266-to-1517|Mamlukes]], starting almost 400 years of Ottoman rule. [[Safed|Tzfat’s]] reputation today as the “City of Kabbalah” is due to the kabbalists who came to live, study and teach during the Ottoman rule of Tzfat. Throughout the almost 400 years of Ottoman rule, Tzfat’s fortunes varied widely. The scholarship, innovations, laws and customs that emanated from Tzfat during this period continue to reverberate in today’s Jewish world. The first part of the Ottoman Rule were known as Tzfat’s Golden Age. |
== Influx == | == Influx == | ||
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===The Arizal=== | ===The Arizal=== | ||
− | [[Rabbi Yitzchak Luria|Rabbi Isaac Luria]] -- the ARI -- studied, taught, brought new insights and redirected kabbalah study in Tzfat. He arrived in Safed in 1569 and initially studied with the great kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Cordevero | + | [[Rabbi Yitzchak Luria|Rabbi Isaac Luria]] -- the ARI -- studied, taught, brought new insights and redirected kabbalah study in Tzfat. He arrived in Safed in 1569 and initially studied with the great kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Cordevero. His synthesis of kabbalah, the Luranic system, influenced the Hassidic movement. Kabbalah scholars study mainly Luranic kabbalah today. |
===Other Kabbalists=== | ===Other Kabbalists=== | ||
− | Other great rabbis and scholars who came to Tzfat during this time include the Ridbaz, [[Rabbi Moshe Alshich|Rabbi Moshe Alsheich]], Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, [[Rabbi Moshe ben Yosef di Trani|Rabbi Moshe di Trani]], Rabbi Moshe Galante | + | Other great rabbis and scholars who came to Tzfat during this time include the Ridbaz, [[Rabbi Moshe Alshich|Rabbi Moshe Alsheich]], Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, [[Rabbi Moshe ben Yosef di Trani|Rabbi Moshe di Trani]], Rabbi Moshe Galante and Rabbi Chaim Vital. |
The population of Safed engaged in active competition with Jerusalem to attract the new scholars, a fact that disturbed rabbis throughout the world. They felt that Safed was upsurping the rightful place of Jerusalem as the center of the Jewish world. This changed in the early 1600's and the majority of scholars who came to Israel were again choosing to move to Jerusalem. | The population of Safed engaged in active competition with Jerusalem to attract the new scholars, a fact that disturbed rabbis throughout the world. They felt that Safed was upsurping the rightful place of Jerusalem as the center of the Jewish world. This changed in the early 1600's and the majority of scholars who came to Israel were again choosing to move to Jerusalem. | ||
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== Destruction and Decline == | == Destruction and Decline == | ||
− | By the | + | By the 1600s the Golden Age of Safed had effectively ended. The most important scholars were again settling in Jerusalem and the Jews of Safed were at the mercy of raids by local Bedouins and Druze who were fighting with the Ottomans for control over the region. The textile industry had fallen into decline when Sultan Selim II deported 1,500 Jewish families, individuals who had been the mainstay of the textile trade, from Safed to Cyprus in 1576. Even after he recalled the families, uncontrolled banditry in the area resulted in the trade’s permanent move to Thessaloniki. A small wool textile trade did resume in Tzfat. |
=== Raid and Plunder === | === Raid and Plunder === | ||
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=== Earthquake === | === Earthquake === | ||
− | The rabbis of Jerusalem scolded the rabbis of Tzfat for trying to compete with Jerusalem for the “crown” of the Jewish world. They suggested that this behavior was to blame for the [[Safed 1759 Earthquake|1759 earthquake]] which leveled Tzfat. The earthquake destroyed 200 homes and killed 140 Jews. Almost the entire surviving population left Tzfat after the earthquake, leaving only 50 Jewish families in the city. | + | The rabbis of Jerusalem scolded the rabbis of Tzfat for trying to compete with Jerusalem for the “crown” of the Jewish world. They suggested that this behavior was to blame for the [[Safed 1759 Earthquake|1759 earthquake]] which leveled Tzfat. The earthquake destroyed 200 homes and killed 140 Jews. Almost the entire surviving population left Tzfat after the earthquake, leaving only 50 Jewish families in the city. |
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+ | The great synagogues of Safed collapsed during the earthquake as well. Only the [[Alsheich Synagogue Safed|Alsheich synagogue]] remained standing and the Torah scrolls from the [[Abuhav Synagogue]] emerged unscathed. | ||
[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Safed 1759 Earthquake|1759 earthquake in Tzfat]] | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Safed 1759 Earthquake|1759 earthquake in Tzfat]] |