Safed History
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== Early History == | == Early History == | ||
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+ | Tzfat belonged to the Tribe of Naftali but is not the city of Tzfat mentioned in Tanach. There are limited references to pre-Crusader Safed history. Early writings note that during the time that the Temple stood in Jerusalem, citizens would light huge bonfires on Tzfat’s [[Metzuda-of-Safed|Citadel mountain]], one in a line of stations, to announce the inauguration of each New Month. Some scholars believe that Tzfat was one of the Levite cities that also served as Biblical “Cities of Refuge”. Safed also served as a sanctuary for priestly families which fled Jerusalem during Roman rule in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Josephus, in his “War of the Jews” mentioned fortifying and stationing a battalion of soldiers in “Sepeph” which many scholars believe referred to Safed. There are three known Biblical figures buried in Tzfat and eighteen Tanaim. | ||
[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on [[Early Safed History]]''' | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on [[Early Safed History]]''' | ||
=== Crusader Period === | === Crusader Period === | ||
− | The Crusaders | + | |
+ | The Crusaders arrived in Tzfat in the 11th century and built a huge fortress on Tzfat’s “[[Metzuda of Safed|Metzuda]]”, the Citadel. This is the largest Crusader fortress built in the Middle East. A Jewish community existed in Zefat during this time and some Arabs began to move into the town and establish an [[Artists-Quarter-Safed|Arab Quarter]]. With the fall of the Crusaders and the rise of the Mameluke rule in the 13th century, the existing Jewish and Arab populations began to grow slowly. | ||
[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Crusaders in Safed]]''' | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Crusaders in Safed]]''' | ||
=== Mamluke Era === | === Mamluke Era === | ||
− | In 1266 the Mamluke Sultan al-Zahir Baybars | + | |
+ | In 1266 the Mamluke Sultan al-Zahir Baybars defeated the crusader and took over Safed. They rebuilt the Metzuda fortress and expanded the city, welcoming the growth of a Jewish community. A wool textile industry developed in Tzfat providing employment to many of its residents who used the streams of the nearby [[Wadi Amud Safed|Wadi Amud valley]] to power their fulling mills. | ||
[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Mamluke Era of Safed 1266 to 1517|Mamluke Era of Safed]]''' | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Mamluke Era of Safed 1266 to 1517|Mamluke Era of Safed]]''' | ||
== Golden Era == | == Golden Era == | ||
− | + | Ottoman Rule of Safed | |
=== Refugees from the Inquisition === | === Refugees from the Inquisition === | ||
− | Many Jews who fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal made their way to Israel in the 15th and 16th centuries. Most settled in Jerusalem but some were drawn to Tzfat, especially the Kabbalists. The study of [[Kabbalah]] was partly developed in the 2nd century A.D. in | + | Many Jews who fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal made their way to Israel in the 15th and 16th centuries. Most settled in Jerusalem but some were drawn to Tzfat, especially the Kabbalists. The study of [[Kabbalah]] was partly developed in the 2nd century A.D. in northern Israel. Many Kabbalists who moved to the Land of Israel after the upheavals of the Inquisition wanted to live and study in the area where the sage, [[Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai]], author of the Kabbalistic “Zohar” had lived and taught. |
− | === City of Kabbalah === | + | === City of Kabbalah === |
− | [[Rabbi Yitzchak Luria|Rabbi Isaac Luria]], the ARI was one of the great Kabbalists who came to live in Zefat during the 16th century. The ARI only lived in Tzfat for under three years but during this period he taught and refined the study of Jewish mysticism. Lurianic Kabbalah emphasizes how a Jew’s understanding of the secrets of the Torah can enhance his relationships with | + | [[Rabbi Yitzchak Luria|Rabbi Isaac Luria]], the ARI was one of the great Kabbalists who came to live in Zefat during the 16th century. The ARI only lived in Tzfat for under three years but during this period he learned, taught and refined the study of Jewish mysticism. Lurianic Kabbalah emphasizes how a Jew’s understanding of the secrets of the Torah can enhance his relationships with God and with his fellow man. Lurianic Kabbalah played a strong influence on the development of the Hassidic movement and most Kabbalah scholars, even today, study the ARI’s teachings. Due to the ARI’s influence in Tsfat, the Jewish World began to regard Tzfat as the City of Kabbalah. |
− | Other great scholars who lived in Tzfat included Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, [[Rabbi Yakov Beirav|Rabbi Ya’akov Beirav]], Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz | + | Other great scholars who lived in Tzfat included Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, [[Rabbi Yakov Beirav|Rabbi Ya’akov Beirav]], Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz and [[Rabbi Yosef Karo|Rabbi Yosef Caro]]. Rabbi Caro’s scholarly work “[[Shulchan Aruch|Shulhan Aruch]]” played a major role in helping post-Inquisition far-flung Jewish communities maintain proper Jewish observances and laws. |
[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Ottoman Rule of Safed 1517 to 1759|Golden Era of Safed]]''' | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Ottoman Rule of Safed 1517 to 1759|Golden Era of Safed]]''' | ||
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== Post-Middle Ages == | == Post-Middle Ages == | ||
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− | + | === Immigrants from Eastern Europe === | |
− | + | Tzfat’s Jewish “Golden Age” ended with a [[Safed 1759 Earthquake|1759 earthquake]] which toppled much of the local economy as well as the physical structure of the city. Ashkanazi Jews, beginning with the Lithuanian students of the Vilna Gaon and supplemented by Hassidic followers of the Ba’al Shem Tov augmented the existing community of Sephradi (Mediterranean and North African) Jews but famines, epidemics, a [[Safed 1837 Earthquake|1837 earthquake]] and Druze and Arab pogroms once again decimated the Jewish population. The Jewish and Arab population numbers remained fairly equal until World War I when European donations dried up. Many Jews left Tzfat at this time. Some moved to other areas in Israel but others emigrated to America, Australia and South America. When the British routed the Turks during World War I and imposed the British Mandate in Israel, the Jews of Tzfat welcomed them, believing that they would support the Jews’ dream of self-rule. British policy turned decidedly pro-Arab, however, and contributed to the deterioration of Jewish-Arab relations in Tzfat. | |
− | When the British routed the Turks during World War I and imposed the British Mandate in Israel, the Jews of Tzfat welcomed them, believing that they would support the Jews’ dream of self-rule. British policy turned decidedly pro-Arab, however, and contributed to the deterioration of Jewish-Arab relations in Tzfat. | + | |
+ | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Ottoman Rule of Safed 1760 to 1918|Later Ottoman Era of Safed]]''' | ||
[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[British Rule of Safed 1918 to 1948|British Rule of Safed]]''' | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[British Rule of Safed 1918 to 1948|British Rule of Safed]]''' | ||
=== Arab Riots === | === Arab Riots === | ||
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A watershed event in Jewish-Arab relations occurred in 1929. Arabs throughout the country rioted, convinced that the growing Jewish population was intent on removing them from their lands. In Safed, the Arabs rioted for three days, killing 18 people, wounding many more and burning down a large part of the [[Old City Safed|Jewish Quarter]]. Witness reported that the British soldiers looked on impassively, only protecting Jewish lives after the initial rioting subsided. These riots occurred during the same period as the riots in Hebron. Unlike the survivors of the Hebron massacre who escaped to Jerusalem, the Jews of Tsfat had nowhere to go. They rebuilt their homes and began to drill in self-defense skills. | A watershed event in Jewish-Arab relations occurred in 1929. Arabs throughout the country rioted, convinced that the growing Jewish population was intent on removing them from their lands. In Safed, the Arabs rioted for three days, killing 18 people, wounding many more and burning down a large part of the [[Old City Safed|Jewish Quarter]]. Witness reported that the British soldiers looked on impassively, only protecting Jewish lives after the initial rioting subsided. These riots occurred during the same period as the riots in Hebron. Unlike the survivors of the Hebron massacre who escaped to Jerusalem, the Jews of Tsfat had nowhere to go. They rebuilt their homes and began to drill in self-defense skills. | ||
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[[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Safed War of Independence|Safed During the War of Independence]]''' | [[File:more.jpg|link=]] '''Read full Zissil article on the [[Safed War of Independence|Safed During the War of Independence]]''' | ||
− | == | + | == Tzfat Today == |
− | In the years following the establishment of the State of Israel, Tzfat absorbed thousands of immigrants, most of whom were refugees from their native countries. Many Hungarian, Polish and Romanian Jews from Eastern Europe settled in Tzfat, among them a | + | |
+ | In the years following the establishment of the State of Israel, Tzfat absorbed thousands of immigrants, most of whom were refugees from their native countries. Many Hungarian, Polish and Romanian Jews from Eastern Europe settled in Tzfat, among them a sizeable number of Holocaust survivors. The immigrant waves also included large numbers of Moroccan and Tunisian Jewish refugees. In the 1980s Safed became a [[Ethiopian Absorption Safed|center of absorption]] for Ethiopian immigrants. In 1990 thousands of Russian Jews arrived in Safed to make their home | ||
in the area. | in the area. | ||