Welcome back to our virtual tour of Israel. It is a pleasure to be back with you on this beautiful, but very cold, winter day in the north of Israel. Today we will travel up to the highest (in elevation) city in the northern Galilee, called Safed. According to the Book of Judges, the region we are in was assigned to the tribe of Naphtali when the land was divided into the 12 Tribes of Israel. It is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud as one of five elevated spots where fires were lit to announce the New Moon and festivals during the Second Temple period. And legend has it that Safed was founded by a son of Noah after the Great Flood.
Our history of Safed will begin in 1099 when the Crusaders came to the Holy Land. They stayed almost 200 years and built the largest Crusader Fortress in the Middle East here in Safed in 1240, on the top of the hill. In 1266, the Mamluk sultan Baybars wiped out the Christian Templar population and turned it into a Muslim town called Safat. From that time until 1948, there was a mixed population in Safat, the majority being non-Jewish. The Arabs lived on one side of the hill and the Jews on the other.
After the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, many prominent rabbis found their way to Safed and brought the teachings of the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism to the forefront. The influx of Sephardi Jews made Safed a global center for Jewish learning and a regional center for trade throughout 15th and 16th centuries and Safed became known as one of the four Holy Cities of the Jews: Safed, Hebron, Jerusalem and Tiberias.
Kabbalah drawing Photo Credit: Bandcamp
As we enter the Old City on foot, above us is the hill where the ruins of the Crusader fortress can be found. But our attention will be focused on the city below, where our great Rabbis once taught. As we descend into the Old City we also descend in time, as the city was built from the bottom upwards. We begin by walking through the Ashkenazi Hasidic Quarter built during the end of the 18th -19th c. In 1812, 80% of the Jewish population was killed by the plague and in 1837 the Jewish quarter of the city was almost completely destroyed after a massive earthquake. But in time, the Jews restored the city and continue to live here until today.
In August 1929, Arabs came with knives from one house to another, killing 18 Jewish residents in this neighborhood. It did not scare the Jews away though, instead the Jews stayed and became the most militaristic group in Israel. They became known as Revisionists, led by Ze’ev Jabotinsky. The Irgun, also known as Etzel, was a Zionist paramilitary organization operating in British Mandate Palestine from 1931 to 1948 and dominated here in Safed. They had broken off from the larger more established paramilitary organization called the Haganah. They were more radical in their approach and followed the teaching of Zabotinsky who said, “every Jew has the right to enter Palestine; only active retaliation will deter the Arabs; only Jewish armed force would ensure the Jewish state”. During the 1948 War of Independence, the Irgun, the Lechi (another Zionist militant organization) and the Haganah all teamed up in a mutual headquarters here in Safed. This was the only place in Israel where the three organizations, as different as their philosophies were, shared one roof.
Let’s continue by walking down some stone steps. We pass by an 18th century house that actually has a Myrtle tree growing through it from the 16th century! And we keep descending into a narrow alleyway called “The alley of the Meshiach (Messiah).” On our tour a couple of weeks ago we were standing in the ruins of a place called Bethsaida. If you remember, we talked about a Rabbi who taught and performed miracles there. His name was Rabbi Shimon Bar Yocahai, we call him Rashbi. He lived in a cave for 13 years on Mt. Meron, visible from where we are standing. Why? Because he was fleeing the Romans because he had spoken out against the government and they wanted to kill him. During his time in the cave, he was attributed to the writing of a book called the Zohar. It is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is believed that Messiah will come from Rashbi’s grave in Meron to Safed. This alley is the only one pointing to the grave. Tradition says that anyone who passes through this alley will see Messiah.
The underground movements in Israel Photo Credit: On Jewish Matters
Now we pass by where the Haganah headquarters were in 1948 and go through a door to a small plaza and step back into the 16th century. We are at the Ashkenazi Ha’ari Synagogue. Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, known as Ha’Ari, was born to an Ashkenazi Father and Sephardi Mother in 1534 in Jerusalem. His father died young and his mother took him and his sister to her wealthy brother in Cairo. He grew and studied and married (his uncle’s daughter, his cousin) and had children. He was exposed to the Zohar, book of mysticism, and in 1569 moved to Safed. He died 3 years later at 38 yrs old, but left a lasting impact on the Jewish community of Safed. The name Ha’Ari means – Ha’ashkanazi Rabbi Yitzchak. However, others say his nickname stood for “The Lion” (Ha’Ari in English), for he was the lion of his generation. This is where Kabbalat Shabbat Service started, in the 16th century, the mystical “Receiving of the Sabbath”, and has since been adopted by the entire Jewish world.
There was an Israeli Fencer, named Mordechai Shababo, who was invited to the 1972 Olympics. Three months before the games, he had a dream in which a man looked at him and told him not to go to the games; he paid little attention. The next night he had the same dream; he got a little freaked out, but not too much, certainly not enough to give up his airline tickets and his Olympic dream. But the next night, the third night, the same dream came. But this time the man introduces himself as The Ari and said “my role is to protect the people of Safed: Don’t go”. Mordechai called the committee and said “thanks but no thanks”. The year was 1972. He was supposed to sleep in the same room with Andre Spitzer, who was taken captive and subsequently killed by Palestinian terrorists, along with 10 other Jewish athletes and coaches. Afterwards, Mordechai realized that God had saved him and he dedicated his life to protecting Safed and Ha’Ari.
Famed Safed synagogal of miracles Photo Credit: Times of Israel
Now we will leave the Ha’Ari and wind our way through the narrow streets to the Synagogue of Rabbi Abraham Dov Avritch. He came in 1833 and became a major rabbi in Safed. Three days before the 1837 earthquake he told everyone in his congregation that in three days at 1:00 pm they should close shops and come to the synagogue. They came and the Rabbi started to pray aloud, and three hours passed. At 4:00 pm he said “everyone who wants to live, please come and hold the Aaron Ha’kodesh (the closet where the Torah scroll is kept).” No one understood, but they all moved forward to hold it. At that moment the earthquake started. The building was split in half but none of the people in his community were hurt by this earthquake. After the earthquake Rabbi Avraham Dov of Avritch worked hard to rebuild the city and did all in his power to keep its Jewish residents from abandoning it and moving to Jerusalem. To calm their fears he made a promise that no major earthquake would ever take place again in the city of Safed. Forty years later, his tombstone commemorated that he had foreseen the earthquake in 1837.
Now we are going to continue our tour walking through the cobblestone streets of Safed into the artist colony area where tourists today can buy artwork and Judaica representing the spirituality of this incredible town. At the end of the street we arrive at the Rabbi Yoseff Caro Yeshiva & Synagogue. Rabbi Caro came to Safed from Spain in 1535 and died at age 87 in 1575. Every week an angel named Hamagid would come study with him. They would meet in the cave under his house. Then Rabbi Caro started a Beit Midrash (house of study) and 500 people learned here on a daily basis. The house was reconstructed after the earthquake of 1837 and their original 350 year old Torah scroll is still used here today. Rabbi Caro is most notably known as the author of the Shulchan Aruch, the codification of Jewish Law.
So as you can see, Safed is a town where rabbis from centuries past have contributed greatly to the Jewish heritage and commentary that we have today.
We’ve spoken of miracles in Safed. There is one more from modern day that I would like to share. It is the Miracle of 1948:
Safed was seen as a military goal by both the Jews and the Arabs in the War of 1948, because of its location. Jewish forces were outnumbered by more than 10 to 1. The Arab forces, with help from Syria and Iraq, were heavily armed. The Jews were reduced to counting every bullet that they shot. More importantly, the British army was handing over the strategic high points of the city to the Arabs as they left. The battle raged for months until the spring of 1948. In late April, an artillery piece, nicknamed “The Davidka” was delivered to the Jews. They shot off several mortars, but they did little damage. However, the main effect was the tremendous noise the cannon made. At the same time, the weather changed and it began to rain, which was unusual for that time of year, and rumor quickly spread through the Arab community that the Jews had acquired the atom bomb. Most of the Arabs fled that night and the Haganah was able to secure the city. What was once thought to be impossible odds became a victory for the tiny Jewish army fighting for independence. Yes, Safed is not only a holy city, but the city of miracles as well!
Until next time,
Shalom from Israel
Top Picture Credit: Hidabroot
Bottom Picture Credit: Israel and You
