Prior to delving into the city’s origins & history, I feel obligated to mention an annual event that takes place in Safed on three consecutive nights during the month of August, namely the Klezmer Music Festival. The festival takes place each year & provides an opportunity to experience Klezmer music performed by bands throughout Israel and around the world. Klezmer music originated in Eastern Europe & imported to the Holy Land by Jewish immigrants during the 20th century who hailed from that part of the world. The two most prominent instruments are the clarinet & violin but compositions can include many other instruments, such as the flute, accordion, cello, & brass instruments such as the cornet. During the festival many street corners and piazzas are occupied by klezmer ensembles & I have on occasion heard one or two musicians who could comfortably perform at venues as prestigious as Carnegie Hall.
Accredited as being the Kabalistic capital of the land, Safed is one of the four holy Jewish cities, the others being Jerusalem, Hebron & Tiberius. Located in the Upper Galilee, 900 meters above sea level it was part of the tribal allotment of Naphtali & one of the locations where fires were lit to announce the arrival of the new moon & festivals during the 2nd Temple period. (586 B.C.E. – 73 C.E.).
Joseph ben Mattathias, commander of the Jewish forces in the Galilee, who later became that controversial Jewish/Roman historian known as Josephus, named the city Seph & fortified it in preparation for the great Jewish revolt against Rome (66 C.E. – 73 C.E.).
With the destruction of the 2nd Temple by the Romans in 70 C.E., the priestly clans of Yaqim & Pashur who were responsible for Temple related duties fled Jerusalem & relocated in Safed. The city served as a sanctuary for these families during Roman rule that ended in 324 C.E.
The Byzantine period (324 C.E. – 638 C.E.) saw many Tannaim & Amoraim populate the city. Tannaim (10 C.E. – 220 C.E.) were rabbinic sages who wrote down the Oral Law in what is called the Mishna, & the Amoraim, (200 C.E. – 500 C.E.) where Jewish scholars whose discussions & comments on the Oral Law are recorded in the Gemara. The Mishna & Gemara, are known collectively as the Talmud.
THE EARLY ARAB PERIOD (624 – 1099) & THE CRUSADER PERIOD (1099 – 1291).
Prior to the arrival of the Crusaders, the history of Safed is vague. On arrival in the city, the Crusaders implemented their standard policy & massacred most of the Jewish population. Realizing the city’s strategic importance due to its high altitude that gave it a commanding view of the surrounding area, they built in 1140, the largest fortress in the Middle East. However, much to their chagrin, Saladin, an Arab of Kurdish descent, decimated the Crusader forces at the Battle of Hittin in 1187, resulting in the Muslims once again becoming the dominant power in the Holy land, reconquering Jerusalem and other Crusader held cities. These defeats prompted the Third Crusade that began in 1189. After the battle of Hittin, Arabs moved into the city and established an Arab quarter. Continuous battles between Christians & Muslims resulted in the destruction of the fortress by the Muslims in 1219. A peace treaty between the two adversaries signed in 1240 gave control of the city back to the Crusaders who rebuilt and expanded the fortress.
THE MAMELUKE PERIOD (1291 – 1516).
The Crusader period ended with the capture of Akko (Acre) in 1291 by the Mamelukes. The Mameluke’s were slave warriors whom the Arabs abducted as children from the Caucuses and surrounding area & forcibly converted them to Islam. They underwent military training in order to become a professional army in the service of their Arab masters. Whilst still in the employ of their Arab masters, they captured Safed in 1266 when under the leadership of Baybars, a Mameluke sultan who enlarged & reinforced the fortress in 1268.
Inevitably, the Mamelukes wrested power from their Arab captors and became the dominant power during a period known as the Mameluke period. With the arrival of the Mamelukes, both the Jewish and Arab communities began to grow in Safed.
THE OTTOMAN PERIOD (1516 – 1917).
The expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 coupled with the defeat of the Mamelukes by the Ottoman Turks in 1516 signified the start of the Ottoman period. Many Jews fleeing Spain settled in Safad, ushering in a period referred to as the golden age of Safed that lasted for approximately 100 years.
This influx of Jews led to the development of the wool textile industry that provided employment to the city’s residents. In 1577, the Ashkenazi brothers established a printing press in Safed, the first in the Middle East. It was perhaps the tomb of Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai located in the nearby village of Meron that induced great rabbis & scholars from the late 15th & 16th centuries to make Safed and nearby villages their home. Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai lived in the 2nd century C.E. and accredited as being the author of the Zohar, the primary Kabbalistic text. These 15th & 16th century rabbis included Rabbi Joseph Caro (1488-1575), author of the “Shulhan Aruch”. Solomon Alkabez (1505-1584) the composer of the Shabbat hymn “Lecha Dodi”& the great kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572) referred to as “Ha Ari”. The influx of these and other great Torah scholars resulted in Safed becoming the Kabbalistic capitol of the country.
Power struggles between the local rulers in the 17th & 18th century led to an economic and spiritual decline of Safed. The late 18th & early 19th century saw a slight revival of Safed with the arrival of the Hasidim of the Ba’al Shem Tov in 1778 & the disciples of Elijah Ha Gaon from Vilna in 1810. This revival was short lived, due to epidemics, conflicts between the Druze & Arabs communities as well as earthquakes, particularly the 1837 earthquake in which 5000 people died, 4000 of whom were Jews.
THE BRITISH MANDATE PERIOD (1917 – 1948).
The arrival of the British in 1917 signified the start of the Mandate period. During this period, relations between the Jewish and Arab residents were tense. Hostilities exploded with the advent of the 1929 Arab riots instigated by Haj Amin Husseini, the British appointed pro-Nazi mufti of Jerusalem, who was an enthusiastic supporter of the final solution & spent the war years in Germany under Hitler’s protection. Many Jews were killed and a large part of the Jewish quarter destroyed.
During the 1948 War of Independence, the Arabs took control of the fort, police station & besieged the Jewish Quarter. Within a few days, the elite fighting force of the Haganah, namely the Palmach, captured both the police station & fort & lifted the siege on the Jewish Quarter during which the Arab population fled the city.
Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect).
Website: rontraub-tours.com
Photo’s: Rimonah Traub.