[MUCH more from Middle Ages. Jews NEVER completely Left , always maintaining a presence]
The 16th-century nevertheless saw a resurgence of Jewish life in Palestine. Palestinian rabbis were instrumental producing a universally accepted manual of Jewish law and some of the most beautiful liturgical poems. Much of this activity occurred at
Safed which had become a spiritual centre, a haven for mystics.
Joseph Karo's comprehensive guide to Jewish law, the
Shulchan Aruch, was considered so authoritative that the variant customs of German-Polish Jewry were merely added as supplement glosses.
[126] Some of the most celebrated hymns were written at in Safed by poets such as
Israel Najara and
Solomon Alkabetz.
[127] The town was also a centre of Jewish mysticism, notable kabbalists included
Moses Cordovero and the German-born Naphtali Hertz ben Jacob Elhanan.
[128][129][130] A new method of understanding the
kabbalah was developed by Palestinian mystic
Isaac Luria, and espoused by his student
Chaim Vital. In Safed, the Jews developed a number of branches of trade, especially in grain, spices, textiles and dyeing. In 1577, a
Hebrew printing press was established in Safed. The 8,000 or 10,000 Jews in Safed in 1555 grew to 20,000 or 30,000 by the end of the century.
Old Yishuv
Jewish life in the
Land of Israel under
Ottomanrule
Key events
Key figures
Economy
Philanthropy
Communities
Synagogues
In around 1563, Joseph Nasi secured permission from Sultan Selim II to acquire Tiberias and seven surrounding villages to create a Jewish city-state.[131] He hoped that large numbers of Jewish refugees and Marranos would settle there, free from fear and oppression; indeed, the persecuted Jews of Cori, Italy, numbering about 200 souls, decided to emigrate to Tiberias.
[132][133] Nasi had the walls of the town rebuilt by 1564 and attempted to turn it into a self-sufficient textile manufacturing center by planting
mulberry trees for the cultivation of
silk. Nevertheless, a number of factors during the following years contributed to the plan's ultimate failure. Nasi's aunt, Doña
Gracia Mendes Nasi supported a
yeshiva in the town for many years until her death in 1569.
[134]
In 1567, a Yemenite scholar and Rabbi,
Zechariah Dhahiri, visited
Safedand wrote of his experiences in a book entitled
Sefer Ha-Musar. His vivid
descriptions of the town Safed and of
Rabbi Joseph Karo’s
yeshiva are of primary importance to historians, seeing that they are a first-hand account of these places, and the only extant account which describes the
yeshivaof the great Sephardic Rabbi,
Joseph Karo.
[135]
In 1576, the Jewish community of Safed faced an expulsion order: 1,000 prosperous families were to be deported to Cyprus, "for the good of the said island", with another 500 the following year.
[136] The order was later rescinded due to the realisation of the financial gains of Jewish rental income.
[137] In 1586, the Jews of Istanbul agreed to build a fortified
khanto provide a refuge for Safed's Jews against "night bandits and armed thieves."
[136]
In 1569, the
Radbaz moved to Jerusalem, but soon moved to Safed to escape the high taxes imposed on Jews by the authorities.
In 1610, the Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue in Jerusalem was completed.[138] It became the main synagogue of the Sephardic Jews, the place where their chief rabbi was invested. The adjacent study hall which had been added by 1625 later became the
Synagogue of Elijah the Prophet.
[138]
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