Safed 1759 Earthquake
From Zissil
Warning: You are not logged in.
Your IP address will be recorded in this page's edit history.The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
|data8 = Destruction and after-effects of the 1759 earthquake in Tzfat.}} | |data8 = Destruction and after-effects of the 1759 earthquake in Tzfat.}} | ||
− | The '''1759 Earthquake''' ripped through Northern Israel devastating [[Safed]] amongst other cities. Over 200 homes were destroyed and 140 Jews were killed. Following the earthquake most Jews left Tzfat, leaving only 50 families | + | The '''1759 Earthquake''' ripped through Northern Israel devastating [[Safed]] amongst other cities. Over 200 homes were destroyed and 140 Jews were killed. Following the earthquake most Jews left Tzfat, leaving only 50 families. Already in a steady decline from its [[Ottoman Rule of Safed 1517 to 1759|Golden Age]], the destruction wrought by the 1759 earthquake cemented Tzfat’s fall as a center of Jewish life in Israel. Some Rabbis saw the earthquake as retribution for Tzfat's attempts to override Yerushalaim as the central Israeli settlement. |
== Population == | == Population == | ||
Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
=== Abuhav Synagogue === | === Abuhav Synagogue === | ||
− | + | Some historians believe that the original [[Abuhav Synagogue|Abuhav synagogue]] was built in the 15th century near the base of the mountain, above the cemetery and was rebuilt in its present site, on Abuhav Street after the 1759 earthquake. Others say the original synagogue existed in its present site and was rebuilt in the same location after the earthquake. Both versions relate that the southern wall which held the Ark of the Torah scrolls did not collapse after the 1759 earthquake. | |
One of the Torah scrolls in the Ark had been written in the 15th century by Rabbi Yitzchak Abuhav. According to Safed legend, Rabbi Abuhav warned that the Torah scroll was not be removed from the Ark other than ritual Torah-reading times. After the 1759 earthquake, ten men immersed in a mikva -- ritual bath -- so as to remove the Torah scroll and place it in a safe place as the synagogue was rebuilt. They succeeded in moving the scroll to safer quarters but within a year, all ten men died. | One of the Torah scrolls in the Ark had been written in the 15th century by Rabbi Yitzchak Abuhav. According to Safed legend, Rabbi Abuhav warned that the Torah scroll was not be removed from the Ark other than ritual Torah-reading times. After the 1759 earthquake, ten men immersed in a mikva -- ritual bath -- so as to remove the Torah scroll and place it in a safe place as the synagogue was rebuilt. They succeeded in moving the scroll to safer quarters but within a year, all ten men died. |