Safed

Safed rises among the hills of Upper Galilee, above the valleys leading towards the Sea of Galilee. Its fortress made it a stronghold in the struggles between Crusaders and Muslim rulers, while its markets served the surrounding villages. In the sixteenth century the town became an influential centre of Jewish learning, attracting scholars and families displaced from Spain and Portugal as well as inhabitants from other lands.

Under Ottoman rule Safed's Jewish scholars gave new life to the study of Kabbalah. Moses Cordovero organised earlier mystical teachings, Isaac Luria gathered disciples whose writings carried his teachings to Jewish communities throughout the wider world, and Joseph Caro wrote the Shulhan Arukh, a major code of Jewish law. In 1577 Hebrew printers produced a book in Safed, beginning a short-lived local press. Textile making also supported the town, with dyers, weavers and merchants active alongside its scholars. Muslims as well as Jews lived in Safed and contributed to its urban life.

The town's fortunes later suffered from epidemics, violence and earthquakes. During the revolt against Egyptian rule in 1834, its Jewish quarter was plundered. A devastating earthquake struck Galilee on 1 January 1837, destroying much of Safed and killing many inhabitants. The town's intellectual legacy nevertheless travelled far beyond its mountain setting through the writings of its scholars and their students.