Safed Old Jewish Cemetery

Safed Old Jewish Cemetery
בית העלמין היהודי העתיק בצפת
Aerial photograph of the ancient cemetery in Safed
Details
Established	14th century
Location	Safed
Country	Israel
Coordinates	32°58′06″N 35°29′20″E / 32.9683°N 35.4890°E / 32.9683; 35.4890
Type	Jewish
Size	150 dunams

The ancient Jewish cemetery in Safed is one of the oldest cemeteries in Israel. It has served for many centuries as a burial place for the local residents, including prominent and important figures in the heritage of Israel. The cemetery is located along the western slope of the city of Safed, at the end of Ari Street, down Mount Canaan, facing the Amud Stream and overlooking the Sea of Galilee.^[1]

Every year, more than 700,000 people visit the graves of the righteous at the site, which according to tradition includes the graves of Tannaim, Amoraim, Kabbalists, and many Rebbes.^[1]

Near the ancient cemetery is the "new cemetery of Safed". On its northern side is the military cemetery of Safed, located on the mountainside, and nearby is the monument in memory of the seven martyrs of the gallows. At the entrance to the cemetery is the Ari's mikveh.^[1]

The earliest mention is by a student of Obadiah of Bertinoro in 1495, who mentions the cemetery and the grave of the prophet Hosea son of Beeri. Around 1635, Gershon ben Eliezer Segal describes the village of Ein Zeitun: "Ein Zeitun has a built and closed synagogue with a Torah scroll. And to the north of the village, Beit Chaim."^[2]

The old cemetery spans an area estimated at one hundred and fifty dunams. Due to earthquakes and soil erosion, it is sometimes possible to find graves above graves in the cemetery.^[3]

From the 18th century, a separation in burial was created between the members of the Ashkenazi community and the members of the Sephardic community. Most of the Sephardim were buried in the northern part of the cemetery. Occasionally, Sephardic burials can be found in burial caves in the southern part. In the year 5776 (2015), Dr. Nissan Sharifi, a lawyer and law lecturer, discovered the exact burial place of the Radbaz, following an in-depth research in which Dr. Sharifi reviewed many sources that indicated that the Radbaz was buried to the right of the grave of Rabbi Moshe Mitrani (the Mabit), in the Ari's burial plot, who was his student in Egypt.^[4] Thus, on the 21st of Cheshvan 5776, the first celebration was held at the grave of the Radbaz, after more than a hundred years of the grave's disappearance due to natural forces (earthquakes and soil erosion) combined with poor preservation of the ancient cemetery in Safed.^[5][3][6]

Most of the members of the Ashkenazi community in the city were buried in the southern part of the cemetery.^[6]

Most of the graves in this section are from the 20th century and are very crowded. Among others, the section includes the graves of those who fell during the siege of Acre in the War of Independence.^[7]

After the establishment of the state, two new sections were established for Ashkenazim and Sephardim.^[7]

• The Ari's Mikveh. The mikveh is built on a spring where, according to tradition, the Ari used to immerse.
• The grave of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair - within a large square there is a large tree on which cloths and plastic bags are hung. It is customary to circle this grave seven times while praying.
• Victims of the earthquake that occurred in 1837.
• Victims of the plague and famine of World War I, including 104 tombstones of those who perished in the expulsion from Tel Aviv.
• The monument of the Olei Hagardom - seven members of the underground fighters who were executed by hanging by the British in Acre prison in 1947 are buried in the cemetery.
• Victims of the Ma'alot massacre.
• Victims of the Avivim school bus attack.

• Ariel Ephraim Aharonov, "The Ancient Cemetery in Safed - Traditions, Documentation, and Reality on the Ground", in: Etz Chaim, Part 38, pp. 718–743, New York, 2022.
• Eli Eliach, The Cave of Tzedek in Safed - The Cave of the Pharisees, Disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Academia.edu, May 2023
• Yossi Stepansky, Tombstones Tell: The Reflection of the Jewish Community in Safed in the Jewish Cemetery, Et-Mol 284 (October 2023), pp. 26–29.

• Database of graves in the ancient cemetery of Safed on Yichus.net.
• Safed Cemetery on the International Jewish Cemetery Project website .