Beit Yisrael ( he, בית ישראל,
lit. ) is a predominantly
Haredi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
neighborhood in central
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
It is located just north of
Mea Shearim
Mea Shearim ( he, מאה שערים, lit., "hundred gates"; contextually, "a hundred fold") is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem outside of the Old City. It is populated by Haredi Jews, and was built by members of the Old Yish ...
on Ha-Rav Zonenfeld St 13.
The name Beit Yisrael is taken
from the verse in
Ezekiel , in which
Ezekiel prophesies to the hills and mountains of Israel, "I shall make numerous on you the people, the entire House of Israel; the cities will be reinhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt." According to tradition, the neighborhood is built on the location on which the sacrificial remnants of the
Second Temple were disposed.
History
Beit Yisrael was built in the 1880s as an extension of Mea Shearim; it was originally called "Mea Shearim HaHadasha" ( he, מאה שערים החדשה, lit. the new Mea Shearim). A number of prominent community activists of the
Old Yishuv
The Old Yishuv ( he, היישוב הישן, ''haYishuv haYashan'') were the Jewish communities of the southern Syrian provinces in the Ottoman period, up to the onset of Zionist aliyah and the consolidation of the New Yishuv by the end of Wor ...
, looking for a solution to the skyrocketing costs of living quarters in Mea Shearim, came up with the idea to purchase the adjacent plot of land, a dirty and infested area nicknamed "the pool" because of its severe drainage problems. Rabbi
Aryeh Leib Dayan purchased the plot for a cheap price, after which they drained the water and began to build. The neighborhood book of regulations describes some of the difficulties of the time:
Beit Yisrael originally consisted of one central street by the same name, which contained the main
synagogue, with small alleyways branching off on which houses were built. Another main street, which connected the neighborhood to Mea Shearim, was built later and named for Rabbi Dayan. Two-story houses lined the roads, with spacious courtyards behind them and a shared well for every two houses. The inhabitants were originally poor people who could not afford housing in other neighborhoods, though many
olim
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...
from across the globe settled there as well. By 1900, there were sixty houses and two synagogues. Throughout the years of
Mandate Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...
, the neighborhood continued to grow, eventually expanding to the north.
During the
1947–1949 Palestine war, from 1947-1949, Beit Yisrael was on the front lines, and from 1949 until 1967, it was situated right near the
Armistice Line and the border with Jordan.
On March 2, 2002, eleven people were killed and over 50 were injured in the
Yeshivat Beit Yisrael massacre
A Palestinian suicide bombing occurred in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood in downtown Jerusalem on March 2, 2002. Eleven Israeli civilians were killed in the attack, including two infants, three children and two teenagers. Over 50 people were inju ...
in the neighborhood, where people had gathered for a
bar mitzvah celebration.
[
]
Religious institutions
The neighborhood's main synagogue, Beit Yaakov ( he, בית יעקב), was established in 1887 using funds donated by a donor who wished to remain anonymous. The marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
plaque, which can still be seen on the wall, relates some of the background of the donation:
There has been much speculation as to the identity of this anonymous donor. A local legend relates that a wealthy resident often lent money to local businessmen. Once, after forgetting that one of his debtors, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Porush, the administrator of the cities charity fund, had already repaid his loan, he asked for payment. Rabbi Porush insisted that he had already paid, so they went to Rav Shmuel Salant. According to Jewish monetary law
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, in such a scenario the debtor must swear that he repaid the loan to the creditor. The debtor, even after swearing, and now absolved from paying, paid a second time. When the creditor discovered his error, he immediately went back to the debtor in order to return the money. Rabbi Porush refused the money, saying he doesn't want to take money which he made an oath over. Instead he donated the money to build Beit Yaakov.
The Beit Yaakov synagogue also Known as Beis Yisroel Shtiblach has 6 smaller rooms, known as '' shteiblach'', in which ''minyanim
In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( he, מניין \ מִנְיָן ''mīnyān'' , lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Jud ...
'' can be found at almost any hour. According to the synagogue administration, more people pray there daily than in any other synagogue in Jerusalem, including the famed Zikhron Moshe
Zikhron Moshe ( he, זיכרון משה, lit. ''Memorial for Moses'') is a Haredi neighborhood in central Jerusalem. The neighborhood is bordered by Geula to the north, Mekor Baruch to the west, David Yellin Street to the south, and Mea Shearim to ...
''shteiblach''. The entire complex was refurbished and modernized in the last few years.
To the west of the synagogue building is the Machane Yisrael Yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...
for baalei teshuva (returnees to religious observance).
Many other synagogues can be found in Beit Yisrael, owing to the many Jews of various ethnic backgrounds who preferred to pray according to their local custom, including Jews from Dagestan, Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages ...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, and others. There are also many synagogues of various Hasidic sects, including Pinsk-Karlin
Pinsk-Karlin is a Hasidic group that is an offshoot of Karlin-Stolin.
History
A distinguished group of the elders of Karlin did not accept the leadership of the present Karlin-Stoliner Rebbe, who was a baby when his predecessor died. They asked t ...
, Lelov
Lelov ( yi, לעֶלוֹב) is a Polish-Israeli Hasidic dynastic court, which traces its origins to the town of Lelów, Poland where the court was established in 1815 by Rabbi Dovid Biderman (1746-1814).
The Lelover dynasty migrated from Poland ...
, Lubavitch, and Zvhil.
Also located in Beit Yisrael is the Mir Yeshiva, the largest yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...
in the world, boasting over 9,000 students.
References
{{Coord, 31, 47, 20, N, 35, 13, 22, E, display=title
Orthodox Jewish communities in Jerusalem