Kfar Shamai ( he, כפר שמאי) is a

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

in northern Israel. Located in the Upper Galilee, about west of

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Merom HaGalil Regional Council The Merom HaGalil Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מרום הגליל, ''Mo'atza Azorit Merom HaGalil'') is a regional council in the northern Galilee of northern Israel. The regional council was established in 1950. The head of the ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The moshav was founded in 1949 by immigrants to Israel from Yemen, built over the Palestinian village of

al-Sammu'i Al-Sammu'i ( ar, السموعي) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 12, 1948, under Operation Hiram. It was located 4 km west of Safad ...

that was depopulated during the 1948 war.''Yalqut Teiman'', Yosef Tobi and Shalom Seri (editors), Tel-Aviv 2000, p. 131, s.v. כפר שמאי (Hebrew) Most of these immigrants have stayed, as of 2006, and over the years immigrants from Romania and Morocco joined them. Today, the moshav houses a museum for the preservation of local history, since its establishment. The name "Kfar Shamai" is based on Shammai the Elder, who was the partner of

Hillel the Elder Hillel ( he, הִלֵּל ''Hīllēl''; variously called ''Hillel HaGadol'', ''Hillel HaZaken'', ''Hillel HaBavli'' or ''HaBavli'', was born according to tradition in Babylon c. 110 BCE, died 10 CE in Jerusalem) was a Jewish religious leader, sag ...

. According to Jewish tradition, Shammai was buried in

Har Meron Mount Meron ( he, הַר מֵירוֹן, ''Har Meron''; ar, جبل الجرمق, ''Jabal al-Jarmaq'') is a mountain in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. It has special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been decla ...

or in "Shammai Hill" near the community.

References

{{Merom HaGalil Regional Council Moshavim Populated places in Northern District (Israel) Yemeni-Jewish culture in Israel Populated places established in 1949 1949 establishments in Israel Moroccan-Jewish culture in Israel Romanian-Jewish culture in Israel