Moses ben Mordecai Bassola or simply Moses Bassola, alternative spelling: Moshe Basola, Basilea, Basila (Hebrew באסולה or simply: משה באסולה; alternative Hebrew spelling: באזלה ,איש באזולה ,ב(א)סולה ,באסל ,באזילא);Basilea, Basila, Bassola, Basola, Basla

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

article born 1480 (year ה'ר"מ,

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. I ...

), in

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

- died in 1560 (year ה'ש"כ,

)) was a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and a cabalist. His travel book has been published in English and modern Hebrew by Abraham David under the titles ''In Zion and Jerusalem: The Itinerary of Rabbi Moses Basola (1521–1523)'' (Jerusalem: C. G. Foundation Jerusalem Project Publications, 1999. 148 pp. nglish 48 pp. ebrew)

Biography

Since he called himself ''Ẓarfati'' (the Frenchman), his family may have originated from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. R. Moses was the son of a famous rabbinical family in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

and in

, living between the 15th century - 18th century. His last name - ''Bassola'' - shows that the family probably originated from

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

(the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

form of the name is ''Basil'') in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He served in his youth in his hometown of

as a rabbi.

Land of Israel tour (1521–1523)

In 1521, he sailed to the

via

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

and toured it for a year and a half. His impressions from this visit are documented in his book ''Sefer '', in which he describes various sites in

Ottoman Palestine Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...

(partial list), such as

Bar'am Bar'am ( he, בַּרְעָם, ''lit.'' Son of the People), sometimes spelled as Baram, is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located approximately 300 meters from Israel's border with Lebanon near the ruins of the ancient Jewish village of Kfar Bar' ...

Ein Zeitim Ein Zeitim ( he, עין זיתים, lit. ''Spring of Olives'') was an agricultural settlement about 2 km north of Safed first established in 1891. History Ein Zeitim was founded by members of the Dorshei Zion (Seekers of Zion) society, a Z ...

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 ...

, Meron, Kefar Hananiah, Akbara,

Peki'in Peki'in (alternatively Peqi'in) ( he, פְּקִיעִין) or Buqei'a ( ar, البقيعة), is a Druze in Israel , Druze–Arab citizens of Israel, Arab town with Local council (Israel), local council status in Israel's Northern District (Is ...

, Amuka,

Gush Halav Jish ( ar, الجش; he, גִ'שׁ, גּוּשׁ חָלָב, Jish, Gush Halav) is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, north of Safed, in Israel's Northern District. In it had a population of , w ...

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor cha ...

Huqoq Huqoq or Hukkok ( he, חוקוק) was an ancient Jewish village, located 12.5 km north of Tiberias. The area had been settled since ancient times and is mentioned in the Book of Joshua. The Palestinian village Yaquq was built at Huqoq's loca ...

, Jethro's Tomb near the Horns of Hittin,

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

, among other places. In every place he visited, Rabbi Moses described the inhabitants of the country, the number of Jews living in each locality and their important occupations, including the burial sites of the righteous, synagogues, etc. During this period, Rabbi Moses resided in the settlement of Ein Zeitim, which had then a Jewish community of some forty families. The book became a primary source of information for Jewish life in the land of Israel and the country's attractions during those years.

Later life

After returning to Italy, R. Moses lived in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

and headed the

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 s ...

there. In his later years, R. Moses made

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

to the Land of Israel and settled in

, where he was in a friendly relationship with the rabbis of the city, especially with R.

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero Moses ben Jacob Cordovero ( he, משה קורדובירו ''Moshe Kordovero'' ‎; 1522–1570) was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in 16th-century Safed, Ottoman Syria. He is known by th ...

. R. Moses' son, R. Azriel ben Moses Bassola, was a known scholar, whom among his students was R.

Leon of Modena Leon de Modena or in Hebrew name Yehudah Aryeh Mi-Modena (1571–1648) was a Jewish scholar born in Venice to a family whose ancestors migrated to Italy after an expulsion of Jews from France. Life He was a precocious child and grew up to be a re ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassola, Moses ben Mordecai 1480 births 1560 deaths Kabbalists Rabbis from Ancona Rabbis in Safed 16th-century travelers Rabbis of the Land of Israel Holy Land travellers 16th-century Italian rabbis Explorers of Asia Jewish explorers Medieval Jewish travel writers Italian explorers 16th-century writers Pilgrimage accounts People from Pesaro