:''See

Judah he-Hasid (disambiguation) People who used the name Judah HeHasid ( he, יהודה החסיד, ''Yehudah HeHasid'', "Judah the Pious") include: * Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (12th-13th centuries), the initiator of the Chassidei Ashkenaz movement * Judah HeHasid (Jerusale ...

for other people who used this name.'' Judah he-Hasid Segal ha-Levi ( he, יְהוּדָה‎ הֶחָסִיד, Yəhūdā heḤasīd, Judah the Pious; c. 1660 in

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

– 19 October 1700 in

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

, Ottoman Syria) was a Jewish preacher who led the largest organized group of Jewish immigrants to the Land of Israel in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Departure from Europe

Judah traveled from one Jewish community to another throughout

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, urging repentance, asceticism, physical mortifications, and calling for '' aliyah''. In 1697, he and 31 families of his followers left for

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

and made a stop at

Nikolsburg Mikulov (; german: Nikolsburg; yi, ניקאלשבורג, ''Nikolshburg'') is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic centre of Mikulov is well preserved and i ...

. Judah spent a year traveling throughout Germany and Moravia gaining followers. Many joined the group, influenced by his fervor. By the time the whole group gathered in Italy, they numbered about 1,500. Almost a third of the pilgrims died of hardships and illnesses during the trip. On the way, they contracted debts, and in exchange for permission to enter the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

they were forced to give the Turkish authorities financial guarantees in the name of Jerusalem's Jewish community.

Arrival in Jerusalem

The group arrived in

on October 14, 1700. At that time, about 200 Ashkenazi and about 1,000

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

Jews lived in the city, mostly on charities from the

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of th ...

. The sudden influx of between 500 and 1,000 Ashkenazim produced a crisis: the local community was unable to help such a large group. In addition, some of the newcomers were suspected to be

Sabbatean The Sabbateans (or Sabbatians) were a variety of Jewish followers, disciples, and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), a Sephardic Jewish rabbi and Kabbalist who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1666 by Nathan of Gaza. Vast ...

s,Aviezer Ravitzky. ''Messianism, Zionism, and Jewish religious radicalism''. 1996, page 228 whom the local Jews viewed with hostility. The situation grew worse when Judah He-Hasid died within days of his arrival to Jerusalem. He is buried on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

. Emissaries were sent to the

Council of the Four Lands The Council of Four Lands ( he, ועד ארבע ארצות, ''Va'ad Arba' Aratzot'') in Lublin, Poland was the central body of Jewish authority in Poland from the second half of the 16th century to 1764. The first known regulation for the Council ...

for aid, but it did not arrive.

Legacy

Some of the Ashkenazi Jews moved to other cities (mainly Jewish holy cities other than Jerusalem:

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 Eas ...

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

, and Safed). Others started to dress like Sephardi Jews. The synagogue, called Hurvat Yehudah He-Hasid (Destroyed Place of Judah He-Hasid), was rebuilt in 1864 by the

Perushim The ''perushim'' ( he, פרושים) were Jewish disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, which was then part of Ottoman Syria under Otto ...

, becoming the chief Ashkenazi synagogue in Jerusalem. The building was destroyed by the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 1 ...

in 1948. It was then rebuilt and rededicated in 2010.

References

External links

The Land of Promise: The Return to Zion
March 27, 2003 (Israel MFA)
Pre-Zionism
(

Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hehasid, Judah 1660s births 1700 deaths Aliyah Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Forerunners of Zionism Islam and Judaism Jewish mysticism People from Jerusalem People from Siedlce Polish emigrants to the Ottoman Empire 17th-century Polish rabbis Polish Zionists Ashkenazi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine