Matityahu () is an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

organized as a

community settlement A community settlement (, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of town or village in Israel and in the West Bank. In an ordinary town, anyone may buy property, but in a community settlement, the village's residents are organized in a cooperative an ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Located approximately midway between

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, near the settlement of

Modi'in Illit Modi'in Illit (; , lit. "Upper Modi'in") is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish-Israeli settlement organized as a city council (Israel), city council in the West Bank, situated midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Built on the land of five Palest ...

and the city of

Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( ''Mōdīʿīn-Makkabbīm-Rēʿūt'') is a city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In the population was . The populati ...

. It is named after Matityahu the Hasmonean, who lived in Modi'in (1 Maccabees 2:15-17). It falls under the jurisdiction of

Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Mateh Binyamin Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the Tribe of Benjamin) is a Regional Councils in Israel, regional council Local government in Israel, governing 47 Israeli settlements and Israe ...

. In it had a population of . Matityahu was initially founded in 1981 by a group of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-speaking immigrants from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and elsewhere, and it is now home to a community of observant

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish families. Matityahu vineyards sell grapes to Israeli winemakers. The community also has agricultural fields operated by independent contractors and rental properties in its commercial park. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

Location and climate

Matityahu is located in the foothills of the

Judean Mountains The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills (, or ,) are a mountain range in the West Bank and Israel where Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and several other biblical sites are located. The mountains reach a height of . The Judean Mountains can be div ...

of the

, administered by the

Matte Binyamin Regional Council Mateh Binyamin Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Binyamin,'' Lit. Council for the Region of the Tribe of Benjamin) is a regional council governing 47 Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank. The council's jurisdiction is fr ...

. Matityahu is adjacent to the rapidly expanding

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

city of

and is across the highway from the community of Hashmonaim. Other towns in the immediate vicinity include Lapid,

Kfar HaOranim Kfar HaOranim (), also known as Menora () or Giv'at Ehud, is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Contiguous with Lapid and located near to the major city of Modi'in, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction ...

, Kfar Ruth, and Shilat. Situated above sea level, Matityahu's climate is

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

. Summer temperatures range between during the day, with approximately 65% humidity during the hottest summer days. Winters are mostly mild, with frequent rain and seldom any snow.

History

According to ARIJ,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

confiscated 645

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s of land from the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

town of

Ni'lin Ni'lin () is a Palestinian people, Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the central West Bank, located west of Ramallah. Ni'lin is about east of the 1949 Armistice Line (Green Line) bordered b ...

in order to construct Matityahu.Ni’lin Town (Fact Sheet)
ARIJ, p. 17 As of 2017, Matityahu consists of about 120 families and is expanding with the construction of dozens of new single-family homes. Of the current resident families, about half speak English at home (the others are primarily Hebrew-speaking). There is a wide range of ages – from families with parents in their twenties to great-grandparents. Several households consist of parents who themselves grew up in Matityahu. A centrally important aspect of Matityahu is that it is a

Litvish ''Misnagdim'' (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: ''Mitnagdim''; singular ''misnaged / mitnaged'') was a religious movement among the Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Hasidism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ''Misnag ...

community with one rabbi and one synagogue. It is required that every family accepts Rabbi

Zev Leff Zev Leff () is an American-born Haredi rabbi, educator, author, and speaker. After serving as rabbi of the Young Israel of Greater Miami, Florida, for nine years, he and his family moved to Moshav Matityahu, Israel, in 1983, where he is the ''ma ...

's (the community rabbi) da'at torah and

halakhic ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments (''mitzv ...

rulings for all matters that may impact on others and respect the "united community" aspect of life in the community. Therefore, all residents are expected to be religiously observant and strict religious standards are demanded including a ban on television and videos. All homes are required to follow the

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...

standards set by Leff and women must dress with complete adherence to the specific

tzniut ''Tzniut'' ( , , ; "modesty" or "privacy"; ) describes the character trait of modesty and discretion, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct. The concept is most important within Orthodox Judaism. Description ''Tzniut'' i ...

standards. A significant number of men study Torah full-time in a

kollel A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...

. The general philosophy of Matityahu differs from that of mainstream Israeli

communities in a few key ways. Examples of these differences include readily accepting men who work in full-time jobs, allowing those who wish to acknowledge

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

to do so, and not demanding that men dress only in white shirts, jackets, and hats (although many do).

References

External links

About Matityahu on Mateh Binyamin website (Hebrew)Rabbi Leff
{{Authority control American-Jewish culture in Israel Religious Israeli settlements Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Populated places established in 1981 1981 establishments in the Israeli Military Governorate Israeli settlements in the West Bank