Hafetz Haim
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the kibbutz. For other uses, see Chofetz Chaim (disambiguation)Chofetz Chaim (disambiguation)Chofetz Chaim may refer to:*Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan.*Chofetz Chaim, a book written by him on the Jewish laws regarding harmful speech.*Hafetz Haim, a kibbutz in Israel.-Institutions:...
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Hafetz Haim is a religious kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in central Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Located in the Shephelah
Shephelah
The Shephelah is a designation usually applied to the region in south-central Israel of 10-15 km of low hills between the central Mount Hebron and the coastal plains of Philistia within the area of the Judea, at an altitude of 120-450 metres above sea level. The area is fertile, and a temperate...
, it falls under the jurisdiction of Nahal Sorek Regional Council
Nahal Sorek Regional Council
Nahal Sorek Regional Council is a regional council in the Center district of Israel. The seat of the council is Yad Binyamin. The council is named for the Sorek stream.-List of settlements:...
. In 2006, it had a population of 450.
The land on which Hafetz Haim was established had been bought by the Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
, and was first settled on 15 August 1937 as a tower and stockade
Tower and stockade
Tower and stockade was a settlement method used by Zionist settlers in the British Mandate of Palestine during the 1936–39 Arab revolt, when the establishment of new Jewish settlements was restricted by the Mandatory authorities...
settlement. It was named Sha'ar HaNegev, and then Kfar Szold (after Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold
Henrietta Szold was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandate Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.-Biography:...
). However, on 13 November 1942 the community moved to the Finger of the Galilee
Finger of the Galilee
The Finger of the Galilee is a panhandle along the Hula Valley in northern Israel. It contains the towns Metula and Kiryat Shmona and the rivers of Dan and Banias...
, where they established a new kibbutz, also called Kfar Szold
Kfar Szold
Kfar Szold is a kibbutz in the Hula Valley in the Upper Galilee area of Israel.-History:Kfar Szold was founded during the 1940s by Jewish immigrants from Hungary, Austria and Germany and was named after Henrietta Szold, who founded Hadassah, the Women's Zionist organization...
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On 25 April 1944 a new kibbutz was established. The founders were religious pioneers from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and members of the Ezra youth movement and Agudat Israel
Agudat Israel
Agudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...
who had been preparing near Kfar Sava. It was the first village founded by Agudat Israel
Agudat Israel
Agudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...
and was named after Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Poupko , known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim, was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life...
, who was also known as The Hafetz Haim after his book
Chofetz Chaim
"The Chofetz Chaim" is a book on the Jewish laws of speech written by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan....
.