Hastening Redemption
Encyclopedia
Hastening Redemption: Messianism and the Resettlement of the Land of Israel is 1997 history of on nineteenth century Haredi migration to Palestine
prior to Zionism
by Israeli historian
Arie Morgenstern.
, a group that had not been regarded as enthusiastically messianic until the appearance of Morgenstern’s book.
The larger scholarly impact was Morgenstern’s ability, by the use of innovative sources, to document an early nineteenth-century aliyah
of previously unsuspected scale.
(Hebron, Jerusalem, Tiberias and Safed)” letter from Jerusalem, 24 December, 1834.
A particular school of pietistic reading of the Bible and Talmud established, to the satisfaction of Jews in Persia, England, Morocco, Yemen, and all the communities in between that the Messiah would arrive in the Hebrew year 5600, 1840 on the English calendar. Beginning in the early years of the nineteenth century, thousands of Jews in possession of the wealth to finance such a journey, moved with their families to the Land of Israel to await the great event. The arrival of large numbers of followers of the Vilna Gaon
known collectively as the Perushim
was especially notable, but sizeable groups are recorded as arriving from most of the world’s Jewish communities, including Persia, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria and Russia.
The early enthusiasm encountered grave setbacks. Notably a devastating epidemic in 1813, and the Galilee earthquake of 1837
that virtually destroyed Safed and Tiberias. The greatest difficulty, however, was undoubtedly the economically underdeveloped state of the economy and the existence of a government unable to provide security of life or property, let alone sanitary drains. Death rates among the immigrants were extraordinarily high. Life was difficult for everyone in the ill-governed Ottoman province, but Jews suffered particularly under laws that forbade them to bear arms (making it impossible for Jewish travelers to defend themselves from bandits) and preventing Jews from constructing new housing, and from building or repairing synagogues. These restrictions could only be overcome by means of substantial bribes, and even that was only possible at moments when the responsible officials were corrupt and not especially ill-disposed towards Jews.
The conquest of Syria (of which the Land of Israel was then part) by Muhammad Ali of Egypt
in 1832 brought major changes in the situation, as the new government treated Jews more equably, permitting, for example, the rebuilding of synagogues destroyed by the earthquake of 1837, and the building of some Jewish housing. By 1840, Jews were a majority of the population of Jerusalem, a situation that has continued ever since.
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
prior to Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
by Israeli historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Arie Morgenstern.
Scholarly impact
Publication in Hebrew in 1997 led to scholarly reconsideration of the followers of the Vilna GaonVilna Gaon
Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
, a group that had not been regarded as enthusiastically messianic until the appearance of Morgenstern’s book.
The larger scholarly impact was Morgenstern’s ability, by the use of innovative sources, to document an early nineteenth-century aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
of previously unsuspected scale.
Evidence of large-scale aliyah between 1808 and 1840
“It should be known to you that from other lands, worthy people are actually streaming to the Four Holy CitiesFour Holy Cities
The Four Holy Cities , is the collective term in Jewish tradition applied to the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed: "Since the sixteenth century the holiness of Palestine, especially for burial, has been almost wholly transferred to four cities—Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and...
(Hebron, Jerusalem, Tiberias and Safed)” letter from Jerusalem, 24 December, 1834.
A particular school of pietistic reading of the Bible and Talmud established, to the satisfaction of Jews in Persia, England, Morocco, Yemen, and all the communities in between that the Messiah would arrive in the Hebrew year 5600, 1840 on the English calendar. Beginning in the early years of the nineteenth century, thousands of Jews in possession of the wealth to finance such a journey, moved with their families to the Land of Israel to await the great event. The arrival of large numbers of followers of the Vilna Gaon
Vilna Gaon
Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna and simply by his Hebrew acronym Gra or Elijah Ben Solomon, , was a Talmudist, halachist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic Jewry of the past few centuries...
known collectively as the Perushim
Perushim
The Perushim were disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, who left Lithuania at the beginning of the 19th century to settle in the Land of Israel, then under Ottoman rule...
was especially notable, but sizeable groups are recorded as arriving from most of the world’s Jewish communities, including Persia, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria and Russia.
The early enthusiasm encountered grave setbacks. Notably a devastating epidemic in 1813, and the Galilee earthquake of 1837
Galilee earthquake of 1837
The Galilee earthquake of 1837, often called the Safed earthquake, was a devastating earthquake that shook the Galilee on January 1, 1837.-Impact:...
that virtually destroyed Safed and Tiberias. The greatest difficulty, however, was undoubtedly the economically underdeveloped state of the economy and the existence of a government unable to provide security of life or property, let alone sanitary drains. Death rates among the immigrants were extraordinarily high. Life was difficult for everyone in the ill-governed Ottoman province, but Jews suffered particularly under laws that forbade them to bear arms (making it impossible for Jewish travelers to defend themselves from bandits) and preventing Jews from constructing new housing, and from building or repairing synagogues. These restrictions could only be overcome by means of substantial bribes, and even that was only possible at moments when the responsible officials were corrupt and not especially ill-disposed towards Jews.
The conquest of Syria (of which the Land of Israel was then part) by Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
in 1832 brought major changes in the situation, as the new government treated Jews more equably, permitting, for example, the rebuilding of synagogues destroyed by the earthquake of 1837, and the building of some Jewish housing. By 1840, Jews were a majority of the population of Jerusalem, a situation that has continued ever since.
Sources
- Hastening Redemption: Messianism and the Resettlement of the Land of Israel , Jerusalem, Ma’or, 1997; Published in English, 2006, Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
.