Kfar Shamai is a moshav

Moshav

Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...

 in the Upper Galilee

Upper Galilee

The Upper Galilee is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period, originally referring to a mountainous area overlapping the present northern Israel and southern Lebanon, its borders being the Litani river in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Beit...

 near the city of Safed

Safed

Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...

 in northern Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. It belongs to the Merom HaGalil Regional Council

Merom HaGalil Regional Council

The Merom HaGalil Regional Council is a regional council in the northern Galilee of northern Israel. The regional council was established in 1950...

.

The moshav was founded in 1949 by immigrants to Israel from Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

. Most of these immigrants have stayed as of 2006, and over the years immigrants from Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 and Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 joined them.

The name "Kfar Shamai" is based on Shammai the Elder

Shammai

Shammai was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah....

, who was the partner of Hillel the Elder

Hillel the Elder

Hillel was a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. He is associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud...

. According to Jewish tradition, Shammai was buried in Har Meron

Har Meron

Mount Meron is a mountain in Israel above sea level. It is the highest mountain in Israel within the Green Line or the second highest point when including the Israeli-annexed part of the Golan Heights, which encompass the southern slopes of Mount Hermon...

or in "Shammai Hill" near the community.