Last shabbat my husband and I had the chance to go away, just the two of us, and at long last we spent Shabbat in Kerem Ben Zimra, just a 20 or so minute drive from our home, but a special place indeed, with gorgeous sweeping views of the surrounding hills and mountains, and the real feeling of peace and quiet! My priority of course was to rent a place that had a great view for me to sketch, together with a quiet spot to enjoy the view outdoors, and I found it! All the photos I'm sharing here are from the yard of the vacation rental, and it was such a pleasure to just gaze at the gorgeous orchards, and watch the fabulous sunset. My heart longs for more, so we will certainly visit again!
Above: Looking south-west, with the Meron mountain range to the left
Kerem Ben Zimra (Hebrew: כֶּרֶם בֶּן זִמְרָה) is a moshav in northern Israel. Near Safed in the Upper Galilee, with a population of about 540. Similar to a kibbutz, a moshav is a type of cooperative agricultural settlement. It is a collection of individual farms that operate with shared harvesting equipment, storage facilities, and various other implements.Though the farmers and their families that live on a moshav share equipment, the financial gain from each farm’s yield goes to the individual family. Kerem Ben Zimra was founded in 1949 by immigrants to Israel from Turkey and it was named after Rabbi David Ben Zimra, who is buried with his father just to the right of the entrance to the moshav. New immigrants from Romania and Morocco later joined the moshav, and today it is a beautiful village with large homes boasting the success of the agricultural efforts, which include wineries, fruit orchards and chickens.
Such gorgeous patterned orchards!Above: In the distance the village of Gush Chalav, now called Jish (by its Arab inhabitants)
In the eastern Upper Galilee, only seven kilometers north-west of Safed (Tsfat), an Arab village is located on the ruins of a city that once prospered.
In the distance from our view we saw Gush Halav, known by the Arabs Jish, which today is a mixed village, the majority of whose residents are Christian Maronites living with Moslems and Catholic Greeks. Its first inhabitants arrived approximately 5,000 years ago, but the place became renowned during the time of the Second Temple (about 2,000 years ago), when there was an ancient Jewish center here. In that period, the area surrounding Gush Halav was famous for its choice olives, olive oil and rare silk.
The most famous personality from Gush Halav was Yokhanan ben Levi (or, Yokhanan of Gush Khalav), born locally and one of the leaders of the Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans. In a daring move, Yokhanan and his men had opposed the Roman occupation and defended the town, and fled to Jerusalem only when they could no longer withstand the siege.
The Jewish presence in Gush Halav continued until the fourteenth century, and the present village was established in the eighteenth century and within its expanses are several graves held sacred by Jews (including the graves of the prophet Joel, and of the rabbinical sages Shmaya and Avtalyon).
Wow, right?
Landmarks of the moshav......
A fence running along the northern border, and grape vineyards beyond.
I hope you've enjoyed this short look at Kerem Ben Zimra, next time I'll try to visit the quaint winery of Ben Zimra, with a wonderful seating area overlooking a slightly different view. Hmm, a great place for a sketch as well!
