Tzfat Cemetary

March 22nd 2011

The Safed Cemetery is an important landmark in Safed’s rich history. Thousands of tombstones are lined one after the other along the slopes of Safed’s old city. The cemetery retells part of the city’s history and the inhabitants from 100 years back. Walking along the narrow paths, visitors will read off tombstone inscriptions of mystics and sages, including Rabbi Isaac Luria, one of the most prominent figures of the Golden Age of Kabbalah in Safed. Also laid to rest in the cemetery are earthquake victims from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; there is also a section dedicated to individuals who sacrificed their lives during the 1948 War of Independence and subsequent State struggles. Other notable individuals buried at the Safed Cemetery include Rabbi Yosef Caro, the author of the Shulchan Aruch and Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, author of the hymn Lecha Dodi.