צפת Safed, הצפון, ישראל
| Latitude | 32°57′56″N |
| Longitude | 35°29′59″E |
| City | צפת Safed Tzfat |
| State/ Province | הצפון |
| Country | ישראל |
Narrative
צפת
صفد
Safed
Tsfat
Tzfat
Ẕefat
Zfat
Narrative
Tzfat צפת is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud, as one of five elevated spots where fires were lit to announce the New Moon and festivals during the Second Temple period.
Legend has it that Tzfat צפת was founded by a son of Noah. after the Great Flood.
Tzfat צפת has been identified with Sepph, a fortified Jewish town in the Upper Galilee mentioned in the writings of the Roman Jewish historian Josephus (Wars 2:573).
Narrative
In the 12th century, Tzfat צפת was a fortified city. in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, known as Saphet, where the Knights Hospitaller built a castle.
In 1266, the Mamluk sultan, Baybar, wiped out the Christian Templar population, and turned it into a Muslim town, called Safad or Safat.
Narrative
After the expulsion of the Islamic rule and with it many Jews from Spain, during the reconquista which ended by 1492, prominent rabbis found their way to Tzfat צפת, including kabbalists Isaac Luria (Arizal) and Moshe Kordovero; Joseph Caro, the author of the Shulchan Aruch and Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, composer of the Sabbath hymn, Lecha Dodi.
The influx of Sephardi Jews made Tzfat צפת a global center for Jewish learning, and a regional center for trade throughout 15th and 16th centuries.
Narrative
In the 16th century, Tzfat צפת was well known as a center of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.
In 1577, a Hebrew printing press was established in Tzfat צפת, by Eliezer Ashkenazi. and his son, Isaac of Prague.