Four Holy Cities

In Judaism, the "Four Holy Cities" are Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed. Revered for their significance to Jewish history, they began to again serve as major centres of Jewish life after the Ottoman conquest of the Levant.^[1]

According to The Jewish Encyclopedia in 1906: "Since the sixteenth century the Holiness of Palestine, especially for burial, has been almost wholly transferred to four cities—Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed."^[2]

^ Wigoder, Geoffrey, ed. (1989). "Holy cities". The Encyclopedia of Judaism. Macmillan Publishers. p. 347 out of 768. ISBN 9780026284103. Retrieved 2025-02-23. Term applied to the Erets Israel cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and Tiberias. These were the four main centers of Jewish life after the Ottoman conquest of 1516. The concept of the holy cities dates only from the 1640s, when the Jewish communities of Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed organized an association to improve the system of fundraising in the Diaspora. Previously, such fundraising had been undertaken by individual institutions; now it was agreed that the emissaries would be sent on behalf of each urban Jewish community as a whole, with not more than one emissary per town. After Tiberias was refounded in 1740, it also joined the association. This arrangement did not last long, however, and by the mid-19th century there was no authority strong enough to enforce a centralized collection of ḥalukkah funds. In Jewish tradition, going back to ancient times, the only city regarded as holy is Jerusalem
^ Jacobs, Joseph; Eisenstein, Judah David (1906). "Palestine, Holiness Of". Jewish Encyclopedia.

[EOJ2-1] Wigoder, Geoffrey, ed. (1989). "Holy cities". The Encyclopedia of Judaism. Macmillan Publishers. p. 347 out of 768. ISBN 9780026284103. Retrieved 2025-02-23. Term applied to the Erets Israel cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and Tiberias. These were the four main centers of Jewish life after the Ottoman conquest of 1516. The concept of the holy cities dates only from the 1640s, when the Jewish communities of Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed organized an association to improve the system of fundraising in the Diaspora. Previously, such fundraising had been undertaken by individual institutions; now it was agreed that the emissaries would be sent on behalf of each urban Jewish community as a whole, with not more than one emissary per town. After Tiberias was refounded in 1740, it also joined the association. This arrangement did not last long, however, and by the mid-19th century there was no authority strong enough to enforce a centralized collection of ḥalukkah funds. In Jewish tradition, going back to ancient times, the only city regarded as holy is Jerusalem

[2] Jacobs, Joseph; Eisenstein, Judah David (1906). "Palestine, Holiness Of". Jewish Encyclopedia.

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Four Holy Cities

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