Hafetz Haim (, ''lit.'' desirous of life) is a religious

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

in central

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Located in the

Shephelah The Shephelah () or Shfela (), or the Judaean Foothills (), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel stretching over between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Jud ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Nahal Sorek Regional Council Nahal Sorek Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Nahal Sorek'') is a regional council in the Central District of Israel. The seat of the council is Yad Binyamin. The council is named for the Sorek stream. List of communities This regional counc ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The land on which Hafetz Haim was established was purchased by the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

. The land had traditionally belonged to the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

village of

Al-Mukhayzin Al-Mukhayzin was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was ethnically cleansed during the Nakba on April 20, 1948, by the Givati Brigade of Operation Har'el. It was located 10 km southwest of Ramla. History Al-Mukhayzin was ...

. The first Jewish settlement was established there on 15 August 1937 as part of the tower and stockade movement. It was named Sha'ar HaNegev, "Gate of the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

", and then Kfar Szold, "Szold Village" (after

Henrietta Szold Henrietta Szold ( , ; December 21, 1860 – February 13, 1945) was an American-born Jewish Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandatory Pal ...

). However, on 13 November 1942 the community moved to the Finger of the Galilee, where they established a new kibbutz, also called

Kfar Szold Kfar Szold () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Hula Valley in the Galilee Panhandle, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kfar Szold was founded in the early 1940s ...

. On 25 April 1944 a new kibbutz was established. The founders were religious pioneers from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and members of the

Ezra Ezra ( fl. fifth or fourth century BCE) is the main character of the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible, he was an important Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen'') in the early Second Temple period. In the Greek Septuagint, t ...

youth movement The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

and

Agudat Yisrael Agudat Yisrael (; Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party representing Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews in Poland, originating in the Agudath Israel movement ...

who had been preparing near

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( ), officially Kfar Sava , is a List of Israeli cities, city in the Sharon plain, Sharon region, of the Central District (Israel), Central District of State of Israel, Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-l ...

. It was the first village founded by

Poalei Agudat Yisrael Poalei Agudat Yisrael () was a trade union and Jewish political party in the Second Polish Republic and a minor political party in Israel. It was also known as PAI or PAGI, its Hebrew abbreviation (Hebrew: or ). History Poalei Agudas Izrael wa ...

and was named after rabbi

Yisrael Meir Kagan Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (February 6, 1838 – September 15, 1933) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Orthodox Jewish life. He was known popularly as t ...

, who was also known as the ''Hafetz Haim'' after one of his famous works with the title “

Chofetz Chaim The ''Sefer'' ''Chofetz Chaim'' (or ''Chafetz Chaim'' or ''Hafetz Hayim'') (, trans. "Pursuer of Life") is a book by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, who is also called "the Chofetz Chaim" after it. The book deals with the Jewish laws of speech. The ...

”, trans. ''Desirer of Life''.

Archaeology

In 2010, a Byzantine-era octagonal wine press measuring 6.5 meters by 16.5 meters was discovered in excavations near Kibbutz Hafetz Haim.Byzantine era wine press discovered in Nahal Sorek area

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Je ...

References

{{Authority control German-Jewish culture in Israel Kibbutzim Religious Israeli communities Populated places established in 1937 Populated places established in 1944 Populated places in Central District (Israel) 1937 establishments in Mandatory Palestine 1944 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Yekke