Mahseya ( he, מַחְסֵיָה) is a

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 ...

in central

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Located about 2 kilometers east of

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city w ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Mateh Yehuda Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה יהודה, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Yehuda'', ar, مجلس إقليمي ماتيه يهودا ) is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 3 ...

in the

Jerusalem District The Jerusalem District ( he, מחוז ירושלים; ar, منطقة القدس) is one of the six administrative districts of Israel. The district capital is Jerusalem. The Jerusalem District has a land area of 652 km2. The population of ...

. In it had a population of .

History

The village was established in 1950 by Jewish immigrants and refugees from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

and from

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...

and Aden, on the land of depopulated

Palestinian Arab Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

village of

Dayr Aban Dayr Aban (also spelled Deir Aban; ar, دير آبان) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Jerusalem Subdistrict, located on the lower slope of a high ridge that formed the western slope of a mountain, to the east of Beit Shemesh. It was for ...

. Although it too was later abandoned, it was re-settled by

Cochin Jews Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim, from ) are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now pa ...

. Its name is taken from

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning "Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewis ...

32:12;

And I delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel mine uncle
s son S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...
and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard.

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, to the south of the current site of the

, there was located a military outpost for the Egyptian army (within the Arab village, Dayr Aban), known as the Joint' Command Post'', and which place was taken in armed conflict during

Operation Ha-Har Operation Ha-Har ( he, ההר, ''The Mountain''), or Operation El Ha-Har, was an Israeli Defence Forces campaign against villages southwest of Jerusalem launched at the end of October 1948. The operation lasted from 19 to 24 October and was carr ...

Archaeology

In 2004, archaeologists uncovered a large stone building, 40 × 80 m, with floors composed of chalk, stone and mosaic. An olive press was built to the west. Pottery vessels and coins date the building to the sixth–eighth centuries CE. From the size and nature of construction, it is believed to have been a monastery.Israel Antiquities Authority, Khirbat es-Suyyagh
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References

{{Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Moshavim Populated places established in 1950 Populated places in Jerusalem District 1950 establishments in Israel Moroccan-Jewish culture in Israel Yemeni-Jewish culture in Israel