Moses ben Mordecai Bassola, also known as Moses Bassola, Moshe Basola, Basilea, or Basila (Hebrew באסולה or simply: משה באסולה; alternative Hebrew spelling: באזלה ,איש באזולה ,ב(א)סולה ,באסל ,באזילא);Basilea, Basila, Bassola, Basola, Basla

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

article was born in 1480 in

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and died in 1560. He was a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and a cabalist. His travel book has been published in English and modern Hebrew by Abraham David under the title ''In Zion and Jerusalem: The Itinerary of Rabbi Moses Basola.''Jerusalem: C. G. Foundation Jerusalem Project Publications, 1999. 148 pp. nglish 48 pp. ebrew

Biography

Since he called himself ''Ẓarfati'' (the Frenchman), his family most likely originated from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. R. Moses was the son of a famous rabbinical family in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

and in

, living between the 15th century to the 18th century. His last name shows that the family probably originated from

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

form of the name is ''Basilea'') in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He served in his youth in his hometown of

as a rabbi.

Levant tour (1521–1523)

In 1521, he sailed to the Ottoman Levant via

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and toured it for a year and a half. His impressions from this visit are documented in his book ''Sefer '', in which he describes various sites in

Ottoman Palestine The region of Palestine (region), Palestine is part of the wider region of the Levant, which represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia.Steiner & Killebrew, p9: "The general limits ..., as defined here, begin at the Plain of ' ...

(partial list), such as

Bar'am Bar'am () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located approximately 300 meters from Israel's Blue Line (Lebanon), border with Lebanon near the ruins of the ancient Jews, Jewish village of Kfar Bar'am. Bar'am National Park is known for the remains ...

, Ein al-Zeitun,

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, Meron, Kefar Hananiah,

'Akbara Akbara () is an Arab village in the Israeli municipality of Safed, which included in 2010 more than 200 families. It is 2.5 km south of Safed City. The village was rebuilt in 1977, close to the old village destroyed in 1948 during the 1 ...

Peki'in Peki'in (alternatively Peqi'in) () or Buqei'a (), is a Druze–Arab town with local council status in Israel's Northern District. It is located eight kilometres east of Ma'alot-Tarshiha in the Upper Galilee. In it had a population of . The ...

Ammuqa Ammuqa (also transliterated 'Amuqa and Amuka) was a Palestinian village, located five kilometres northeast of Safed. In the late 19th century, Ammuqa was one of several villages resettled by Algerian migrants under the auspices of the Ottoman Emp ...

Gush Halav Jish (, ), also known by its Hebrew name of Gush Halab (, ), or by its classical name of Gischala, is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, north of Safed, in Israel's Northern District. In , it h ...

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), a.k.a. unified atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist * 12292 Dalton, an asteroid Ent ...

Huqoq Huqoq or Hukkok () was an ancient Jewish village, located 12.5 km north of Tiberias. The area had been settled since ancient times and is mentioned in the Book of Joshua (). The Palestinians, Palestinian village of Yaquq later stood at Huqoq' ...

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

, among other places. In every place he visited, Bassola described the inhabitants of the land, the number of Jews living in each locality and their important occupations, including the burial sites of the righteous,

synagogues A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, etc. During this period, Bassola resided in the settlement of Ein Zeitim, which had then a Jewish community of forty families. The book became a primary source of information for Jewish life in Ottoman Palestine and the local attractions during those years.

Later life

After returning to the Italian peninsula, Bassola lived in

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

and headed the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

there. In his later years, Bassola made

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

to the

and settled in

, where he was in a close relationship with the rabbis of the city, Especially with Rabbi

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero Moses ben Jacob Cordovero ( ''Moshe Kordovero'' ‎; 1522–1570) was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in the Ottoman Empire in 16th-century Safed, located in the modern State of Israel. H ...

. Bassola's son, Azriel ben Moses Bassola, was a scholar, whom among his students was

Leon of Modena Leon of Modena (, 1571–1648) was a Jewish scholar born in Venice to a family whose ancestors migrated to Italy after an expulsion of Jews from France. Life He was an intelligent child and a respected rabbi in Venice. However, his reputation wi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassola, Moses ben Mordecai 1480 births 1560 deaths Kabbalists Rabbis from Ancona Rabbis in Safed 16th-century travelers Rabbis of the Land of Israel Holy Land travellers 16th-century Italian rabbis Explorers of Asia Medieval Jewish travel writers 15th-century travel writers 16th-century travel writers 16th-century Italian explorers 16th-century Italian writers Pilgrimage accounts People from Pesaro