Reuven Yudalevich (Yudelevitz, Yudelevitch) (; 1862–1933), was a funder and founder of the city of Rishon Le Zion,

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 ...

. He was born in

Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, to his father Yehuda. He eventually married Batya Wissel, daughter of Avraham Wissel and had one son, Moshe, before leaving the

. He received a traditional

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and began working as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

in a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

. He may have been a member of the

Hovevei Zion The Lovers of Zion, also ''Hovevei Zion'' () or ''Hibbat Zion'' (, ), were a variety of proto-Zionist organizations founded in 1881 in response to the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire and were officially constituted as a group at a conf ...

movement. His generosity began at age twenty when he and his friend purchased a

lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

ticket in monthly payments. Eventually his friend could not keep up the payments, so Reuven continued paying for his friend's portion of the

. He eventually won a large sum of

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

and gave half of the winnings to his friend as if his friend had continued paying all along. It is assumed he used the money to then travel to Palestine. He apparently met a group of

Bilu Bilu may refer to: People * Bilú (footballer, 1900-1965), Virgílio Pinto de Oliveira, Brazilian football manager and former centre-back * Asher Bilu (born 1936), Australian artist * Bilú (footballer, born 1974), Luciano Lopes de Souza, Brazi ...

pioneers made up of twelve men where, at the port of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, all of their money was stolen from their

cashier A retail cashier or simply a cashier is a person who handles the cash register at various locations such as the point of sale in a retail store. The most common use of the title is in the retail industry, but this job title is also used in the c ...

Israel Belkind Israel Belkind (, ; 1861–1929) was a Jewish educator, author, writer, historian and founder of the Bilu movement. A pioneer of the First Aliyah, Belkind founded the ''Biluim'', a group of Jewish idealists aspiring to settle in the Land of Isra ...

. Reuven gave them 100

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

and continued the trip to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. In

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

he joined the "Pioneers of Jewish Settlement Committee" or "Halutzey Yesud HaMaala" which eventually bought the land for Rishon Le Zion from Tzvi Leventine. Ten families set up the village and Reuven sent money to get the group of pioneers he had met in Smyrna so that they could purchase passage to Palestine. The migrations at this time to Palestine are known as The First Aliya. Reuven was considered to be one of the more liberal members of the community and supported the young

Biluim Bilu (; also Palestine Pioneers) was a Jewish movement of the late 19th century, fueled predominantly by the immigration of Russian Jews, whose goal was the agricultural settlement of the Land of Israel. Its members were known as Bilu'im, and ...

Pioneers who came to work in the village and played an active role in public life. He planted a

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

, built a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, and became a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

and vine grower. Active in the local council, he was in charge of external relations, street improvements, and sanitation. He was active in politics and his home was known as a center of poetry and classical music. He and Batya had eight more children while living in Rishon Le Zion. His firstborn, Morris Youdelevitz Young, was a notable doctor in Persia. It is believed that he also participated in the building of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

where he moved in 1927. He died in 1933 and was buried in Tel Aviv.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yudalevich, Reuven 1862 births 1933 deaths Bilu Jews from Mandatory Palestine Jews from Ottoman Palestine People from Kremenchuk People from Rishon LeZion Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Ukrainian Zionists Immigrants of the First Aliyah