Tadef (; also spelled Tedef or Tadif) is a town southeast of Al-Bab, about east of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and less than south of Al Bab. The town, which is the site of a shrine to the Jewish prophet Ezra (c. 400 BCE), was a popular summer resort for the Jews of Aleppo.

History

The village was inhabited during the 19th century by

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

belonging to the Aneyzeh tribe. During the late 1800s, the village came under repeated attack by

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

ic tribes who wished to steal sheep and cattle from the surrounding plains. Casualties were reported as the villagers were able to muster over 400 armed men to defend their flocks and herds. At the time, about 20 Jewish families lived in the village, which was described as a "Jewish town". Before the festival of

Shavuot (, from ), or (, in some Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi usage), is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday, one of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in the 21st century, it may ...

, Jews from Aleppo made an annual pilgrimage to the village. In 1931, there were 15 Jewish families living in the town. On 30 November 2024, SNA forces captured the town.

Association with Ezra

Local tradition maintains that Ezra (c. 400 BCE) paused in the town on his way from

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

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 ...

and built the

synagogue 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 ...

which still stands today. In 1899, Max Freiherr von Oppenheim discovered 14th-century

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

inscriptions at the synagogue. There is a spring near the town called ''Ein el-Uzir'', where it is said Ezra regularly immersed himself during his sojourn there. A tomb ascribed to Ezra is also located in the town and has been intact for many centuries. On a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1414, Issac Elfarra of

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

was informed:

At a distance of two ( sic) miles from leppois the tomb of Ezra the Scribe. There Ezra recorded the Torah... This village is called Taduf nd containsa synagogue... They lsosay that every night year round a cloud ascends from the tomb of Ezra never departing.

There is also another tomb attributed to Ezra near

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

References

{{Cities of Syria Historic Jewish communities in Asia Jewish Syrian history Populated places in al-Bab District Towns in Aleppo Governorate Ezra