According to the 1906
Jewish Encyclopedia: "Since the sixteenth century the Holiness of Palestine, especially for burial, has been almost wholly transferred to four cities—Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed."[2]
Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish people since the 10th century BC when the site was chosen during the lifetime of
King David to be the location of the
Holy Temple.[3]
The
Cave of the Patriarchs in
Hebron is the burial place of the Jewish
patriarchs:
Abraham and
Sarah,
Isaac and
Rebecca and
Jacob and
Leah. As such Hebron is the second holiest city to Jews,[4] and is one of the four cities where Israelite biblical figures purchased land (Abraham bought a field and a cave east of Hebron from the
Hittites (Genesis 23:16-18), King David bought a threshing floor at Jerusalem from the
Jebusite Araunah (2 Samuel 24:24), Jacob bought land outside the walls of
Shechem from the Shechemites (Genesis 33:18-19), and
Omri bought the site of
Samaria.) Historically, Hebron was the first capital of King David.[4]
Tiberias is significant in Jewish history for several reasons. It was the place where the
Jerusalem Talmud was composed and served as the final meeting place of the
Sanhedrin before its disbanding in 425 CE. Tombs of famous rabbis
Yohanan ben Zakkai,
Akiva and
Maimonides are also located in the city and it was also the home of the
Masoretes and the place where the
Tiberian vocalization was devised. However, its status as a holy city is due to the influx of rabbis who established the city as a center for Jewish learning in the 18th and 19th centuries. According to Jewish tradition, the redemption will begin in Tiberias and the Sanhedrin will be reconstituted there.[6] In Jewish belief, the Messiah will arise from the lake of Tiberias, enter into the city, and be enthroned at Safed on the summit of a lofty hill.[7]
^Wigoder, Geoffrey, ed. (1989). The Encyclopedia of Judaism. Macmillan. p. 768. Term applied to the Erets Israel cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and Tiberias. These were the four main centers of Jewish life after the Ottoman conquest of 1516. The concept of the holy cities dates only from the 1640s, when the Jewish communities of Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed organized an association to improve the system of fundraising in the Diaspora. Previously, such fundraising had been undertaken by individual institutions; now it was agreed that the emissaries would be sent on behalf of each urban Jewish community as a whole, with not more than one emissary per town. After Tiberias was refounded in 1740, it also joined the association. This arrangement did not last long, however, and by the mid-19th century there was no authority strong enough to enforce a centralized collection of ḥalukkah funds. In Jewish tradition, going back to ancient times, the only city regarded as holy is Jerusalem