BEIRAV, JACOB. Zimrath Ha’aretz

(LAND OF ISRAEL)

Raphael Chaim

Mantua

1745

First edition

Vinograd Mantua 411; Yaarri Ladino 355

In 1740 helped Jacob Beirav founded a colony in Tiberias. In this work he records all the events of his journey and the trials and tribulations of establishing the new settlement. The purpose of the book was to call attention to the importance of settling Tiberias, one of the Four Holy Cities of the Land of Israel, in which continuous Jewish presence has remained since the era of the Bible. Appended are twelve of his poems in Hebrew and Ladino which were sung until recently in the Balkan countries praising the resettlement of Tiberias. The author was the son-in-law of Chaim Abulafia.