Print this page

Modern GeographyTiberias

Tiberias—Teverya in Hebrew—is a town rich in history. Unlike many famous cities in Israel, such as Jerusalem, Beersheba, and Hebron, its roots are not Biblical, but it nonetheless became an important center for Torah and Jewish life in the period following the destruction of the Second Temple.

Tiberias, named after the Roman emperor Tiberius, was established around 20 CE by the emperor Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. Jews did not originally settle in the area due to the presence of a large cemetery, which made the city ritually unclean. However, after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, the Jewish population migrated to Tiberias, which was spared destruction because the inhabitants had surrendered to Rome. Rabbi Shimon bar Yokhai cleansed the city of impurity, and it soon became the center of Torah study. The Sanhedrin—the Jewish Supreme Court—relocated to Tiberias, and under the direction of Rabbi Judah HaNasi ("the Prince"), the Mishna (Oral Law) was completed, as was the Jerusalem Talmud.

The centrality of Tiberias waxed and waned over the years, due to the constant wars fought in the area. One of the world's most ancient synagogues, dating back to the 4th century, called the Severus Synagogue, or Hamat Tiberias Synagogue, is located in Tiberias. A Samaritan Center also existed in the 4th century, and the Crusaders later made Tiberias the capital of the Galilee, but it was then recaptured by Muslims. Tiberias declined again until the Ottoman Empire. During the Middle Ages, the city revitalized, and received an influx of Jewish Masoretic scholars. These scholars put the finishing touches on the Aleppo codex, which today is the oldest existing manuscript of Hebrew Scriptures, and it is housed at the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Tiberias received another surge of rabbis and kabbalists, who once again revitalized the city. Due to the convergence of so many prominent scholars, Tiberias became one of the "Four Holy Cities," along with Jerusalem, Safed, and Hebron. Tiberias is the final resting place of many prominent Jewish rabbis and thinkers, including Maimonides, the renowned physician and philosopher in the Middle Ages. Nearby lies the grave of Rabbi Akiva, the Mishnaic sage who only began studying the Torah at age forty and went on to become one of the greatest Jewish teachers. One of the most well-known kabbalists from the 18th century, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, is buried near Rabbi Akiva.

In 1934, during the years of the British Mandate, a natural disaster changed the shape of modern Tiberias. Tiberias lies on the Syrian-African rift, known as the Great Rift, and had been the victim of dozens of earthquakes over the centuries. An earthquake in 1837 essentially wiped out the city. In 1934, Tiberias experienced a damaging flood, and nearly everything that remained intact following the 1837 earthquake was destroyed by the flood. The waters flooded so rapidly that the inhabitants, living close together, did not have time to escape, and many died. The city was rebuilt following the disaster, and the British government planted a forest nearby to hold the water.

During the Mandate years, there were a few incidents of riots, such as the Nabi Musa riots in 1920, and occasional outbreaks of violence during the Arab riots of 1929. Despite those incidents, the local Jewish and Arab populations in Tiberias lived together in relative peace. However, in 1938, the escalating tensions in the land reached a boiling point, and tragedy struck Tiberias. The great Arab revolt, which began in 1936, reached Tiberias when Arab rioters entered Tiberias and killed twenty Jews. It was a planned, systematic attack. The Arabs first cut off the phone lines, then entered the city under a barrage of gunfire and bombs. The residents of the homes they entered, including women and young children, were brutally stabbed and burned.

During April 1948, shooting broke out between the Arab and Jewish neighborhoods in Tiberias. The Haganah advanced on the city and captured it, along with the surrounding villages. The Arab residents were evacuated under British military protection; Tiberias, and its neighbor Safed, became entirely Jewish cities. Nearby, the residents of Kibbutz Deganiah, one of the first kibbutzim (collective communities) established at the beginning of the 20th century, became war heroes as well. A Syrian tank advanced on the kibbutz, but was destroyed by the residents. The shell of the tank remains today, to commemorate the bravery of the kibbutz fighters.

In the 1960's, Tiberias underwent regentrification. The old, abandoned lakefront homes were replaced with a promenade, luxury hotels, parks, shopping, and restaurants. The government was careful to preserve the remnants of ancient Tiberias, including churches, mosques, and synagogues, in addition to historic houses and part of the ancient wall of Tiberias.

Tiberias is an important city in Christianity, as much of Jesus' ministry took place here. Holy sites in and around Tiberias include St. Peter's Church; the House of St. Peter; the city of Magdala, birthplace of Mary Magdalene; the Franciscan Wedding Church; the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, and Mount of Beatitudes. Nazareth, and the Church of the Annunciation, are only a short drive away.

Today, Tiberias is the most popular resort town in the north. Visitors come to enjoy the therapeutic hot springs, swim in the warm waters of the Kinneret, and enjoy the sweeping views from atop the nearby mountains. Just as in the post-Second Temple period, Tiberias has once again experienced a rebirth and become a vibrant center for Jewish life and culture.