Tzfat is in the mountains of the southern part of the Upper Galilee and is the highest town in Israel. It is a beautiful old town surrounded by beautiful mountains. Tzfat is one of the four holy cities of the Talmud (the others: Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias). During the Middle Ages, Tzfat was popular with Sephardic Jews as a permanent destination when they were escaping from persecution, such as what occurred in Spain. Many Jews who studied the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) lived here at that time. Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai who wrote the Zohar, the foundation for Kabbalah, is buried here. He lived in the 2nd century c.e.
A Crusader Citadel (castle/fort) sat on top of the town – the remains of it are still here. Over the centuries, the Citadel was a strategically important lookout.
In the 1948 war, Jews held Tzfat and the mostly Arab population fled.
Tzfat has many narrow, cobbled Medieval streets - in the Artists’ Colony and in the Old Jewish Quarter. The Old Jewish Quarter has a nice indoor market.
Thousands of Russian and Ethiopian immigrants have made Tzfat their home.
Many Hasidic Jews live here waiting for the Messiah to descend.
Fewer people speak English here than in some other parts of Israel.