Judah HeHasid (Jerusalem)

Judah he-Hasid Segal ha-Levi (Hebrew: יהודה החסיד‎‎ Yehudah he-Hasid, "Judah the Pious"; ca. 1660, Siedlce – October 17, 1700, Jerusalem, Ottoman Syria) was a Jewish preacher who led the largest organized group of Jewish immigrants to the Land of Israel in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Judah traveled from one Jewish community to another throughout Poland, urging repentance, ascetism, physical mortifications, and calling for aliyah.

In 1697, he and 31 families of his followers left for Moravia and made a stop at Nikolsburg. Judah spent a year traveling throughout Germany and Moravia gaining followers. Many joined the group, influenced by his fervor. By the time the whole group gathered in Italy, they numbered about 1,500.

Almost a third of the pilgrims died of hardships and illnesses during the trip. On the way, they contracted debts, and in exchange for permission to enter the Ottoman Empire they were forced to give the Turkish authorities financial guarantees in the name of Jerusalem's Jewish community.

The group arrived in Jerusalem on October 14, 1700. At that time, about 200 Ashkenazi and about 1,000 Sephardi Jews lived in the city, mostly on charities from the Jewish diaspora. The sudden influx of between 500 and 1,000 Ashkenazim produced a crisis: the local community was unable to help such a large group. In addition, some of the newcomers were suspected to be Sabbateans, whom the local Jews viewed with hostility. The situation grew worse when Judah He-Hasid died within days of his arrival to Jerusalem. He is buried on the Mount of Olives.

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