Building a Legacy: Pioneering Agricultural Settlements in the 1870s

In the 1870s, members of Jerusalem's old yishuv made significant strides in agricultural settlements under the guidance of prominent rabbis, particularly the leadership of Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin.

1870 - From the early 1870s, hopes and efforts were renewed as a small group of neighborhood builders in Jerusalem took on the challenge of implementing settlement plans. A "society" was established to purchase land near Jericho, led by Rabbi Meir Auerbach, a leading figure who had previously settled in Jerusalem. However, the plan fell through due to governmental hurdles in acquiring the land.

In 1870, R' Akiva Yosef Schlesinger, a disciple of the Chatam Sofer known for his zealous opposition to secular education, arrived in the land. He also led the fight against the modernization of education in Jerusalem, but his main focus was on future aspirations. In 1873, he sought to establish the "Society for Returning the Crown to its Former Glory," aiming to direct young people towards agricultural work and promote Hebrew speaking, establishing a Hebrew defense force "Shomeriel," and border defense "Noteriel" (from his writings).

1876 - "The Association for Work of the Land and Redemption of the Land" was founded in Jerusalem. The statute they crafted dictated that all actions of the association be according to the Torah. Once Rabbi Meir Auerbach consented, the prestige of the regulations rose, and membership increased.

1878 – The Petah Tikva colony was founded with dedication by R' Yoel Moshe Salomon and other Jews from Jerusalem’s old yishuv, marking their first successful venture. Historical accounts describe: "As they brought the first fruits in a triumphant procession to the Mea Shearim neighborhood on thirty loaded camels... the news of the colony’s establishment spread in the diaspora, sparking a wave of joy and enthusiasm... Akiva Yosef Schlesinger acquired ten plots for the Kolel Bnai Ungarin, who wished to join the settlement. Along with them were zealots supporting Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin."

When the settlers of Petah Tikva were later affected by malaria on the banks of the Yarkon, and the organization was on the brink of collapse, Rabbi of Brisk jumped in to rescue the situation. In the agreement letter of "The Association of Settlement Founders," who reorganized to advance and establish Petah Tikva, it was noted: "...The association's location registration will be in the name of the esteemed Rabbi of Brisk, and all society conduct will be only according to his command in every matter... The society's agent shall be Rabbi of Brisk, may he live long, and the Lord will help us to rebuild what is ruined."

A call was issued from the Brisk rabbi's court urging "every person who loves his people and land to stand by the 'society,' to assist, support, and uphold them in every way possible so that they can realize this precious endeavor."

In the book "Tzeer Neeman", printed in Jerusalem in 1898, R' Yehoshua Zev Avner tells how he purchased lands of "Yesod Hama’ala" with two other Jews from Miedzyrzec in the early 1880s. He writes, "When I arrived in Jerusalem and saw the esteemed Rabbi of Blessed Memory [Rabbi of Brisk], he approved of my journey and directed me to the Galilee cities to establish a colony there, and I took his advice."

Weeks before Petah Tikva's establishment, a group from Safed attempted to establish a colony in the Upper Galilee on land from the Arab village of Ja'oni. After many hardships, in 1883, the colony of Rosh Pina was founded there. The book "On the First" chronicles the story of Ja'oni, from its establishment by R' Yosef Ben Yaakov Friedman and his fellow Sefat Jews, to the sale of some lands to R' David Schwab, an emissary of the "Lovers of Zion" association of Romania, who then came to buy lands for the association. (Some early settlers, Sefat Jews, stayed and joined the Romanian immigrants. This fact, by the way, is further evidence that the founders of Rosh Pina ideologically belonged to the old yishuv in Safed).

In his memoirs, R' David Schwab tells how they set out to till the land for the first time. After completing their work, they gathered in the field and gave stirring speeches. R' David Schwab recounts: "I chose for my speech the 'Song of Ascents, When the Lord Brought Back those that Returned to Zion...' and we all sat at the table together to eat, rejoice, and bless for the good the Holy One bestowed upon us."

Professor Eliav writes: "The initiative of the old yishuv built the foundation for rooting in the land, upon which the future settlement enterprise of the new yishuv was later built."

This initiative encountered immense difficulties, much more than in the years to come. As Dr. Dan Giladi writes: "The question to be posed about the achievements of the settlement-agricultural enterprise in the 1880s and 1890s is not why the results were so meager in absolute quantitative terms, [but] rather how the pioneers managed, under the described circumstances, to maintain and develop a settlement enterprise, even if it was on a small scale. In other words, the question is not why they did so little, but how they managed, given the conditions in the land then, to achieve anything at all."