Meron

Meron, town originally founded as a noncollective agricultural settlement (moshava) and name of a nearby mountain, Upper Galilee, northern Israel, northwest of Safed. Nearby is a perennial spring, the likeliest location of the “waters of Merom,” site of Joshua’s victory over the pagan kings of Palestine under Jabin, king of Hazor (Joshua 11). Mount Meron (3,963 feet [1,208 metres]), Israel’s highest point in its pre-1967 boundaries, is 2 miles (3 km) northwest.

Meron is mentioned in the History of the Jewish War (75−79) of Flavius Josephus. It is the site of the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, 2nd-century rabbinic teacher and legendary author of the Kabbalistic Zohar. On the day of Lag ba-ʿOmer, Orthodox Jews by the thousands make a joyous pilgrimage to Rabbi Shimon’s tomb; the festivities there last all night. There are remains of a 3rd-century synagogue and ancient tombs attributed to various Talmudic scholars.

The modern settlement of Meron, adjacent to the old site, was founded in 1949 by ex-servicemen from Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Mount Meron (Hebrew: Har Meron, formerly Har ʿAtzmon; Arabic: Jabal Jarmaq) is covered with fine forests and commands a scenic view of the surrounding hilly area, which has been set aside as a nature reserve. Hill farming is the primary activity.