February 9 1535 – 5 Adar 5295
David de Rossi, a Jewish merchant from Italy, arrived in Safed with his family. He’d set out for the Holy Land accompanied by his sister and her husband, but after his brother-in-law’s untimely death en route, the widow decided to go back to Italy. De Rossi entrusted her with a letter to the Italian Jewish community, praising the economic and political conditions for Jews living under Ottoman rule: “He who saw Safed ten years ago, and observes it now, has the impression of a miracle. For more Jews are arriving here continually, and the tailoring trade grows daily….Every man and woman who works woolen fabric earns an abundant living…Hatred of the Jew is, in contrast to our homeland, unknown here, and the Turks hold the Jews in esteem. In this country and in Egypt, Jews are the chief officers and administrators of tax duties.” (Stillman, Jews of Arab Lands, p. 290-292)
This growth ushered in the golden age of Safed, when it became not only a fabric and dying center, but a hub of Jewish learning and mysticism, home of such luminaries of Rabbi Isaac Luria, Rabbi Moses Cordovero, and Rabbi Joseph Karo, author of the Shulhan Arukh.