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Kefar Ḥattin, Hittaya

KEFAR ḤATTIN, Hittaya (Heb. כְּפַר חִטַּיָיא), village in Galilee, the seat of R. Jacob (Ḥag. 5b) and R. Azariah (PdRK 54). It had a synagogue (Gen. R. 65:16) and served as a refuge for R. Simeon b. Lakish, who escaped from the wrath of the patriarch Judah II (TJ, Sanh. 2:1, 19d). According to the Jerusalem Talmud (Meg. 1:1, 70a), it was identified with the Ziddim-Zer of Joshua 19:35. The name of the village ("Grain Village") indicates its fertile surroundings. It is identified with the Arab village of Ḥiṭṭīn or Ḥaṭṭīn al-Qadīm ("ancient Ḥattin"), which gave its name to the Horns of Hittin, where the Crusaders were defeated by Saladin in 1187. In this village, the Druze venerate the tomb of al-Nabī Shu ʿ ayb, who is identified with Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, and hold an annual festival. Building remains and ancient tombs have been found there.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

S. Klein (ed.), Sefer ha-Yishuv (1939), S.V.; G. Dalman, Sacred Sites and Ways (1935), index, S.V. Ḥaṭṭin.


Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.