“MEA SHEARIM - THE STREETS”
Mea Shearim was established in 1874 as the fifth settlement outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Its name is derived from a verse in the weekly Torah portion that was read the week the settlement was founded: "Isaac sowed in that land, and in that year he reaped a hundredfold (מאה שערים, Mea Shearim); God had blessed him" (Genesis 26:12).
Mea Shearim remains today loyal to its old customs and preserves its isolation in the heart of Jerusalem while trying to stave off the modern world; it is, in a way, frozen in time.
The life of the Hassidic community revolves around strict adherence to Jewish law, prayer, and the study of Jewish religious texts. This is the story of the ongoing battle between the old and the new, the past versus the present, the everyday life of a city within a city.
