Merhavia (moshav)

This article is about the moshav. For the nearby kibbutz, see Merhavia (kibbutz).

Merhavia (Hebrew: מֶרְחַבְיָה, lit. "Space of God") is a moshav in northern Israel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council and in 2023 had a population of 750.^[1] Founded in 1911,^{[dubious – discuss][citation needed]} it was the first modern Jewish settlement in the Jezreel Valley.

Merhavia מֶרְחַבְיָה‎
Merhavia
Coordinates: 32°36′17″N 35°18′29″E
Country	Israel
District	Northern
Council	Jezreel Valley
Affiliation	Moshavim Movement
Founded	1911[dubious – discuss][citation needed]
Founded by	Kvutzat Kibush members and Second Aliyah immigrants
Population  (2023)[1]	750
Website	www.merhavia.com

Etymology

The name Merhavia is derived from the Book of Psalms 118:5.

Out of my straits I called upon the LORD; He answered me with great enlargement.

In the metaphorical sense: "God set me free" - the experience of the Jews immigrating to the Land of Israel and achieving a new homeland without the straits of persecution.

History

Co-operative

The village was established as the Co-operative in Merhavia, a co-operative farm, at the beginning of 1911, based on the ideas of Franz Oppenheimer.^[2] The founders had arrived in the area in 1910 and consisted of members of Kvutzat Kibush and workers of the Second Aliyah. It was supposed to operate as a co-operative farm with differential wages, and was founded with the assistance of Arthur Ruppin, Yehoshua Hankin, the Anglo-Palestine Bank and Eliyahu Blumenfeld. Alexander Baerwald designed and built the first solid buildings and the road net with a central square in 1915.^[3]

Moshav

In 1922 it was converted to a moshav ovdim^{[dubious – discuss]} after being joined by Polish-Jewish immigrants and residents of Tel Aviv who wanted to work in agriculture.^{[citation needed]} According to a census conducted in the same year by the British Mandate authorities, the settlement had a population of 135 Jews.^[4]

In 1929 a kibbutz, also by the name of Merhavia, was established next to the moshav.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]}

Gallery

• 
  Merhavia founders 1910
• 
  Merhavia first building 1911
• 
  Merhavia members of Hashomer 1915
• 
  Merhavia residents 1920
• 
  Merhavia 1921
• 
  Merhavia 1929
• 
  Merhavia 1941
• 
  Moshav Merhavia 1947

Notable residents

• Henry Einspruch (1892–1977), a Galician-born Jew who converted to Lutheranism, becoming a Messianic missionary affiliated with the Hebrew Christian movement, best known for translating the Christian New Testament into Yiddish.