Mount Meron

Mount Meron nature reserve

In 1965, an 84,000-dunam nature reserve was declared. An additional 1,199 dunams were declared part of the reserve in 2005. It is the highest reserve in Israel, at an altitude of 1,204 meters above sea level, and the largest reserve in the north of the country.

Religious significance

The village of Meron and the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai are on Mount Meron. Leading up to the anniversary of his death on Lag BaOmer, thousands of people camp out along the slopes near the tomb, and on Lag B'Omer itself, hundreds of thousands make pilgrimages to celebrate the occasion.

Hiking paths

In Mount Meron Nature Reserve, there are some 45 hiking trails and routes for visitors to explore. At Mount Meron’s peak, there is a circular walking path, from which visitors can observe panoramic views and see rare vegetation. The Peak Trail surrounds the summit of Mount Meron and includes three lookout points: the Tzfat viewpoint (overlooking the city of Tzfat and the eastern Upper Galilee), the Lebanon viewpoint (looking north into Lebanese territory) and the mountain viewpoint (overlooking the Druze village of Beit Jann, on Mount Peki'in and the western Galilee).

In art

Mount Meron is a subject in Israeli and Jewish art. Gideon Ofrat described how artists such as Isaac Frenkel, Moshe Castel and others would paint scenes described as fiery or serene, with a particular focus on sunsets over Mount Meron as seen from afar in the city of Safed where an artists' quarter sat.

Climate

Mount Meron has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa) with hot and dry summers and cool, wet and occasionally snowy winters. It snows briefly on Mount Meron a few times during the winter. There are 22 days a year with a temperature of 32 °C or higher and 28 days below freezing. Mount Meron has a relatively cool climate with significant precipitation; and has the second highest precipitation in Israel after Mount Hermon.

Note: the chart is an average of five years so the record highs and lows may not be fully accurate.

|Jan record high C = 17 |Feb record high C = 22 |Mar record high C = 18 |Apr record high C = 26 |May record high C = 32 |Jun record high C = 32 |Jul record high C = 33 |Aug record high C = 36 |Sep record high C = 33 |Oct record high C = 28 |Nov record high C = 26 |Dec record high C = 20 |year record high C = 36 |Jan record low C = -2 |Feb record low C = -8 |Mar record low C = — |Apr record low C = 3 |May record low C = 7 |Jun record low C = 11 |Jul record low C = 15 |Aug record low C = 13 |Sep record low C = 13 |Oct record low C = 11 |Nov record low C = 5 |Dec record low C = — |year record low C = -8

Incidents

On May 17, 1911, the collapse of an eight-meter high roof caused 40 wounded and seven fatalities. As the nearby hospital was closed, people from the surrounding area donated bedsheets and equipment to assist the wounded.

At about 12:50 a.m. on April 30, 2021, hundreds of Israelis were trampled as they were leaving the mountain, having attended a Lag BaOmer celebration that drew an estimated 100,000 people in spite of a 10,000-people limit imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 45 people died in the disaster, with hundreds injured.

Notes

References

References

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2. Taleb, Wael. (2024-01-08). "Why is Hezbollah's hit on Israel's Meron air base significant?". [[L'Orient–Le Jour.
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8. "Devotion Practices of the Kabbalists of Safed in Meron". Sefunot: Studies and Sources on the History of the Jewish Communities in the East / ספונות: מחקרים ומקורות לתולדות קהילות ישראל במזרח.
9. (April 30, 2021). "What is Israel’s Mount Meron and why were so many Orthodox Jews gathered there for the Lag b’Omer holiday?".
10. Gelis, Jacob. (1968). "The Customs of the Land of Israel (מנהגי ארץ-ישראל)". [[Mossad Harav Kook]].
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14. Ofrat, Gideon. "The Art and Artists of Safed".
15. "צומח".
16. גלילי, זאב. (May 9, 2017). "ל"ג בעומר 1911 – האסון שזעזע את ארץ ישראל".
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18. (30 April 2021). "44 crushed to death, over 150 hurt in stampede at mass Lag B'Omer event in Meron". Times of Israel.