Reuven Yudalevich
Encyclopedia
Reuven Yudalevich (1862-1933), was a funder and founder of the city of Rishon Le Zion, Israel
. He was born in Kremenchuk
, Ukraine
, to his father Yehuda. He eventually married Batya
Wissel, daughter of Avraham Wissel and had one son, Moshe, before leaving Ukraine
. He received a traditional education
and began work as a clerk in a warehouse
. He may have been a member of the Hovevei Zion
movement.
His generosity began at age twenty when he and his friend purchased a lottery
ticket in monthly payments. Eventually his friend could not keep up the payments, so Reuven continued paying for his friends portion of the lottery
. He eventually won a large sum of money
and gave half of the winnings to his friend as if his friend had continued paying all along. It is assumed he used the money to then travel to Israel. He apparently met a group of Bilu
pioneers made up of twelve men where, at the port of Smyrna
, all of their money was stolen from their cashier
, Israel Belkind
. Reuven gave them 100 rubles
and continued the trip to Palestine
. In Jaffa he joined the "Pioneers of Jewish Settlement Committee" or "Halutzey Yesud HaMaala" which eventually bought the land for Rishon Le Zion from Tzvi Leventine. Ten families set up the village and Reuven sent money to get the group of pioneers he had met in Smyrna so that they could purchase passage to Palestine. The migrations
at this time to Palestine are known as The First Aliya
.
Reuven was considered to be one of the more liberal members of the community and supported the young Biluim Pioneers who came to work in the village and played an active role in public life. He planted a vineyard
, built a house
, and became a farmer
and vine grower
. Active in the local council, he was in charge of external relations, street improvements, and sanitation. He was active in politics and his home was known as a center of poetry and classical music. He and Batya had eight more children while living in Rishon Le Zion.
It is believed that he also participated in the building of Tel Aviv
where he moved in 1927. He died in 1933 and was buried in Tel Aviv.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He was born in Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk is an important industrial city in the Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kremenchutskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located on the banks of Dnieper River.-History:Kremenchuk was...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, to his father Yehuda. He eventually married Batya
Bátya
-Famous people:* Endre Pászthory * Károly László * Dr. Zoltán Fehér * Teri Harangozó -Demographics:Existing ethnicities: Magyars Croats...
Wissel, daughter of Avraham Wissel and had one son, Moshe, before leaving Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. He received a traditional education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and began work as a clerk in a warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
. He may have been a member of the Hovevei Zion
Hovevei Zion
Hovevei Zion , also known as Hibbat Zion , refers to organizations that are now considered the forerunners and foundation-builders of modern Zionism....
movement.
His generosity began at age twenty when he and his friend purchased a lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
ticket in monthly payments. Eventually his friend could not keep up the payments, so Reuven continued paying for his friends portion of the lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
. He eventually won a large sum of money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
and gave half of the winnings to his friend as if his friend had continued paying all along. It is assumed he used the money to then travel to Israel. He apparently met a group of Bilu
Bilu
Bilu was a movement whose goal was the agricultural settlement of the Land of Israel. "Bilu" is an acronym based on a verse from the Book of Isaiah "בית יעקב לכו ונלכה" Beit Ya'akov Lekhu Venelkha...
pioneers made up of twelve men where, at the port of Smyrna
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, all of their money was stolen from their cashier
Cashier
Cashier is an occupation focused on the handling of cash money.- Retail :In a shop, a cashier is a person who scans the goods through a machine called a cash register that the consumer wishes to purchase at the retail store. After all of the goods have been scanned, the cashier then collects...
, Israel Belkind
Israel Belkind
Israel Belkind was a Jewish educator, author, writer, historian and founder of the Bilu movement. A pioneer of the First Aliyah, Belkind founded the Biluim, a group of Jewish idealists aspiring to settle in the Land of Israel with the political purpose to redeem Eretz Yisrael and re-establish the...
. Reuven gave them 100 rubles
Russian ruble
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
and continued the trip to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. In Jaffa he joined the "Pioneers of Jewish Settlement Committee" or "Halutzey Yesud HaMaala" which eventually bought the land for Rishon Le Zion from Tzvi Leventine. Ten families set up the village and Reuven sent money to get the group of pioneers he had met in Smyrna so that they could purchase passage to Palestine. The migrations
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
at this time to Palestine are known as The First Aliya
First Aliyah
The First Aliyah was the first modern widespread wave of Zionist aliyah. Jews who migrated to Palestine in this wave came mostly from Eastern Europe and from Yemen. This wave of aliyah began in 1881–82 and lasted until 1903. An estimated 25,000–35,000 Jews immigrated to Ottoman Syria during the...
.
Reuven was considered to be one of the more liberal members of the community and supported the young Biluim Pioneers who came to work in the village and played an active role in public life. He planted a vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
, built a house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, and became a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
and vine grower
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
. Active in the local council, he was in charge of external relations, street improvements, and sanitation. He was active in politics and his home was known as a center of poetry and classical music. He and Batya had eight more children while living in Rishon Le Zion.
It is believed that he also participated in the building of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
where he moved in 1927. He died in 1933 and was buried in Tel Aviv.
Sources
- EncyclopediaEncyclopediaAn encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
of PioneersSettlerA settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
and Builders of the YishuvYishuvThe Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
(Entsiklopediyah le-halutse ha-yishuv u-bonav)