Sarah Levy: The Fearless Pioneer Who Built Mount Canaan and Helped Shape Modern Safed

Sarah Adler was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1872. Her father, Meir Adler, was a successful fashion manufacturer. At age 25, Sarah married Yosef Levy. The couple was very wealthy and for business reasons, lived in various countries including the United States and Singapore. They had three children and lacked nothing.

Immigrating to the Land of Israel

In 1926, when Sarah Levy was 54, she decided, together with her husband, to immigrate to the Land of Israel, which at the time was a very difficult place to live.

The Levy couple moved to the land and began investing huge sums of money in purchasing land. They bought an area known as “Umm Khaled” on the coastal plain of the Sharon region — which would later become Netanya, as well as lands in “Jabaliya,” later called Givat HaAliyah, today part of Bat Yam.

Widowhood — and a New Beginning

In 1929, when Sarah was 57, her husband passed away, leaving her a widow.

One might think that after traveling the world, running major businesses, earning great wealth, and even helping build neighborhoods in the Land of Israel — she would now choose to rest.

But her greatest achievements were yet to come.

A Life-Changing Visit to Safed

In 1930, at age 58, Sarah traveled for a short vacation to the northern city of Safed (Tzfat).

At  the time, there were no guest cabins or swimming pools. Safed was largely an Arab city — crowded and neglected — but it had wonderfully fresh mountain air and a single small guesthouse.

Sarah was horrified by the thought that 2,000 Jews lived surrounded by 10,000 hostile Arabs.

During that very vacation, Sarah purchased 200 dunams of barren, rocky land on a mountain overlooking the city. In her mind’s eye, she saw a Jewish neighborhood rising above Safed — higher, safer, with fresh air, open scenery, and strategic protection.

That mountain is known today as Mount Canaan, home to Safed’s leading hotels.

Building a Mountain Settlement

In 1930 there was industry in New York and London, but not in northern Palestine. Construction was done using fifty donkeys, which climbed the mountain daily carrying building materials and drinking water for the workers.

Eventually Sarah realized that water brought up by donkeys was not sufficient — so she built a rainwater reservoir at the top of the mountain.

The reservoir still exists today.

A Modern Neighborhood Above Safed

After two years of construction, 60-year-old Sarah Levy blessed the completion of the project: Ten residential homes now stood on the summit.

They were rented to Jewish residents of Safed for a symbolic fee. The apartments had running water and electrical wiring — unlike most of Old Safed, which was still not connected to utilities.

There was also a remarkable innovation for that era: Indoor bathrooms in every home.

The main building was converted into a hotel (later known as “Canaan Spa,” still standing today) which soon filled with guests. Sarah paid for transportation to take children from Mount Canaan down to their schools in Safed — and even opened a grocery store.

Defending the Jewish Settlement

The Arabs of Safed, jealous of the new development, began harassing and sabotaging. Sarah hired the Mukhtar of Amuka, known as a strong and intimidating figure, along with a large guard dog.

Together they provided sufficient deterrence to protect the Jewish residents of Mount Canaan.

Sarah herself also tended to the landscape, by personally planting trees and flowers along the mountain slope.

A Vision for Culture: The Artists’ Village

Sarah began working on establishing an artists’ village on Mount Canaan.

Ads published in Tel Aviv invited the public to learn about the project: “On the occasion of beginning the construction of a new settlement by Mrs. Sarah Levy of Singapore, based on the principles of brotherhood and peace, in the most beautiful and healthiest place in the country… inspiring love of the homeland and dedication to spiritual work.”

Standing Firm During the Arab Revolt

In 1936, the Arab Revolt broke out. Arab rioters placed a bounty on Sarah Levy’s head — the elderly 64-year-old “guardian of the settlement.”

Some residents fled the isolated mountain, but Sarah refused to leave.

The British commander, Stafford, warned that he could not ensure her safety. Sarah replied: “I will not move from my home.”

The commander surrendered to her determination, and stationed British soldiers around the mountain. The residents remained safe.

War of Independence — A Strategic Palmach Base

Twelve years later, during Israel’s War of Independence, 76-year-old Sarah again refused to leave.

She invited the Third Battalion of the Palmach to use the hotel building as their base of operations. From her home, the forces set out to liberate Old Safed, and returned victorious.

The road leading to the hotel is still called: HaGdud HaShlishi — “The Third Battalion Street.”

Synagogues, Torah Scrolls, and Community Life

After the establishment of the State, as Sarah approached 80, she decided to build a special synagogue on Mount Canaan.

She helped establish synagogues for Moroccan immigrants who settled there, and placed inside them, with great honor, four Torah scrolls she had rescued during the Holocaust.

A Final Request — To Remain on the Mountain Forever

As Sarah entered her nineties, she began thinking about the world to come.

She decided she would not leave the mountain even after her death. She created a small burial garden and obtained official state permission to be buried there.

In 1969 (Hebrew year 5729), Sarah Levy passed away at age 97 and was buried in the garden she had prepared — today located in the courtyard of the Canaan Spa Hotel.

The neighborhood surrounding the hotel is named Kiryat Sarah