While some managed to evade the ban by entering Jerusalem disguised as Sephardi Jews , most of the '' perushim '' journeyed on to Safed , where they joined a strong Sephardi community that was already there . Besides the Sephardim , the community included many Hasidic Jews , with whom the '' perushim '' had an ongoing feud . However , the two groups set aside their ideological differences and worked hand in hand to settle the land and develop their community and eventually intermarried . Because flourishing agriculture was seen as a sign of Redemption , the immigrants had brought agricultural implements with them , so that they could observe the biblical commandments connected to working the soil in the Holy Land . Safed in the first quarter of the 19th century was a bustling town of over five thousand Jewish inhabitants , but was still struggling to recover from the devastating Near East earthquakes of 1759 . The physical and economic conditions under which its inhabitants lived were extremely harsh . The community was nearly destroyed by a horrific plague in 1812 , and they continued to suffer murderous attacks by Arabs and Druze . The community was further diminished by the catastrophic Galilee earthquake of 1837 , which killed thousands of people throughout the region . It leveled the city of Safed and seriously damaged Tiberias . Over 4,000 people perished , including about 2000 Jews and 200 members of the '' perushim '' community in Safed
Galilee earthquake of 1837
Galilee earthquake of 1837
Perushim