SAPIR (SAPHIR), YAAKOV

(1822-85)

   Palestinian writer and traveller. He was born in Oshmiany in the province of Vilna; he was taken to Palestine in 1832 by his parents, who settled in Safed. In 1836 he moved to Jerusalem, where he became a teacher and scribe. In 1857 he travelled to oriental countries as an emissary of the Perushim community to raise funds for the construction of a synagogue. After returning to Jerusalem he recorded his travels in Even Sappir, which contains important information about Yemenite Jews.