The group which established the village was formed as a youth group by Agudat Israel in August 1949, composed mainly of demobilized soldiers from a religious unit that had fought in the area during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The name is taken from a biblical passage, Leviticus 26:13: "I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright"[2].
The moshav was built as an agricultural village, but to ensure a livelihood during the shmita year, industries were also established. The moshav has two bakeries including a matzo bakery, a dairy, a shingles factory, a marble factory, and a tefillin factory.[5][6][7] The moshav also has a program for yeshiva students, during which they study for six days and return to their homes only for shabbat and a Talmud Torah school for children.
Shmita harvest
As it was founded by observant Jews, the village was one of the few that refrained from working the land during the first Shmita year after independence, 1952.[8]
^Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land (3rd ed.). Jerusalem: Carta. 1993. pp. 387–388. ISBN965-220-186-3. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk erect
