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motion in the plane, was solved by Besicovitch who proved the
surprising result that there is no least area. He made important
contributions to the theories of measure, sets of points,
real analysis, surface area, and also to the additive theory of
numbers. He was known for producing apparently simple
problems which were extremely difficult to solve. His publications
include Almost Periodic Functions (19552).
Bibliography: J.C. Poggendorff, Handwoerterbuch zur Geschichte
der exakten Wissenschaften, 8 (1966).
[Barry Spain]
BESOR, BROOK OF (Heb. רֹ וׂשְ ּבַה לַחַנ), a river valley (wadi)
in the Negev that David crossed in pursuit of the Amalekites
after their attack on Ziklag (I Sam. 30:9–10, 21). It is commonly
identified with Wadi Ghazza-al-Shallāla southwest of
Beersheba.
Bibliography: Abel, Geog, 1 (1933), 405; Press, Ereẓ, 4 (1955),
806–7, S.V. Ziklag.
[Yohanan Aharoni]
BESREDKA, ALEXANDER (1870–1940), French immunologist,
known for his research on anaphylaxis, local immunization,
and immunization in contagious disease. Besredka
was the son of a Hebrew writer, Elimelech Ish-Naomi. He
first studied in Russia, but when it was proposed to him that
he convert to Christianity in order to further his scientific
career, he refused and moved to France. He completed his
medical studies in Paris, became a French citizen, and was
appointed a member of the Pasteur Institute of which he was
later a director. Besredka maintained his contacts with Judaism
all his life, was active in Jewish organizations such as
*OSE, and wrote for Jewish scientific journals, including the
Hebrew Ha-Refu’ah. His anaphylaxis research was based on
original concepts, different from the accepted beliefs in immunology.
In 1907 he discovered the possibility of eliminating
hypersensitivity to foreign serum. His desensitization method
was accepted throughout the world as the pretreatment of patients
who had acquired a sensitivity toward a serum, in order
to prevent anaphylactic shock by repeated serum treatment.
Besredka was closely associated with the biologist Metchnikoff
and in 1910 was appointed professor at the Pasteur Institute in
Paris. His book Immunisation locale, pansements spécifiques
was published in 1925.
Bibliography: Adler, in Ha-Refu’ah, 19 (July–Aug.
1940), 13.
[Aryeh Leo Olitzki]
BESSARABIA, region between the rivers Prut and Dniester;
before 1812 part of Moldavia, with several districts under
direct Ottoman rule; within Russia 1812–1918; part of Romania
1918–40; returned to Russia 1940, and together with the
Moldavian Autonomous S.S.R. became the Moldavian S.S.R.
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the state of Moldova
was established.
bessarabia
Up to 1812
From the 15th century onward, Jewish Sephardi merchants
from Constantinople frequented Bessarabia while using the
trade route which crossed the length of the territory, connecting
the countries of the East and the Black Sea shores with Poland.
Later, Jewish merchants from Poland also began coming
to Bessarabia. Some of them settled there, thus laying the
foundation of the first Jewish communities in northern and
central Bessarabia; in southern Bessarabia Jewish communities
were found already in the 16th century. By the early 18th
century, permanent Jewish settlements had been established
in several commercial centers. Toward the end of the century,
relatively large numbers of Jews were living in most of the urban
settlements and in many villages. Their number was estimated
at 20,000 in 1812. The legal status of the Jews in the part
of Bessarabia under Moldavian rule was similar to that of the
rest of Moldavian Jewry. They were organized in autonomous
communities subject to the authority of the ḥakham bashi in
Jassy. In the parts under Ottoman rule they were subject to
the same laws as the other communities under this regime.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Jews in Bessarabia mainly
engaged in local commerce and liquor distilling; some traded
on a considerable scale with neighboring countries. In the villages
main occupations were leasing activities and innkeeping.
In the cultural sphere, Bessarabian Jewry during this period
was not advanced. The most prominent rabbis of the early 19th
century were *Ḥayyim b. Solomon of Czernowitz, rabbi of
*Kishinev, and David Solomon *Eibenschutz, rabbi of Soroki.
Jacob *Frank exerted an influence from Podolia, and Khotin
became a center for Frank and his adherents. Toward the end
of the 18th century, Ḥasidism penetrated Bessarabia.
1812–1918
After the Russian annexation in 1812, Bessarabia was included
in the *pale of Settlement, and many Jews settled there from
other parts of the Pale. The Jewish population, mainly concentrated
in Kishinev and its district and in the northern part
of the region, grew from 43,062 in 1836 to 94,045 in 1867 (excluding
New Bessarabia, see below), and to 228,620 (11.8% of
the total) in 1897. Of these 109,703 (48%) lived in the towns
(of them 50,237, or 22%, in Kishinev), 60,701 (26.5%) in small
towns, and 58,216 (25.5%) in the villages. They formed 37.4%
of the town population, 55.7% of the population of the small
towns, and 3.8% of the village population. Regulations governing
the legal status of the Jews of Bessarabia after the annexation
were issued in 1818. In conformance with the Russian
pattern, Jews were required to join one of three classes: merchants,
townsmen, or peasants. All their former rights were
confirmed, while the existent Russian legislation concerning
the Jews did not apply, since Bessarabia had autonomous status.
The regulations even expressly authorized Bessarabian
Jews to reside in the villages and engage in leasing activities
and innkeeping, in contradiction to the “Jewish Statute” of
1804 (see *Russia). Because of this regional autonomy, the Jews
of Bessarabia were spared several of the most severe anti-Jew-
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3 495