We began day 3 in Israel in Tzfat, one of the four holy cities in Israel, famous for ancient Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) and a modern-day art colony. We began the day with a delicious buffet breakfast of smoked fish, omelets, breads, yogurts, oatmeal, cereal, grilled tomatoes, olives, and homous. We then strolled the streets of Tzfat passing dozens of beautiful art galleries with the constant refrain from David Solomon (our guide) saying "Don't worry, we'll have lots of time later to explore the art galleries at your leisure."
We saw the ancient synagogue of Rabbi Joseph Caro, the author of the famous Shulchan Aruch (which translates to "The Set Table") the definitive resource book that serves as a "how-to manual" for performing mitzvot. Both this synagogue and another we visited were very colorfully decorated and welcoming, with the traditional style of the bima in the center rather than on a stage, with seating all around. David explained that this creates a very communal feeling since the people can look up and see faces instead of the backs of the other congregants.
David told us about the battles that were fought in Tzfat just before and during the '48 war. We saw the holes in a building from the mortar shells. David does a wonderful job of recreating the history and helping us to picture and experience all that has happened here. Tzfat is also very colorful and much of the city is painted sky blue. The four holy cities, Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberius and Tzfat represent the four element, and Tzfat is "air". So, the blue is supposed to create the feeling of being in the heavens.
The winding streets and beautiful galleries made for a wonderful experience. Everyone seemed to find something they loved. Jill found an amazing ring, several of us bought prints from a special artist, Sondra Weiss, Rabbi Caruso's mother, found a very original bracelet that "spoke to her." Rick's mom found some great earrings, and many of us bought kippot and other judaica. All of us would have loved a little more time (sigh), but every family took away a little bit of Tzfat, both in the material and spiritual. We went to one gallery where the owner is 18th generation in Tzfat (!); his children are 19th generation. How many places in the worlds can one say that?
After the streets of Tzvat, we got on the bus and drove to the Jordan River. Not so "mighty" anymore, it is still beautiful. We all slathered on sunscreen and donned our hats and hopped into rafts and kayaks to go down the river. What a lazy, wonderful day. It is just so amazing to be on the river we have all read about in the Bible! A group of cows grazing and drinking by the water watched as we floated by. Everyone made it, some a little more or less gracefully than others, and then we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and prepare for Shabbat. Some of the men went to the traditional and historical mikvah, while the rest of us rinsed off the river water and mud.
We are headed off to two synagogues to enjoy a Tzfat Shabbat with lots of singing and dancing, that often literally spills into the streets with joyous "ruach" (spirit) and then we'll return to our hotel for a leisurely Shabbat feast.
Shabbat Shalom!
The Halfon Leibovich family (Rick, Ellen, Shaina, Adin, and Mira)
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