I started the morning browsing the artists' colony with Michelle, Ruah, Claudia, and Adi. There is so much beautiful art in Tsfat, much of it Kaballah-based or themed. Many artists work right there in their shops, and it was nice to walk through it again without the hurriedness of being in a 40-person Birthright group (though we had to deal with our fair share of those passing through!).
Hidden network of more shops off the main street.
Artist at work in his studio.
At that point we walked back to Ascent because they had reserved a taxi to go to the tomb of "the Rashbi" rabbi, considered one of the greatest Jewish mystics of all time and a writer of the Zohar, the most holy book for Kaballists. I had wanted to go too, but there was not enough room in their taxi, so we said a hurried goodbye mixed with promises to stay with each other whenever we were in each others' regions of the world. At that exact moment, my other group of friends I'd made that weekend (Keshet, Daniel, Penina, and Rikki) stepped out of the hostel on their way to the artists' colony and to explore the city, so I joined them and wound up having a grand adventure that lasted me the entire rest of the day.
The view from Tsfat, walking back to Ascent - not gloriously sunny like Shabbas had been, but still a wonderful view out over the valley.
They were hungry (as was I), so we made our first stop breakfast. I had my first taste of Shakshuka, which is an Israeli egg dish in a tomato-based sautee, and it was amazing. We had a lovely meal together, talking about each others' lives and about Judaism and enjoying our hot breakfasts and beverages. Keshet then surprised us by paying for everyone's meal - just because he felt like doing a mitzvah. This is one of the more beautiful parts of Judaism - the firm belief in good deeds for the sake of good deeds, with the karma-like faith that good things will eventually come to you (though that's not at all a driving reason behind it).
Shakshuka and hot cider!
Now fully satiated, we set out on our Tsfat adventure. We also went to the artists' colony, but we went to a place Rikki remembered from her previous Tsfat experiences - to a special artist's shop she had met a little off the main touristy part of the artists' colony. Chaya's gallery was beautiful - her specialty is color, and always uses bright colors in her paintings and glass sculptures. She showed us some of her paintings and the stories behind them, and I became enchanted with a Tree of Life she had painted during the Lebanon War - it was so vibrant and full of life, and she told us about how it was her outpouring of all the emotion inside of her during that stressful time. I purchased a print of it, along with a print of her painting of Miriam's drum - one of my favorite little snippits from the Bible, in exodus when Miriam reminds the women to bring their drums even in their haste - because when they got to the promised land, there would be much dancing and they would need their drums.
Chaya's glass blowing equipment and some of her paintings in her gallery.
Me and Chaya in her gallery.
The entranceway to Chaya's studio - enchanting!
We then wound our way up to the candle shop and ruins of what would have been Madonna's house that I'd visited on my afternoon with Birthright. We shopped for a few candles, then took some photos overlooking the valley. The sun was out for a little while in the afternoon, which was lovely.
Myself, Rikki, Penina, Daniel, and Keshet in Madonna's house.
Near that candle shop is the Ashkenazy synagogue, which is absolutely beautiful inside. It's relatively new (an earthquake destroyed it in the 1800's), but built on the spot the revered Ari rabbi used to pray before Shabbat. I hadn't gotten any good pictures when I got to visit it on Birthright, so it was nice to see it at a quieter time.
Just outside the synagogue were a couple local Hasidim originally from America - the boys got to talking, and they all put on tefillin (prayer boxes strapped to the head and arm) together outside the synagogue - it was a beautiful, holy spot to do so, and even though I'm not a male and thus wouldn't engage in a lot of these sorts of Jewish practices even if I were religious, I could still feel how special an experience it was.
Ari Ashkenazy synagogue
Keshet and Daniel putting on tefillin.
Keshet and Daniel putting on tefillin.
Keshet playing his 19th-century piccolo outside the Ari Ashkenazy synagogue.
View out over Tsfat from outside the Ari Ashkenazy synagogue.
We then went on a search for a weaver who had made Keshet's Yemenite kippah, because Daniel was interested in a new one that covered a lot of his head. We found the weaver, but unfortunately kippahs are a very individual thing, and none he had already made fit Daniel's head the way he wanted; but since Daniel is in Israel for quite a few more weeks, he'll have a chance to order one if he wishes. There were so many beautifully woven kippahs and prayer shawls, though, and it was fun to look through them and to see where the weaver and his wife worked.
Secret passageway to the weaver's shop off the main street in the artists' colony.
Some of the courtyard at the weaver's shop.
Where the weaving happens - that's the shop keeper in the back, helping Daniel try on more kippahs in the workshop.
Journeying on, we finally set out for what was Daniel and Penina's goal of the entire day: to find the kever (tomb) of Rabbi Nachum Ish-Gamzu. This was a special experience, not only because the entire day had more or less been structured as an eventual journey to try to find his tomb (which is in a residential neighborhood, not in the main Tsfat cemetery), but because of who he was. He was known for saying, "Gam zu l'tovah" - "This too is for the good." This was the message that pervaded our adventure throughout the entire day - that whatever happened was what was meant to happen, and everything we'd see and experience, regardless if we ever actually reached the tomb, was for the good. We'd had a bit of frustration in not knowing where to go or how to find the tomb, but with the help of the locals (including those we'd met earlier putting tefillin on the guys), we finally were on the right track and found our way to the tomb. It was late in the day, after a long quest where at times it looked like we were not meant to find the tomb that day, but we found it. It was quite nice, and since there was noone else there, we didn't have to separate and send me and Penina behind the womens' curtain (Rikki had gone back to Jerusalem on an earlier bus) since Keshet and Daniel didn't mind / didn't feel the gender separation in prayer was necessary.
Outside looking in on the women's section at the bottom, behind the tomb, with a neat reflection off the glass of the sky outside.
The mens' side of the tomb.
Kever Nachum Ish-Gamzu
This was a powerful experience, particularly for Daniel, and we spent quite a while at that tomb in silence, just reflecting / praying / whatever each of us felt we needed, with the time to ourselves. Finally, we had to head back so we could pick up a little food before my friends needed to be at the bus station to go to Jerusalem.
Beautiful view of the sun piercing through the clouds on our walk back from the kever.
Cake and coffee - good rewards after a hard (and pretty cold, I might add - I didn't bring a jacket with me since I didn't expect to be out as long as I was).
I was sad to see my new friends go, and unsure of how I would spend my last day in the holy city alone, but it was a nice quiet evening to myself after so many new experiences and a hostel full of soldiers and religious travelers - I watched a bunch of TV episodes on youtube in my 6-bed private room (I found out later that Tammy slept there that night still, but she was with her daughter and granddaughter all day and didn't come back until late). The hostel was eerily quiet, which gave me time to reflect on things, Skype with Loren, and plan out my last couple days in the holy land.
As always, I do not include all (or even close to all) of my photos
here in my blog. To see all my photos from my post-Birthright travels,
see my Flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke/sets/72157628990457609/
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