Day 10 - Lecha Dodi and the Arizal
*Talmudic Village, Katzrin *Banyas *Kabbalas Shabbos in Tzfat *Shabbos dinner
In the city of Katzrin, there are ruins from the times of the Beit Hamikdash, and the goal of the Talmudic Village tour is to transport one to those ancient times. Friday morning there, we explored a recreation of an ancient house, learned how to press oil, and made our own pitas!
Yali from the Talmudic village, picture by Aliza Engle
Visiting the Talmudic Village and acting like we were in the Bibical times was very insightful. It made me feel like we are all part of something bigger than ourselves. Also, being transported to the times of the Destruction of the Beis Hamikdash caused me to feel true sadness for that part of history that I had previously felt very distant from. -Leah Bakhash
Our tour guide in the Talmudic Village was the coolest lady. She and her two little kids were dressed the way they dressed a thousand years ago, and they were walking on the rocky ground barefoot. For a moment, I actually thought that they lived that way, pressing their own olive oil, and making pita on a fire outside. If only we could really live like that! -Chana Rochel
Making pitas in the Talmudic village
We were excited to go on a hike, and even more thrilled when we heard it included water. Our trail wove along the banks of Banyas River, one of the three rivers that feed the Jordan River and come north from Lebanon into Israel.
The trip had put me in a very artistic mood, and I was fascinated by the different shades of color in the water. A less discerning eye would say that the river was blue, but I picked out the purple in the shadows and the yellowy brown around the banks, and I tried to imprint their colors on my mind so I could remember the overall effect of the picture. However, as an artist, the best way for me to remember a picture is to draw it – to trace its curves, study its colors, and pound out its shadows – so I knew that without any paper, the Banyas water would fade quickly from my mind with nothing but a few colors and a fleeting memory to tether it there. -Noa Engle
Wanting to touch G-d isn’t so foreign a concept to the sensory overridden teen-age artists that gather in Tzohar, but to touch G-d when he’s found in a near-fatal tidal pool, Malka Touger says, “Rather not.”
-Yocheved Andrusier
A small group of us got lost in the Banyas. It was Friday afternoon so our tour guide was reasonably not too happy, but I still had time to get an ice
cream. :) -Esti Vogel
Tzfat on Shabbos is a magical, mystical place. The famous Friday night hymn, Lecha Dodi, was actually composed there 500 years ago by the Arizal, the most famous of the Tzfat kabbalists!
Friday night in Tzfat was like stepping into an ancient village thousands of years ago. The soft, melodious tunes of the Berditchev Shul blended in unison with the lively chants of the Carlebach minyan. Walking through the narrow, cobblestone alleyways, I felt so complete...so whole, and so happy. -Shani Miller
I loved “shul hopping” in Tzfat because I was able to see so many diverse types of Jews praying and singing in shul and in the streets. It was an empowering experience to witness the Jewish nation coming together to sing songs to G-d.
-Rochel Brekan
Friday night davening in the Ascent shul was the most beautiful experience ever. The unity and love that I felt in the room was overwhelming. -Tzivia Druin