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Road Trip

5/27/2014

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Remember that scene in Animal House when the frat boys decide that they have to do something to perk up their spirits and they chant "Road Trip, Road Trip"?

That's how I felt this Sunday when I joined the newly-formed group of Tzfat Day Trippers on a trip through to two local archaeological sites, Hatzor and Tel Dan. These two sites are, literally, in my backyard (Hatzor is about a 15 minute drive from Tzfat and Tel Dan is closer to an hour) but, although I'd vaguely heard about their stories (James Mitchner's book The Source was based on Hatzor and I never forgot his description of their child sacrifices) I had never really explored them.

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This was the 2nd trip of the local Tzfat group and it was so well-attended that some people had to be turned away -- obviously there's a great interest in the idea of getting out and exploring the country in an organized way.  The guide was Yoni Zierler, a terrific and knowledgeable guide from Jerusalem  who prepared for this group by identifying relevant passages in the Torah and Tanach to illustrate what we were seeing.

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Our first stop was Tel Hatzor, Israel's largest archaeological site. It was first excavated by Yigal Yadin in the '50s and it continues to reveal amazing treasures and items of fascination.

Settlement in Hatzor dates back to the 3rd century B.C.E. -- after the visit to the tel (mound) we went to the museum at nearby Ayelet HaShachar where the finds are displayed and saw items dating back to 2500 B.C.E -- but Hatzor reached its pinacle in the 2nd and early 1st centuries when it was an important site on the Damascus-Egypt trading route.

Hatzor is listed as one of the Canannite cities that Joshua conquered in the Bible. The Bible records that, because of Hatzor's idolotry, it was the only city that Joshua completely destroyed. The Tanach records that Joshua burned the city and archaeological remain show that a fire occurred in about 1300B.C.E., exactly at the time that Joshua and the Children of Israel were entering the country.

Hatzor is also mentioned as one of the cities (along with Gezer and Megiddo) which Solomon fortified later one (approximately 1000B.C.E). At that time Hatzor became a Jewish city.
The remains of the gates are, not coincidentally, identical to the gates found in digs at Megiddo and Gezer -- another archaeological discovery that meshes with the Tanach.

Remnants can be seen of homes, the palace, the city gates, storage areas and the temple where the Canannites sacrificed.
 

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After the guard at the museum in Ayelet HaShachar let us in for a few minutes (very nice of him because it was supposed to be locked that day) to see the findings, we headed north to Tel Dan.

Tel Dan is a nature reserve which houses the ancient ruins of the Lachish civilization. Although the tribe of Dan was supposed to have settled in the lowlands, near today's Tel Aviv (Gush Dan), they evidently were unhappy there and headed north to capture Lachish and expand their rule.

We walked through the nature reserve towards the area in which the archaeological site stands. Again, Yoni read relevant verses from the Tanach to make the era come alive as we imagined the conquest and settlement of the Dannites. Dan was also one of the regions in which King Ahab allowed his wife Jezebel to establish a temple to pagan gods and we got an overview of the era when traditional Torah worship intermingled with the gods of other nations.


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I've been to Tel Dan before but never seen the final site that Yoni showed us -- an ancient arch....the earliest such structures known throughout the world. This, Yoni demonstrated, correlates with the passages in Bereshit (the Book of Genesis) in which Abraham goes to "Dan" to demand the release of his nephew Lot.

Since the arch dates back to 1800B.C.E., the era in which Abraham lived, it's likely, Yoni said, that Abraham himself walked under this arch as he approached the king to ask for his nephew.

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We didn't see the Tel Dan Stele, is an amazing find which archaeologists discovered in excavations at Tel Dan in 1994. but Yoni told us about it. The stone tablet is incomplete but the writing mentions King David -- the only (as yet) known mention of David outside of Biblical Texts. The writing on this tablet confirms that King David was a real historical personality. It is presently at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

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Only in Safed 2

5/19/2014

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I didn't think that it was appropriate to take a photo, but....only in Safed.....

We have one (as far as I know) transvestite in Safed. S/he's an elderly woman who was once an American marine and Alaskan fisherman (so I've heard). Several years ago his/her style "changed" to that of a well-dressed maiden.

Now, it appears, that s/he is a well-dressed frum (religiously-observant) maiden because s/he (I don't mean to be flip here....I honestly don't know what pronoun to use) covers s/her hair in the Orthodox tradition. 
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Only in Safed

5/19/2014

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This is one of those "Only in Safed" stories, except it's half an only-in-safed story and half an only-in-modi'in story. However, since Safed and Moshav Modiin are closely intertwinned, both in philosophy and in chevre, I think that it counts.

One of our webpages, the transportation page,  gives an overview of transportation  options in Safed, including the names of a few people who drive for hire. 

Last week one of the drivers was contacted by an elderly lady who had been visiting Safed for a few weeks. She had been interested in learning more about kabbalah and Judiasm but was leaving Safed disappointed because she hadn't made any contacts and still had many unanswered questions.

It was definitely hashgachat pratit -- meant to be -- that she contacted Zev to drive her to Tel Aviv, where she planned to stay for several nights before flying home. On the drive down the woman told Zev that she had wanted a more spiritual visit to Tzfat and was disappointed that she was leaving without the lift that she had been looking for.

Zev suggested that they take a side trip to Moshav Modiin, the home of the followers of Shlomo Carlebach (hence the connection to Tzfat, because most of his followers who aren't in The Moshav are in Safed) where she might enjoy speaking to some of the residents.

The woman agreed and they headed to the Moshav where she had a wonderful afternoon with one of Zev's friends.

Zev then drove the woman to Tel Aviv, to her 5 star hotel on the beach, and headed home.

A few hours later he got a call from his friend on the Moshav -- the woman had packed up her things, left her 5-star accommodations in Tel Aviv and was spending the remainder of her Israel trip on the Moshav!

Zev then went the extra mile and called up the hotel and got her a refund on her room.

I loved this story and feel a little pleased that this website somehow played a part in this woman's
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Lag B'Omer Tzfat 2014

5/18/2014

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Around this time of year I begin to wonder about people's planning abilities. Everyone knows that Lag B'Omer is coming -- thanks to Internet calendars, they know the dates years ahead of time, and everyone with a yearly calendar certainly knw the exact dates at least several months ago. Yet for some reason many people make their arrangements for their Lag B'Omer accommodations only weeks, if not days, before the holiday. And since the town hotels and b&bs have been filling up for months, finding accommodations this last week is, to say the least, tricky. 

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I do have to say, I don't know of very many places in the world where tzimmer owners look out for each other. Last year, over the day or two before Lag B'Omer, the local FB group was buzzing with people who had last minute cancellations and others who put them in touch with visitors who wanted to come up at the last minute. At least 4 "shidduchim" were made, that I know of.....simply people in the community who cared about each other and want to see their neighbor's succeed, even when they're competitors!

Pictureannual Safed Lag B'Omer parade
As for myself, I've got a family coming to my bed and breakfast, which means that my personal guests are limited to the two bedrooms that i have upstairs. My nephew has already reserved 4 places for himself and his friends from a Jerusalem yeshivah and my niece is also planning on coming up with some friends. Luckily my cousins live nearby and have offered to host the girls...phew!

Now I just have to worry about cooking for this crowd.

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Benji, You Said it all

5/7/2014

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Check out Benji Lovitt's 66 Things I Love About Israel

For next year I'm going to collect 67 of the Best Only In Israel Stories

In the meantime.......some from this past year. (If you're interested you can keep up with Only in Israel on Facebook.
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Yom HaAtzmaut 2014 in Safed

5/6/2014

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OK, I admit it. I still get a bit mushy when they have the annual fly-over on Yom HaAtzmaut. Since 1948 Israel has celebrated its independence with unique traditions, such as the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers which precedes Yom HaAtzmaut. Another unique custom involves the afore-mentioned fly-over in which Israeli jets fly the length of the country from Metulla in the North to Eilat in the south. It's fairly consistent -- starts at noon and you can usually see several groups of jets flying overhead. I tear up every time.

Sorry that I didn't get a photo of our Yom HaAtzmaut Celebration. It was lovely and I was just sorry that my house isn't bigger so that I could have had more people over. Basically, I invited friends -- people for whom it would be hard to get out of town or who are on their own. We told everyone to bring whatever they want to grill and I made some salads.

I started the grill up (I've gotten quite good at it and if we hadn't had so much to grill, I could have done the whole thing with wood -- didn't use a speck of lighter fluid either!) and then my neighbor took over while I went inside to deal with the salads. We had about 20 guests -- old-timers, new olim, a family with 2 sons presently serving in the army, etc. Once I saw that I had enough chairs I could relax and, thanks to a lot of beer, a few bottles of wine and a lot of good will, we did our country proud.

As the celebration wound down everyone reflected on the tremendous "zechut" (privilege) that we have to be living in Israel today. After countless centuries of persecution we live freely as Jews in a country that protects us. I always think of Daniel Gordis's article that he wrote in 2002 after the attack on Israelis in Mombassa Kenya. In explaining his decision to move to a "dangerous neighborhood" he wrote "
our family does come first. And that's why we're here. To raise our kids in a place that's all about them, about their history, their future, their sense of being at home. To live in a place that unlike that old neighborhood, matters very much."

Thank you Daniel for expressing what I feel but can't qu

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Creating Good from Bad

5/4/2014

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This past year has been a doozy. We've lost more members of our little English-speaking community than I care to count -- most of whom weren't very old.

I knew most of the people who passed away and at some point, it became almost too much to bear....good people who never did anything to hurt anyone weren't given the opportunity to live out their lives. I know that God has a reason for everything, but.....it was hard.

One of the good things -- if you can call it that -- that came out of this year of friends passing was that a number of people in the community organized themselves into an organization that will be on call if someone needs assistance. So, for instance, if someone is sick the organization will mobilize to make sure that the person gets food  and help. I don't know how much they're going to be able to do because such an organization is only as strong as the people who support it, and let's just say that not everyone is prepared to be on call to help as needed. That's probably true in any community -- you have the doers and those who are not as involved -- but it stands out more in a small community like ours.

Anyway, this organization was named for one of the people who passed away this year, Chaya Tikva. She was a true character in a way that only Tzfat people can understand but she had a heart of gold and an organization such as this one
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Yom HaAtzmaut Safed

5/4/2014

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On my way to the fruit and vegetable store today I came across a ganennet (kindergarden teacher) with her kids, standing outside the municipality with their Independence Day flags. The kids were singing and were, frankly, quite cute. 

Tonight we commemorate Memorial Day, the day for fallen soldiers. By tomorrow night the fireworks will be blasting (and my dogs will be well-settled under my bed) and everyone will be running around spraying foam on each other (what a strange custom!) and enjoying the celebrations.

We are a schizophrenic nation.
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New MOTs

5/3/2014

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I was invited to a Shabbat lunch today -- always a cause for celebration, but it was especially nice because it was a nice lively bunch of people (and the food was delicious).

There are probably not too many places in the world where a bunch of people get together for a Shabbat meal and a half of them are converts/Jews by Choice, but that happens more than not in Tzfat. For some reason Tzfat attracts converts like bees to clover and a significant percentage of our population are New Jews.

I have a friend (who's husband, incidently, converted) who has an interesting theory. She said that, in the 1500s, many of the Jews who had been forcibly converted by the Inquisition and managed to escape Spanish and Portuguese rule tried to return to Judaism but were initially refused by the rabbis of that era who felt that they had committed blasphemy by allowing themselves to convert -- even under duress -- and thus, could not return.

Quite a few of these Jews made their way to Safed (the Ari Ashkanazi synagogue of Safed was originally started by such Jews...it had been named the Girigoros synagogue because it was established by Spanish Jews who converted and then fled to the Greek island of Girigoros and then came to Safed). Several Safed rabbis, among them Rabbi Beirav and Rabbi Alsheich, advocated for these Jews and were ultimately successful in convincing the Jewish leaders of that era to re-accept the forcibly converted Jews back into the Jewish community.

My friend posits that Safed has a history of acceptance and that's the reason that converts (along with other "seekers") feel so comfortable here.

Whatever the reason, it makes for a diverse community. It's also a good reminder to those of us who are Jews-by-birth that we shouldn't Judaism for granted.
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The Tzfat Players -- Not a Purim Sphiel Purim Sphiel

5/2/2014

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Part of this year's Purim Sphiel. I'm honored to live in a town with so much talent....especially since I don't add much to the talent pool here (but I love to enjoy my neighbor's efforts)
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    Laurie

    Laurie has lived in Safed for almost 30 years. She's the mother of five kids, all of whom were born and raised in Safed.

    Laurie began to blog at Safed.blogspot in 2004. She has been writing about daily life in Safed, as well as her own involvement with the local community, Safed institutions and individuals and her goal of improving the city one step at a time.

    The blog has now migrated to this site.

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