The Day of Aunt Becky
Shalom! In the midst of another busy day, we're eager to recount what we've been up to: After leaving the cemetary yesterday, we made our way back to the kibbutz and had some well-deserved downtime. A group of guys played ultimate frisbee, some took naps, and others caught up on MTV Israel. We reconnected 40 minutes before dinner to participate in a short seder to commemorate the Jewish holiday Tu'Bishvat, which celebrates trees. Dinner was much like the previous night's - tasty salad, rice, chicken, noodles and vegetables. I had an interesting discussion with my tablemates about airport security. Valentin, an Israeli participant, mentioned that many of the searches we are subject to in airports happen to Israelis as they enter shopping malls and other public places. It was interesting to see how security concerns within Israel impact Israelis' perceptions of privacy. After dinner was time for group activities! The first we did can best be described as modified speed dating. We switched partners every two minutes and asked each other the important questions like, "Who is the most famous person you have ever met?" and "What is the best gift you have ever received?" When asked, "If a pool could be filled with any object, what would you want to jump into?" Matt responded, "M&Ms." Needless to say, we learned a lot about each other. The second activity was Jewish folk dancing, led by Yossi ,Daniel's trip leader from 1994. Though we probably aren't the most coordinated group, we gave it a good effort and had a lot of fun. This morning after breakfast we departed from the kibbutz for a hike down Mt. Arbel. We were driven to the top, got the stellar view, and made our way down. We saw remnants of an ancient castle on the hilltop and talked about the history of the region. Part of the climb was pretty steep with shallow footing but we all made it out alive. We could not have been luckier with the weather - beautiful, sunny, high 50s. It's a great break from the freezing temperatures of Chicago and St. Louis. After Mt. Arbel, we made our way to Tzfat, a holy city famous for its art and two particular rabbis: Yosef Caro and Isaac Luria. After lunch (thank you, Hebrew-speaking Chen, for helping me order my schwarma!), Lior, our Israeli guide, posed the question, "What makes a city holy?" After some misguided guesses ("Great schwarma!") Lior gave us the answer: holy cities are home to events or people that changed the course of Judaism. In Tzfat, kabbalah developed. We discussed the history of kabbalah and walked through a small synagogue in the city. Like we said, Tzfat is famous for its artwork, so we were given the opportunity to explore the shops. While we were walking through narrow alleys lined with small shops, the most exciting event of the day occurred: we saw celebrities! The first we saw was Joel Moore, known for his roles in Avatar, Dodgeball, and Grandma's Boy. Then we saw the guy from Ally McBeal (we don't know his name, but we recognized him!). As if we weren't starstruck enough, we topped off our celebrity-ridden journey through Tzfat with a sighting of Aunt Becky from Full House. Aunt Becky, people! As known as Lori Laughlin, Aunt Becky brought us all back to our childhoods and Full House reruns. Many of us approached her and she was gracious enough to pose for pictures. Random, right? In the middle of a holy city in Israel and we're running into celebrities. Word on the street is that they're here doing a documentary. Now we're on the bus headed toward Jerusalem (so exciting!). We're all looking forward to celebrating Shabbat tomorrow. Safe and happy, Bus 468 (written by Ashley Gold and Mike Treitler)
