The Mystical City of Tzfat

What a day! Despite general complaints about hiking for the second day in a row, we boarded the bus and set off towards the Har Meron Nature Reserve. Yonatan (our Israeli guide) described our plans for the day, as well as issues surrounding the supply and demand for water in Israel. After arriving at our destination, we began our hike up the Meron mountain. The hike was much easier than yesterday’s Jillaboon, with much more shade, in addition to beautiful look outs over the city of Tzfat, the birthplace of Kaballah. The view over Tzfat could did not compare to our stroll through the city. We saw old alleyways, historical landmarks, and cute shops along the way. On a main street of the city, we enjoyed a lunch filled with falafel, pizza, and schwarma, followed by more shopping. As one of the four holy cities in Israel, Tzfat did have a very mystic feel to it. We spoke with Avraham Loewenthal, a Detroit native who moved to Israel after discovering himself through studies of Kaballah. The discussion took place in Avraham’s art gallery, where his paintings portrayed symbols and values of Kaballah. The group left Avraham’s gallery with a truer sense of Kaballah and an uplifted spirit. The group boarded the bus again and headed towards Mitzpe Gadot. We looked out over the Jordan Valley and Syria, with another discussion from Yonaton regarding the issues faced by Israel in the Golan Heights. We returned to the Kibbutz after another very long day, where we relaxed and ate dinner together as a group. The group activity tonight involved playing some name games to better get to know each other. This activity was followed by group conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While a difficult subject, this discussion helped to illuminate difficult aspects to the conflict, as well as some potential solutions. As we all go to sleep, we cannot help but dream about our day in Jerusalem tomorrow. Good night!