Day Four - Bonding in the land
Blog by Daniel K. & Photos by Alina S.
Day four was our final day in the north and it promised to be a challenging one, physically and emotionally. We started with a delicious buffet breakfast, and were on our way shortly after. Before our hike, we stopped in Tiberius to pick up our last piece of missing luggage; finally our group was whole. After a 20 minute bus ride, we found ourselves most of the way up Mount Arbel and walked the rest of the way, about 5 minutes, to the peak. Moose held the group up at an overlook where we enjoyed the view and used Omer, a member of our group, who just happens to be the coolest officer in the Israeli army, to illustrate where we were geographically by pinning different landmarks on his body. We started our descent down the mountain, which at its steepest, provided us with pegs as assistance.
As with many group hikes, we naturally split in two, the more experienced hikers in front and the others in back. Less expected was the willingness and determination of some select hikers to stay back with the slower group to provide physical support and general positivity. As we sidestepped things we didn't want to stand in and held hands while crossing narrow paths, we made it safely down the mountain quite triumphantly. Some were even moved to tears by how helpful and positive the group was. This really set the tone for our second part of the day.
We boarded the bus and made our way to Tzfat, one of the most religious and spiritual cities in the world. After perusing the streets and boutiques for lunch, we crammed ourselves in a tiny art shop, one of many. The owner Avram, formerly known as Robert, detailed his history and path that lead him from Detroit to the spiritualism of kabbalah as he made his way to this holy city. He spoke about the connection of kabbalah and his art. One particular piece that stood out was in fact the simplest. It represented two attitudes, one of a taking nature and one of a giving nature. The latter attitude really resonated with what occurred earlier as our group was so willing to help each other earlier in the day. As our view through the window of kabbalah concluded, we finished touring the city. Sadly, we were denied entry into a synagogue due to a difference in cultural identities. However, this did not sour our attitude towards our trip, our group, or our home away from home. We departed Tzfat and made our way back to our base, ate dinner and celebrated two birthdays. It is clear that out group is not just bonding with each other, but the land and culture around us. We went to bed early to prepare for our trip to to Tel Aviv, with a stronger group dynamic and spiritual resolve than we had started with at the beginning of the day.
