Exploring Tzfat

Last night was our last night in the Kibbutz. Early this morning we left for Tzfat to learn about Kaballah, the city's wonderful history, and the artist community within the city. We visited the gallery of Avraham Lowenthal, an American artist from Michigan. Avraham fell in love with Kaballah in college and after attending art school at the Art Institute of Chicago, he moved to Tzfat and began to make artwork influenced by his study of Kaballah. We then walked around the town of Tzfat and browsed jewelry stores and art galleries. There was also a handmade candle store with candles of many varities on display.

After leaving Tzfat we travelled to Tel Aviv, walked through the streets of old Jaffa exploring the city a bit before heading to the Israel Independence Museum. This is where Ben Gurion declared the independence of the state of Israel. We watched a video on this topic and were able to see a copy of the original signed agreement. It was evident from the presenter that this was an incredibly emotional moment in the lives of Jews everywhere.

After leaving the museum we traveled to a hostel outside of Tel Aviv. We will be going out tonight in the town of Jaffa, so updates to follow!

-Submitted by Lauren Socol