Shabbat B'Yachad in Tzfat

Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people, that much we know. However, what that means is that this beautiful country of ours is home to Jews of every shape and size, from all over the world. Even though I am from a predominantly Jewish community, I have met Jews who live lifestyles so different from my own this year, and basically the only thing we have in common is our love for our homeland and our religion. A perfect example of this was our Shalem Shabbat Beyachad in Tzfat.

            Tzfat is known for its spiritual atmosphere and the birth of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. Upon our arrival in Tzfat, we were greeted with singing and guitar playing. We were told what a holy city Tzfat is,and were given an opportunity to walk around. The boys all went to a mikvah, a spiritual bath, to cleanse themselves before the holy hours of Shabbat. Then, we started Shabbat with a beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat service, and then the real adventure began. We were set up into pairs, and went to different homes for Shabbat dinner. We walked together as a group, dropping pairs off as we went. My friend Brooke and I were the last pair to be dropped off. When we arrived at our house, even before entering, I knew it was going to be like nothing I ever experienced. From outside their home, we could hear the sounds of many rambunctious young children, and saw their front door was covered with a picture of the Lubovitch Rebbe. When we came inside and introduced ourselves, we realized the parents spoke very little English, and none of their eight children spoke any English whatsoever, so it was up to our Hebrew skills and us for the evening. We learned that they were from a traditional Yemenite family, and enjoyed delicious Yemenite cuisine for dinner as opposed to our usual Mazal Ball soup and  plain Chicken. It was so awesome getting to be apart of a culture so diffeent from my own for Shabbat. Year Course is all about not being tourists in Israel, but really seeing what it is like to live here, and meeting all sorts of people that call this beautiful country home.

  

            I have had so many other experiences where I have gotten to interact with Israelis from all different cultures and backgrounds in the last six months, and as I go on to my Israel Experience portion of the year, I hope to do this even more. I will be participating in Dakar, the Naval experience program which takes place at an Israeli Naval boarding High School, so I will certainly get to meet kids from all over Israel and brush up my Hebrew while learning to sail and participating in other cool Naval activities.