Our day started in Mitzpe Gadol where we learnt about the heroes of the area.
We then went to an olive oil factory where we saw the making of olive oil and washed our hands with the remnants of olives.
Our next stop was the Katzrin Talmudic Village located in the Golan Heights, one of the most
northern points in Israel. There we saw ancient ruins and learnt about how Jews lived during the Talmudic period.
We then had time to prepare for Shabbat .
We were joined for Shabbat by Rabbi Gideon Sylvester Our Tribe Rabbi in Israel, Marc Benamram who left Tribe last month to go and live in Israel and Anna - our Rakaz.
On Friday night we davened overlooking the views of the Golan heights. This was an incredibly moving experience. We then had dinner with families from Sderot who had come to the north for a peaceful Shabbat. They told us about their experiences over the last few years and thanked us for coming and supporting Israel. After dinner, we had Oneg led by Marc Benamram.
Shabbat:
Shabbat was a fun and relaxing day. Rabbi Gideon Sylvester led an activity on Jewish identity which was very thought provoking and then a Q&A session where we could ask anything we wanted.
After Shabbat we played a wide game of capture the flag before a Pizza dinner.
Yaniv Grunberg: " Shabbat - a relaxing experience that allowed me to appreciate the serenity of the outdoors"
Sunday:
Today was a very quirky day with Tribe Israel tour! We
started our day with a tour of the artist’s quarter in Tzfat, which was
extremely beautiful and quaint.
We went on a magical, mystical tour of Tzfat. Tzfat is a very well known and interesting city but is probably one of the later cities for Jews to settle as it only became an important city for Jewish life in the late 15th Century. The city is most closely associated with Jewish mysticism, the kabbalah, whose foremost teacher, Rabbi Isaac Luria, lived and taught there. Known as "Ha'Ari" (the lion), Rabbi Luria had come from Egypt to Tzfat in 1569 and died just three years later.
Besides the kabbalists, Tzfat also attracted numerous other Jewish scholars and spirtualists, including Joseph Caro, the author of the Shulchan Aruch , Rabbi Moshe Cordovero and Solomon Alkabetz, composer of the Sabbath hymn Lecha Dodi. We heard their stories and visited some of the beautiful shuls, all decorated in blue.
Our day ended with a tour of the
village Pki'in where we enjoyed an amazing Druze feast. The Druze are an
amazing people and contribute fully within the State of Israel. They serve in
the IDF and have attained top positions in Israeli politics and public service.
The Druze live mainly in the north of the country and are Arabic-speaking.
When we arrived back at Golan Field School we had a lovely supper. It was an extremely interesting and diverse day and provided us all with a lot to think about.
When we arrived back at Golan Field School we had a lovely supper. It was an extremely interesting and diverse day and provided us all with a lot to think about.
Jodie Stuart: "A very relaxed day in Tzfat and yet we were still inspired and learnt so much."
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