By: Zach Marks
Started off this morning with a beautiful sunrise rising over the mountains shining on the sea of Galilea, which is actually the largest body of fresh water in Israel. For all you Floridians following along it's like their lake Okeechobee.
The first difference about Israel from the States other than the language and signage is what they consider a breakfast buffet. The feature of this buffet was spaghetti with marinara sauce. After I forced myself through eating two plates we got our show on the road. Despite a slight hiccup where an inner door was locked preventing a backpack from being retrieved we made our way out.
It was about an hour's trek from our hotel to the base of Mt. Meron with many scenic views along the way. If you came on the trip expecting a vast desert those expectations were quickly dashed. We were greeted with what is to become our morning routine. The Rabbi led us in song and prayer, a mix of Hebrew and English with plenty of laughs thrown in. We learned the Hebrew word for cool (sa-ba-ba) which is the first of (hopefully) many Hebrew words I hope to add to my vernacular by the time the trip ends.
Our tour guide Daniel as we came upon an overlook of a snow covered mountain, said "normally at this time I would say on a clear day you can see Hermon, but today is clear and you can actually see it." The mountain, Hermon (hair-moan for those that can't pronounce Hebrew words), is actually spread across Syria, Lebanon, and Israel and is where any alpine behavior occurs. This got me curious about how the lift passes for the mountain would work if you went down a slope and ended up in another country.
We drove past many fields and ventures up further in altitude into the clouds. After what seemed quicker than an hour we had arrived at our destination. Being a seasoned hiker I prepared with a full camelbak, hiking boots, and many layers. I then discovered I had over prepared as we ascended on a gentle trail. We learned some history of the area and were also told a story about the importance of spreading the tenets of Judaism through our deeds and not to look down upon others. Maybe that wasn't the point of the story but it's what I took from it.
After such a strenuous hike, lunch was all that was on anyone's mind. We were told we were going to be taught about Mikvahs and tour a Mikvah house (I'm not sure that's the correct term but we're rolling with it.) Mikvah means any body of natural water. Natural was stressed by the lovely upbeat Chassidic rabbi Alon (Ah-lone) who was our guide through this part of our trip. Many Chassidic Jews engage in the practice of the mikvah which is the process of dunking one's entire body into a body of natural water in order to purify one's soul. The Mikvah we were about to enter was the Mikvah of a very holy and famous Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), universally knows as the Arizal. Who used this Mikva a few centries ago! After the general premise was explained and the stage set for our further learning about the practice we split into two groups based on gender.
After this we were told we would be embarking upon the #ExtremeMikvehChallenge. To those unfamiliar, as we were, this involved going to the holiest of natural springs in Tzfat (a city known for containing holy sites of mysticism) and participating in a mikvah of our own. I realize at this point I had left out a very important detail. In order to become pure you must enter the mikveh as you came into the world, in one's birthday suit.
We walked to the spring and were given towels by the man who volunteers his time to watch over the site and we made our way into what can be best described as a natural locker room and at the end inside of an alcove was the holy mikvah. I couldn't point to a specific instance or explain what happened, but emerging from the mikvah, wet, shivering, teeth clacking, you come out with a true sense of rejuvenation, feeling unlike you had before.
Even though we had all been clamoring for lunch prior to the tour of the mikvah, it was well worth the wait to be a part of such a unique experience. However, we had worked up quite an appetite during the extreme park of the mikvah challenge. This entailed walking back up 20 flights of stairs to the entrance to the women's mikvah where we met the ladies of our group, who had their own tour of a beautiful Womans Mikvah! And leaned about the significance and importance of Women going to Mikvah! We then ascended what felt like 50 more flights of stairs until we came face to face with an authentic schwarma vendor. In my schwarma laffa (lamb burrito), in addition to the main ingredient, there was hummus, a dash of spicy sauce, lettuce, onions, and cucumbers. Just the right amount of vegetables for me to delude myself into thinking I was eating healthy. The food was delicious, unbelievably messy (probably my fault), and quite filling.
We then went on a walking tour of Tzfat that culminated in a story with a powerful message about the Jewish people and Kaballah told by my Rabbi Chaim, followed by a visit to a temple of the rabbi who basically created the modern day Shabbat celebrations. Meaning the guy who decided Shabbat should be songs leaning towards celebration and not just incantations.
Our last stop in the city in the clouds was at an artists studio who was a transplant from Michigan (Go Blue!) who had lived in Israel for 20 years. His art was all symbolic of the teachings of Kaballah, he spoke with us about the importance of Kaballah and how it relates to Judaism and how important it is as a Jew to know that Kaballah exists.
This enlightening experience was the capstone to our first real day in Israel. We hopped back on the bus, and played some Israeli music on the journey home. We just finished dinner, and are preparing to hit the town for our first night out. Time to show Israel how JewCF parties (responsibly).
Started off this morning with a beautiful sunrise rising over the mountains shining on the sea of Galilea, which is actually the largest body of fresh water in Israel. For all you Floridians following along it's like their lake Okeechobee.
The first difference about Israel from the States other than the language and signage is what they consider a breakfast buffet. The feature of this buffet was spaghetti with marinara sauce. After I forced myself through eating two plates we got our show on the road. Despite a slight hiccup where an inner door was locked preventing a backpack from being retrieved we made our way out.
It was about an hour's trek from our hotel to the base of Mt. Meron with many scenic views along the way. If you came on the trip expecting a vast desert those expectations were quickly dashed. We were greeted with what is to become our morning routine. The Rabbi led us in song and prayer, a mix of Hebrew and English with plenty of laughs thrown in. We learned the Hebrew word for cool (sa-ba-ba) which is the first of (hopefully) many Hebrew words I hope to add to my vernacular by the time the trip ends.
Our tour guide Daniel as we came upon an overlook of a snow covered mountain, said "normally at this time I would say on a clear day you can see Hermon, but today is clear and you can actually see it." The mountain, Hermon (hair-moan for those that can't pronounce Hebrew words), is actually spread across Syria, Lebanon, and Israel and is where any alpine behavior occurs. This got me curious about how the lift passes for the mountain would work if you went down a slope and ended up in another country.
We drove past many fields and ventures up further in altitude into the clouds. After what seemed quicker than an hour we had arrived at our destination. Being a seasoned hiker I prepared with a full camelbak, hiking boots, and many layers. I then discovered I had over prepared as we ascended on a gentle trail. We learned some history of the area and were also told a story about the importance of spreading the tenets of Judaism through our deeds and not to look down upon others. Maybe that wasn't the point of the story but it's what I took from it.
After such a strenuous hike, lunch was all that was on anyone's mind. We were told we were going to be taught about Mikvahs and tour a Mikvah house (I'm not sure that's the correct term but we're rolling with it.) Mikvah means any body of natural water. Natural was stressed by the lovely upbeat Chassidic rabbi Alon (Ah-lone) who was our guide through this part of our trip. Many Chassidic Jews engage in the practice of the mikvah which is the process of dunking one's entire body into a body of natural water in order to purify one's soul. The Mikvah we were about to enter was the Mikvah of a very holy and famous Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), universally knows as the Arizal. Who used this Mikva a few centries ago! After the general premise was explained and the stage set for our further learning about the practice we split into two groups based on gender.
After this we were told we would be embarking upon the #ExtremeMikvehChallenge. To those unfamiliar, as we were, this involved going to the holiest of natural springs in Tzfat (a city known for containing holy sites of mysticism) and participating in a mikvah of our own. I realize at this point I had left out a very important detail. In order to become pure you must enter the mikveh as you came into the world, in one's birthday suit.
We walked to the spring and were given towels by the man who volunteers his time to watch over the site and we made our way into what can be best described as a natural locker room and at the end inside of an alcove was the holy mikvah. I couldn't point to a specific instance or explain what happened, but emerging from the mikvah, wet, shivering, teeth clacking, you come out with a true sense of rejuvenation, feeling unlike you had before.
Even though we had all been clamoring for lunch prior to the tour of the mikvah, it was well worth the wait to be a part of such a unique experience. However, we had worked up quite an appetite during the extreme park of the mikvah challenge. This entailed walking back up 20 flights of stairs to the entrance to the women's mikvah where we met the ladies of our group, who had their own tour of a beautiful Womans Mikvah! And leaned about the significance and importance of Women going to Mikvah! We then ascended what felt like 50 more flights of stairs until we came face to face with an authentic schwarma vendor. In my schwarma laffa (lamb burrito), in addition to the main ingredient, there was hummus, a dash of spicy sauce, lettuce, onions, and cucumbers. Just the right amount of vegetables for me to delude myself into thinking I was eating healthy. The food was delicious, unbelievably messy (probably my fault), and quite filling.
We then went on a walking tour of Tzfat that culminated in a story with a powerful message about the Jewish people and Kaballah told by my Rabbi Chaim, followed by a visit to a temple of the rabbi who basically created the modern day Shabbat celebrations. Meaning the guy who decided Shabbat should be songs leaning towards celebration and not just incantations.
Our last stop in the city in the clouds was at an artists studio who was a transplant from Michigan (Go Blue!) who had lived in Israel for 20 years. His art was all symbolic of the teachings of Kaballah, he spoke with us about the importance of Kaballah and how it relates to Judaism and how important it is as a Jew to know that Kaballah exists.
This enlightening experience was the capstone to our first real day in Israel. We hopped back on the bus, and played some Israeli music on the journey home. We just finished dinner, and are preparing to hit the town for our first night out. Time to show Israel how JewCF parties (responsibly).
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