We stopped first in Tzfat, where we toured a few synagogues, did some shopping, and ate lunch. We encountered a rather tyrannical, fascist, demogogic, (what else can I say) individual in one of the synagogues who first protested that 7 and 8 year old girls had ONLY their shoulders covered and not their elbows when they entered the synagogue he was working. Then, he was quite obnoxious about getting us to give tzedakah money. Then, and worst of all, when we were all standing OUTSIDE the synagogue, in a nearby courtyard, singing L'cha Dodi, which was written at that synagogue, he came outside and YELLED at us for disrespecting a holy place. Our offense: having women sing alongside men. If only I would have told them, "that actually wasn't just a woman singing, that was our rabbi." Alas, better not to go there...
We did a little shopping, got some communal gifts for Rabbi Stacy and Irene, our educator, to thank them for all they have done for the group, and then headed back to the bus.
We stopped next in Caesaria and sat on the beach while the girls (and most of the group) took a nice ocean swim. This was the place where Hannah Senesh wrote Eili Eili (Our God, we pray that these things never end, the sand and the sea, the rush of the waters, the flash of the heavens, the prayers of man.). We didn't have any storms in the heavens but the rest of it was vivid and inspiring.
We headed into Tel Aviv and enjoyed our last meal (NOT last supper) together in the Yemenite section of Tel Aviv. The restaurant was GREAT even as the surroundings were the worst I've seen in Tel Aviv (or Israel). We took advantage of the rule that Havdalah can be delayed until as late as Tuesday in order to make our havdalah tonight, to separate the holiness of our time in Israel from the mundane...dare I say it....of San Rafael and Marin. It was as meaningful as it was for us....as it was curious for the Israeli passerbys wondering who are these people, why are they praying havdalah with men and women together, and WHY are they doing it on Sunday night? Reformim!
We said goodbye to our group, hired a taxi to move us and our 235, 435 pieces of luggage (OK, only 4 large suitcases and 7 hand things; but it felt like more) to the Crown Plaza Hotel in Tel Aviv. We made a bunch of phone calls to friends and relatives as we set up the next two days before we head back to Jerusalem for Marci's Wexner week.
Rebecca delivering her d'var..
Shayna and Emma at the Kfar Blum pool..
Shayna and Rebecca swimming at Caesaria..
I think I remember the same alte kokker from 1975 (no joke) who latched on to my family in Tsfat and insisted on giving us a "tour" of the cemetery where the holy rabbis were buried (sesing a quick $$ payday I am sure) and kept complaining all the way down the hill "mein heart, oy mein heart". Of course to a 14 year old adolescent (me, at the time) that got translated to "my nards, oy my nards" and became one of the comedic touchstones of my first experience in Israel. Looks like 34 years later the guy is still patroling the shuls in Tsfat giving tourists a hard time. Thanks for the trip down memory lane...
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