Thursday, July 2 Tzfat to Jerusalem

We stayed last night at the Ruth Rimonim Hotel in Tzfat, where the Goldsteins (Phil, Ari, Hallie) had been staying for the last few days. We were up early in order to finish breakfast, pack up, check out, and be ready for a guided walk from the Hotel to the Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue at 7:45 am. It turns out that the synagogue for the bar mitzvah is the same one we visited a few days ago with the Rodef Sholom trip (and the rather strict South African who demanded that 9 year olds cover from wrists to ankles and that women, even if they ARE rabbis, not sing from the plaza outside). This time, though, we enjoyed a guided tour from the bar mitzvah dad, Baruch Cohen, who told us of his family's multi-generational roots in Tzfat. In fact, the Torah ark tapestry cover was created by the Cohen family and, had we taken the time to read it on our last tour, perhaps could have pulled some "hazakah" (strength, or a strong arm) on the guy a few days ago. The girls went upstairs to the balcony where they learned, among other things, that they are not REALLY into the gender divisions of Orthodox Judaism (or at least that practiced at the Ari synagogue in Tzfat). I put on a talit and t'fillin (for the second time on this trip) and was invited to "sit anywhere" on the ground floor of a tiny synagogue, with a large stair and second-story structure in the center for reading Torah. I did enjoy the decision to sit in the same seat as was occupied by our South African friend a few days before. While the prayers continued, we stood and sat; I followed along as I could though the melodies were all different. At one point, a woman came down from the balcony and walked across the men's service. Interesting... Must be some sort of exception for the family of the bar mitzvah... Alas...minutes later, she walked back holding a cup of coffee. Must be coffee service in the rear of the synagogue.. The service continued. About five minutes later, another woman entered and walked to the back. She re-appeared holding a cup of tea. Must be tea in the rear of the synagogue. The service continued. About 3 minutes later, yet another woman appeared, went to the back, and came back with a rather large roll. Must be...

Tal, the bar mitzvah, was called to the Torah; we all sang and celebrated; the kids all through candy from both the floor to the second level Torah reading spot, as well as from the balcony above.

Phil and I sat outside the synagogue after the service waiting for a tour of Tzfat, only to realize that our kids were not there...and we didn't know where they were. I went back to the entrance to the balcony and it was already locked. After a little investigation, we were brought back into the synagogue, guided to the rear, walked through a door, and VOILA, a rather large banquet room with dozens of people, including our children, seated at a long table eating a catered (and home made) lunch. NOW I understand why all the women were walking back and forth!

I joined them at the table, ate lots of good food, and then Baruch, the bar mitzvah dad, came to me and said that in this very room Kabbalah was studied by its founders centuries ago. Fantastic. And to think I was eating cucumbers and bell peppers in the same spot!

Baruch's brother and sister took us on a tour of the town. They wanted to show us their grandparents house. When we arrived, it had a Hebrew sign on the outdoor wall stating that this was the home of Tauro, one of the founders of Kabbalah. That was way cool. They took us then to a small, family run cheese factory where we sampled a bunch of cheeses and bought a bunch more to bring home. Not to worry..we purchased the cheeses that don't require refrigeration. Lezak, get ready for a very holy tasting!

The girls and I made a shopping dash up and down the artists street. Tomorrow is our 15th wedding anniversary and thanks to Rebecca's sharp eye, we found a great peace of art depicting Yemin Moshe in Jerusalem. Anniversary gift to Marci. CHECK.

Rebecca had a custom pair of earrings made for her and Shayna found a necklace. We all ate ice cream and headed back to the hotel to gather our suitcases and head back to Jerusalem.

The Goldsteins invited us to join them in their private mini-bus, assuming it was large enough. The thought of NOT taking public transportation back?? When a 16 passenger bus arrived, we all smiled. When the driver said, "I thought only 3 people," we became a very quick family. Phil, my new brother-in-law, welcomed us on the bus and off we went.

Driver (not quite sure he actually believes where one family): What hotel are you going to?

Phil: King David.

Driver: And what hotel are YOU going to?

Marc: King David

So, we PRETENDED to be guests at the King David; then took the quick walk to the David Citadel.

We've run into my new brother, niece, and nephew a few times in Jerusalem. Oh, how nice it is to bump into family when you travel.

After a few hours of rest, we decided to conduct our own version of an Israeli restaurant taste test. We were still craving sushi so we went, this time, to the non-kosher restaurant to see if, indeed, non-kosher was better.

Truth be told, we all decided we'd had enough sushi in Israel and we were looking forward to having, how shall we call it.....sushi......when we get home!

The girls and I took the bus to the central bus station where we tried to get a refund on the unused tzfat tickets. Since they wouldn't issue a refund, we decided to give the tickets away to Israelis waiting for the tzfat bus. Funny thing, we had a real hard time giving them away. Its not that we LOOKED like tourists, but when a very Americanized Hebrew speaking man with two daughters does, indeed, tell you the tickets are free, he's not going to use them, and needs to return to the US, its OK to take them. Eventually, two women took pity on us and took the tickets.

We made one more attempt to find the family of an old friend from a trip 15 years ago. While we didn't find them, Rebecca did SCREAM walking down the street saying someone was spitting on her. I looked up and saw three haredi boys with a squirt gun several floors above... Oh, the joy of chastising them in Hebrew. Then, a few grandmas came by on the street and asked what happened. I explained and then THEY started yelling at the boys. I love Israel.

We ended up walking all the way back to the Hotel where we all but collapsed in the room. When Marci finally finished Wexner about 10 pm, she wanted to head into town for waffles and ice cream. Rebecca and I stayed in the room to sleep. Shayna, the party animal, headed out for more...