On the second day in the north of Israel, Bus 927 explored the hidden secrets contained within the ancient city of Tzfat. This small city of 13,000 residents is characterized by small, winding stone alleys where each turn brings myriad surprises and lessons. This famous city is known for its association with the mystic and “superstitious” aspects of Judaism, formally entitled kabbalah. This name may sound familiar due to the high publicity surrounding Madonna’s intrigue in the ancient ways of this unique way of life. While we didn’t spot her during our visit, we heard tales of her previous kabbalah-inspired visit to Tzfat.
       On our tour of the city, our group visited three famous ancient synagogues. At each synagogue, there was a clear recurring theme. All the synagogues had some form of the color blue on the walls or on the ark itself. This color is meaningful to the people of Tzfat because it represents the eyes of a newborn baby which, according to kabbalah tradition, are unable to be penetrated by “evil spirits”.
       After exploring the synagogues, we made our way up winding steps to the top of a hill overlooking the city beneath. A group of environmental volunteers who are part of an organization called Livnot U’lehivanot  (literally meaning “to build and to be built up”) awaited us. The group’s task was to assist the construction of a park on the ruins of an ancient citadel dating back to The Crusades. The group’s goal is to bring nature back to the Tzfat community. During our time at the park, we built walls, planted vegetation, and even made concrete.
       Before embarking on the mission, we had the opportunity to hear from Ilan Shohat, the mayor of Tzfat and the youngest mayor in all of Israel. Ilan explained his interest in public service, recounting the moving story of the aunt he’s named after, who was killed by terrorists a year before he was born. He and his wife, Sivan, walked the group through the challenges he faces overseeing a city with such a diverse population. Tzfat was recently selected by the Israeli government as the site for the fifth medical school in the country.
       After the community service project, the group engaged in interesting hevruta-style learning, partnering off and discussing issues pertaining to the planting both real and metaphorical “trees” for future generations to enjoy. The work done in the park held special significance because it was Tu B’Shevat or the “15th of Shevat,” which is the holiday for trees in the Jewish calendar. Following the hard manual labor, the participants were given the opportunity to explore, eat, and shop in the winding streets and alleys of Tzfat. Needless to say, we did our part to support the local economy.
       The final stop for the day was a community center in Afula, the Israeli partnership city for the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island. Our program in Afula was run by a group called Tarbut, which literally means “culture” in Hebrew. The group is composed of post-army members of the Israeli community who are dedicated to educating youth in the arts. They live together in an “urban kibbutz” and their mission is to facilitate the expression of the arts in a society that is lacking the ability to “think outside the box”. It was interesting to see the two groups of young people engage in conversation and discuss various domestic issues in Israeli and American society. Many of the Birthright participants found these discussions to be quite enlightening. Three songs led by one member of Tarbut provided a nice opportunity to tie the cultural experience together for the two groups. Jodi Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”, John Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels”, and Leonard Cohen’s “Halleluyah” were all crowd favorites.
Tel Aviv awaits tomorrow!
 

-- Adam Hoffman ‘14