TL-46-2/577 Update 2
Wednesday, May 4th — Day 3 Update
Today was filled with ascents. After our breakfast at the hostel in Tel Hai, we departed for Mount Meiron. Along the way, we passed by Circassian, Christian, and Muslim localities as we traveled along winding mountain roads to a remote hiking activity along a portion of the Israel National Trail. Sneakers on, we hopped off the bus and onto a stony walking path lined by wildflowers. We paused along the way, investing short lessons about the landscape into our time, including a visit to the ruins of a centuries-old winepress, and ultimately back to the bus. There, air raid sirens began a two-minute blast: a moment to honor the fallen as Yom HaZikaron, the Memorial Day of the State of Israel, was underway until sunset.
After this, we embarked on a journey into Jewish spirituality in Tzfat, one of the four holy cities in Judaism along with Jerusalem, Tiberias, and Hebron. We met with Avraham Loewenthal, who spoke on Kabbalah, Chasidism, and his journey from a secular American to a religious artist living in Tzfat. For many people in the United States and Canada, their preconceived notions are that religious Judaism is dry and confining. In Avraham’s talk and question-and-answer session, we learned of a living, mystical Judaism where every stone, every leaf, every animal, and every person on earth is part of a vibrant Lord whose presence can be found in everything that exists.
Next, we had a mixture of self-guided exploration, and sessions led by our guide. We learned about some of the greatest minds in Jewish history, and the way that Tzfat was woven into their lives and careers. Various religious people greeted us, encouraging us to wear tefilin, or even to study with them. We also had the incredible experience of crossing paths with a Taglit participant from a trip several months earlier, who had been so overwhelmed by Tzfat that he put his secular life totally on hold and had stayed to join a yeshiva. He shared some of his journey with us, along with some laughs and anecdotes about how Taglit was a life-altering social experience.
Another person we crossed paths with was one of our extraordinarily dedicated liaisons. She met us at the airport and was checking on our group. The success of a Taglit trip centers on the participants, but there is a massive support network of people who devote their careers to each aspect of the journey. Our liaison had attended to various issues, ranging from SIM card questions to urgent inquiries, allowing challenges to fade into the background so we could focus on learning and absorbing the incredible gift of a Taglit trip.
After the very earthly and spiritual ascents of the day, up next was a return to the hotel for dinner, followed by our last kind of ascent: communal joy, with an outing to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut, the Independence Day of the State of Israel. We went to Qiryat Shmona, a development town known as a practical, hard-working locality with major communities of Jews who had been expelled from Islamic countries. We were immersed in music, food, and a festival atmosphere as singers performed, hundreds of families gathered, and fireworks blasted overhead.
While some larger cities like Tel Aviv are known for their “bar none” celebrations, Qiryat Shmona was a special, family-oriented environment for Yom HaAtzmaut. This town symbolized the perseverance and rebirth of Jewish communities that the world had tried to totally eradicate, and even recently most of its residents had been evacuated temporarily due to rains of bombs being launched from nearby Lebanon. But the families returned, conveying those eternal Jewish values of happiness, family, and fruitfulness.
