Shabbaton in Tsfat

As I'm writing this, my face is burnt, soon to be peeling. It hurts every time I scrunch my nose. I always forget to put on sunscreen, which is usually fine, but can be a problem if you are going to spend a lot of time out in the hot Tsfat sun.

The sun was so strong, a fiery ball high up in the sky. It was so perfect, I wanted to reach up and grab it, hold it in the palm of my hand.

I always say I don't 'do' hikes. But I did this one. The weather was gorgeous, the view was stunning, and the hike was not bad at all. We went from the mountains of canaan, to Rosh Pina. It was more like walking through a field, then climbing any mountain. There were lots of cows along the way. I stopped to say hi, and give the my number, until my friend reminded me that they are israeli, and probably only spoke hebrew. Oh well.

We wet to Amuka, where a holy person, Yonatan ben Uziel, is burried. Among the many things people come to daven for, it is known that praying at his grave is a segulah for a shidduch. You circle the roof seven times while saying Ana B'koach. I tried it, and who knows, maybe it'll work.

We showed up from the hike, hot and sweaty, and tired, to be greeted by 250 girls from other seminaries in Israel. It was like a camp reunion all over again. Except we stood out, in t-shirts and sneakers, while everyone else was in blouses and skirts, looking like the perfect put together sem girls. What an entrance. Shrieking, laughter, and hugging filled the halls of the main dining room. We were girls, and we hadn't seen each other in...about 2 weeks. Typical. And our shabbaton had begun.

Friday we woke up early. The host seminary had a packed program planned, but my friends and I ditched, and went out on our own to explore. I always say that the most fun is spontaneous.

We found the 'midrachov', the main center of Tsfat. A quant cobblestone street filled with shops, and resteraunts. It was busy, and packed, on this friday afternoon, everyone shopping, and getting ready for shabbos.

We made our way down to where the old part is. It was like stepping back in time. The street is so narrow, the houses are old, and a lot of the original structure of the house is intact. Little boys, and old men, in long peyos and black coats walked by. They glanced at us like we were the strange ones. I guess in their world we were out of place.

Next we went to the old cemetary. On the way, we stopped at an overpass, where theres a fence, and a gorgeous view of the mountains, valleys, sun and sky. I stood on the ledge by the railing, leaned back with my eyes closed, and breathed in deeply. It was so peaceful, a soft wind blowing. I felt at one with nature, serene.

We davened at kivrai Tzaddikim, prayed for anything and everything. I was kind of sad, being in a cemetary, among the dead. I felt bad that they had to live in the ground, while I walked around free. Though some of the graves were really cool.

Returning to the seminary, hectic rush to get ready for shabbos, line for the showers, last one, no hot water. Applying makeup 5 minutes before candle lighting, getting dressed, hair dripping wet, running to go light. Two minutes left. A crush of girls all trying to get near the candles, can't reach the tzeddaka box, put in some pennies, light my candle, watch the wick catch fire, get pushed to the side, cover my eyes, talk to G-d, say the blessing, take a deap breath- and its shabbos at last.

Sitting outside watching the sunset, I felt at peace. It was shabbos in holy tsfat, and all was ok. The sun sank so fast, it was there one second, and the next time I looked, it was gone, hiding behind the mountains, begining to rise in another part of the world.

Joining the other girls for a program, davening together, lecha dodi, welcoming shabbos. Making our way to the dining room, where a crowd of 300 girls were trying to squuuuesh into one small room. But if theres room in the heart, theres room at the table. We all fit, though it was clausteraphobic. The food was good and plantyful. And there was chicken soup. I think it's not shabbos with out chicken soup. There were inspiring divrei Torah, and each of the 4 rabbis there spoke. All in all, it was a nice meal.

Afterwards there was a farbrengin with the rabbis, but I had my own mini farbrengin with my friends. More close and personal. And the greatest thoughts come late at night, when you are tired and in need of sleep.

Shabbos day was hot. Once it started, it just didn't stop. I woke up early, and there was so much happening, that I decided to just store it all, and think about it later. We had breakfast and a shiur, davening, our meal. Rest hour, we went back to the old city, got lost, found our way. It was so weird, but nice to see the same streets that were so busy and full on friday, now quiet and empty. The spirit of shabbos. We tried asking some kids to use their mini bikes, but they claimed we would break them. Then we asked a little girl to borrow her ball, my friend stood in the street playing the game, 'A my name is'... as the little girls watched on in amazement, wondering what this weird american girl was doing. Our walk finished off with a hike up the road, the streets are all hills there. We tried running up the street, but almost collapsed after 10 seconds. My friend wanted to climb up the rocks, but didn't get very far.

Back at the sem, we had shalosh seudas, a game for pirkai avos, mincha, and seder niggunim, till the end of shabbos. 300 girls singing together, the age old melodies, was a beautiful way to end shabbos. We said goodbye to shabbos, a bit sad. Daven maariv, sefira, havdala, smashed together in the dining room. Back to our rooms, pack up and change for the banquet. An amazing MC, my dear friend. A nice program, with a speaker all the way from Italy. A video prensentation, and to end it off, a group picture with all 300 girls. 1 am, our bus was waiting, impatiantly, as we all hugged our friends, and said goodbye. I didn't want to leave, didn't want to get on the bus, but the driver threatened to leave without me, and being israeli, I knew he would do just that. So I got on the bus, and the shabbaton was over.

I'm still feeling things from shabbos, reliving the experiance, and trying to grow and change from it. There was a lot to internalize in just 3 short days. It was hard to say goodbye to all my friends, and the gorgeous Tsfat mountains. I would have loved to wake up to that view every morning. It was hard to return to sem, and regular life. The shabbaton was an escape, an oasis, and now it was time to go back. But all good things must come to an end. I only hope that I changed from the experiance, in some small way, and that it will have an impact on my life.

And I know that the experiance will live on, and stay with me forever.