By Talia Subar
Having been to Israel five times, I realize I have become skeptical about tours I take around this amazing country. Before going on Nachshon I thought the tours I would be taking would all be the same, and that it would be hard for me to learn something new. The Tsfat tour with Jamie proved this to be wrong. Jamie enabled me, and many others to see Tsfat in a new light, and learn about Tsfat from a more historical perspective and not just a spiritual perspective. Jamie’s tour of Tsfat allowed me to appreciate Tsfat, one of my favorite areas in Israel, even more.
To me, a way I connected to Tsfat the most during this tour was when learning about the Ari Shul. When walking into this shul I instantly realized where I was. The unique and intricate architecture, full of colors and design is something hard to forget. Just from the appearance of the shul, I found it to be one of the most beautiful and special shuls to exist. I was a little skeptical before the tour of this shul because I had been to this shul many times, but although I recognized the shul’s interior and exterior I realized that knowing the physical features of the shul does not equate to knowing the history and story associated with the shul. I also realized that this stretched to many other aspects of Tsfat and Israel as well.
Jamie began by telling us about the history of this shul. This shul has been standing since the 16th century, a phenomenon when looking at the turmoils of Jewish history since the 1500s. Jamie also taught us about the history of the rabbi that led this shul in the beginning, and the influence he has had on Judaism today. Jamie told us about how this rabbi was very spiritual and would leave the shul during Kabbalat Shabbat services because he felt as though he could properly greet Shabbat this way. This act by one person in this small shul has effected Shabbat today. Today we take influence from this rabbi’s action and turn towards the entrance of the shul during Lecha Dodi, to properly greet Shabbat just like this rabbi did many years ago.
Another amazing thing I learned from Jamie at this shul was the miracle that happened inside the shul. During the War of Independence a bomb went off outside of the packed shul, and by a miracle everyone inside the shul was safe.
Jamie’s tour allowed me to see Tsfat in a new light, and to further understand how special the city was. This shul was just an example of the way Jamie allowed me to learn about Tsfat on a deeper level.
