*This is long...feel free to skim*
We got on a bus which was a little crazy, but fine once we were actually on the bus. It was about a 2 hour drive - a good nap. We got off the bus, waited for a taxi, got ripped off by said taxi, and arrived at the hostel "Port Inn." It's a really nice, clean, and fairly inexpensive hostel w/breakfast included. We got ready for Shabbat and took a cab to meet Rabbi Edgar Nof (more about him in a sec). The cab driver was great! We talked in Hebrew the entire time. It was such good practice and he was incredibly helpful and nice. I don't always find that is the case in Jerusalem. It is much more frequent that I'll start a conversation in Hebrew, but the Israeli at some point will switch back to English. It's frustrating and was nice to only have a Hebrew option in Haifa.
Boston and Haifa are sister cities. When I realized that I would be in Haifa, I emailed my rabbi in Boston to ask for a connection and he gave me Rabbi Nof's name. Rabbi Nof picked us up and brought us to his synagogue, Or Hadash. The synagogue is beautiful and very big for a Progressive synagogue in Israel. The synaoggue has been in existence since the 1960s, but hte building was built in the 1990s. They have a huge focus on social action/tikkun olam. Among their many projects, they help immigrants/refugees from Darfur who have escaped. They have a support group for mothers who have lost children in suicide bombings. They building is handicapped accessible. They run a beautiful preschoo, they have a youth lounge. Most striking was their bomb shelter which they were forced to use a lot during the second Lebanon war. At first I didn't realize that it was a bomb shelter - it looked like a very nicely decorated gym or auditorium area. Rabbi Nof explained that they often had to hold B'nai Mitzvah services in the bomb shelter. The Conservative congregation in Haifa didn't have an appropriate shelter so they needed to come as well and it became the first Reform/Conservative congregation.
Rabbi Nof is a spectacular rabbi. He acts as the rabbi, cantor, and educator at the synagogue. He is originally from Argentina, but made aliyah many years ago. He started at JTS, but left when they decided that women can not be rabbis and started studying at the rabbinical program at HUC in Jerusalem. he got his doctorate as well and is now in his 18th year of being a rabbi. He is one of the most humble people I have ever met. He is a just spectacular.
Rabbi Nof invited me and Lauren to sing in the services, which we agreed to right away. I had brought along B'Yado by Craig Taubman and was able to play on guitar. He also invited us to sing the candle blessings and Ahavat Olam. About 2 minutes before the service began he said, my daughter who usually sings is not here tonight - so sing with me the entire service! So we did :) It felt so wonderful to be on a bimah singing again. It was wonderful.
The next morning was our first full day in Haifa. We got up and had a delicious Israeli breakfast with two girls from Holland and then we were off to the beach! It felt a little early (10, 10:30ish) but we decided to go anyway. The beach was gorgeous. We found a good spot in the shade, laid down our blankets and read. Glorious. We took turns going into the water. It was a lovely blueish green color and was just cool enough to be incredibly refreshing. I even had a beer on the beach! Sooooo relaxing. It was great. After a lovely tuna salad lunch, we continued our reading and going in the water cycle.
Our last day in Haifa was spent sight-seeing. We took the subway (Carmelite...because it goes to Carmel!). I'm pretty sure it's the only subway in Israel. When we got there we first went to the Mane Katz museum. Mane Katz was an artist and sculptor. He did a lot of work in France. Particularly in the 1940s he made sculptures of Jewish musicians. He also had a huge collection of Judaica from antique shops in Paris. He eventually bought a house in Haifa which is now the site of the Museum. In the museum are the artifacts he collected (rugs, chests, other Judaica) as well as his artwork. After lunch we went to the Ba'hai Gardens! The Bahai faith is a bit complicated. It's a relatively new religion (our guide stressed that it is not a cult). They believe that there is only one god, but many messengers of God (Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, etc). They belive above all things in equality and justice. Their founded Bab, is said to be buried in the mosque at the gardens which is why it's a holy site. The gardens surrounding it are not as important or significant as the mosque. The actual gardens are beautiful. They are very symmetrical which again represents equality and justice. All the workers are volunteers and of the Bahai faith. There are 7 million people of the Bahai faith in 250 countries around the world. Interestingly, they only accept monetary donations from people who are Bahai. The guide said they don't want someone (like Bill Gates, for example) to donate $1 billion and then turn it into something else. Also, our guide was Israeli, not Bahai. She said they don't want it to feel like they proselytize and try to convert people. It was all very interesting -- and the pictures are gorgeous!
For the first time since arriving in Israel, I really felt like I was IN Israel. I used my Hebrew more in the two days I was in Haifa that I have in the 2 months I've been in Israel. It's was fantastic! It's also a much cleaner city than Jerusalem...hardly any trash at all. And I loved being so close to the water. I'm very much looking forward to returning to Haifa this year!
After Haifa, Lauren and I traveled to Tzfat together. We dropped our stuff at the hotel and went for lunch at California Falafel (supposedly the best in Tzfat...it was really good!). We decided after lunch to go sigh seeing. It turns out that Tzfat is fairly difficult to navigate. The streets are not laid out well at all. Eventually we found the artists' colony which was lots of fun and walked through. I found a necklace there. It's beautiful. I forgot to haggle though...oops. After shopping we went to find Safed Canles and Eliezer's books. It took us about 1 hour to find it. It was ridiculous, but eventually we got there and I got a few sets of beautiful Shabbat candles. We also found Haari Synaogue in the area. The colors were beautiful. It's apparently still in use today as well. At dinner overlooking the Mts and sunset, I found that I had mixed feelings about Tzfat. it's a beautiful city, but rather frustrating to get around and not nearly as fun/interesting without a guide. I also didn't feel like I could be myself. It was like there was judgement constantly about how I practice Judaism. I felt it more than I ever had in Jerusalem. It was a little disappointing, but I still had a great time with Lauren.
I miss you all very much!
My love,
Sarah
My love,
Sarah
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