Safed

This morning our bus left for Safed, one of Israel's four holy cities. After a short tour of the old city, home to a vibrant community of artists, we visited the gallery of David Friedman- a disciple of Jewish Mysticism- to learn about the teachings of Kabbalah. His unique style, fusing influences from Asia, the 1960's, and motifs from the Torah, becomes even more meaningful and attractive when one begins to understand the symbolismn Friedman employs in his work. In addition to Friedman's store we were able to explore the bustling art scene of Safed, which utilizes a wide variety of colors, mediums, and techniques to produce beautiful artwork and Judaica. Another aspect of the artists' colony that we saw was the famous candle shop, relocted in the basement of the old shop that was unfortunetly destroyed about two months ago in a fire. The store has begun restoring their collection, and we viewed a demonstration on how these candles and wax sculptures painstakingly are molded for display.

Before concluding our visit to Safed, we visited two of its famous Synagogues, which still host congregants today. Roshina, our tour guide, was extremely helpful in explaining the meaning behind the artwork and architecture of the Synagogues, as well as their storied histories. At the end of our tour, we stopped by the bus station to pick up three soldiers that will be joining us on our Birthright journey. Already, they have seemlessly integrated themselves into our group.

After leaving Safed, we traveled to Rosh Hanikra, descending by cable car to walk through the caverns carved by Seawater eroding rock. This site, home of Israel's legendary "Maid of the Mist", who watches over brides in the area, also features the remnants of British train tunnels that formed part of a key supply and escape route during WW2. Returning back to ground level in the cable car we witnessed a gorgeous orange sunset painted on the horizon of a clear blue Mediterranean Sea. This provided a fitting last piece of artwork with which to finish the day.

Rachel Elkin