Hey Everybody,

Welcome to Tzfat! This morning some of us participated in Shacharit (morning prayer service) while others started the first of our prayer workshop sessions! After that, we (Moshe- advisor- and Binyamin- tour guide) artfully packed the bus again so we could continue on our way to Tzfat. We took a minor detour and went to the Rosh Hanikrah cliffs and grottos, which overlook the Mediteranean Sea. We took a steep cable car down to the grottos, and before wandering through them we watched a fascinating movie informing us a little about the history of Rosh Hanikrah and the surrounding environment. Then we were given the opportunity to wander through the caves and see how the water carved the grottos throughout the years. We then ascended back up on the cable car where we enjoyed lunch. Our medic, Menachem, told us a little bit about his experience in the army and some of the military significances of Rosh Hanikrah’s position near the Lebanese border. Tired of the heat, we made it back to the bus and continued on our way to Tzfat. Upon arriving in Tzfat, we unloaded the luggage, and because most of the streets of Tzfat are too narrow to drive a bus through, a trailer had to collect our bags while we walked a few minutes to the Metsudah Hotel (also known as the Mercazi). We got settled into our rooms and then enjoyed a little bit of free time. At 5:30, we made our way to the Artist Colony, located just a few blocks from the hotel. Many enjoyed bartering with the store owners and collecting nice peices of jewelry and art. We returned back to the hotel and some of us experienced a Mincha (afternoon prayer) of a fast day, which is a little bit longer than usual because we read from the Torah. Today is called Shiv’ah Asar B’tamuz- the 17th day of the month of Tamuz. It commemorates when the Second Temple’s walls were breeched after a seige was set on the city for months prior. At 8:20, when the fast was officially over, we all reconvened for dinner. After dinner, we broke up into our Chaburas- which are our learning/ discussion groups for the month. Our first topic discussed the concept of G-d and different approaches to believing in G-d. By 12, everyone was wiped and were sent to their rooms for a nice long night of sleep.

Keep reading!  Also our pictures can be found on facebook under the TJJ Bus 2 page.