✡ The last 2 days wrap up the tour of The North starting with the morning in Safed – the birth place of Kaballah and The Shulchan Aruch, oh and Lecha Dodi. We wander the streets of the Old Jewish Area, starting with the old cemetery at the bottom of the hill. I saw most of this part of the Sefad last time I was in Israel.
However, the H’Ari Mikvah was now seemingly renovated and has a new entrance on it. Which make it much more stately and in line with the stature H’Ari has amongst Jews. A good place to stop for a light snack of falafel and orange juice is a kiosk at the end (or start) of the central street of this part of Sefad. We have an interesting incident where a man explain to Antony there the reason Jews are in positions of power lies solely in their believe in Hashem. “You have to believe in something to be strong,” he exclaims.
Next stop Rashbi’s tomb. We drive up to the top of Mt. Meron, no luck. We drive back and forth past an intersection under construction and finally I read the sign in Hebrew – 4 times we drive past it. But finally we manage to figure out how to get there. My advice: pay attention to the signs in Hebrew, there are none in English. Once inside the tomb, which is the nicest I have seen. There are many Jews inside ecstatically praying. Interesting to witness. We are somewhat accosted by Orthodox Jews of one brand or another to lay Tefillin. I explain there I have done it already to day and one replies, “Did you do it HERE!?!?” There are people setting up tents outside preparing to Lab B’Omer in a week.
We arrive in Manot at the cabin for the night. It would seem that the people who run these cabin expect phone calls the day of arrival to reassure them that you are on your way – mental note for next time! It has a nice view of the valley and the mountains separating Israel from Lebanon, an outdoor bathtub, and an astonishing mural of a fairy tree that has butterfly leaves.
I get to chat with Idan and thank him for all his hard work in the cabin section. Each of our stops has been a wonderful respite from the loud outside world. Well except the birds, I have no idea how birds can be so loud, but in Israel they manage to be quite assertively loud.
Monday means head towards Haifa via Rosh Ha Nikra and Acre. Having been to both these places before it was slightly anti climactic. But Dan and Anthony love them both, which is good, they are cool places, maybe not the kind of places you need to be twice in 1 year.
That comment aside, I did get to see the Al Jezzar Mosque which was closed last time I was there. This mosque is in use and quite pretty inside. Akko is a statement to the issues surrounding Arabs living in Israel. As it was Independence Day here about a week ago, flag abound, but in the Arab areas of Israel not a single Israeli flag could be found. No comment needed, just ponder that one for yourself.
The day wraps up with an eventful landing of my great white whale: Elijah’s Cave! After hours of searching last time I was in Haifa, with Idan, this time we manged to find it and go inside. Pretty cool!!! The one and only Prophet Elijah prayed here on the way to battle Baal. Powerful spot. So powerful that the women on the left side were making so much noise that one of 2 men on the men’s side shushed them. Ah, Jewish gender roles…
We spend the last few hours of daylight watching the shadows change on the Baha’i Gardens – one of the most special things I have seen in the world. Nothing else compares to this, not even the most sophisticated English garden owned by the Queen. Simply a wonderful sight to behold.