A View From the Hammock

Recently we were in Tsefat, Tsafat, Sefad, Sefat, Safat, Safad...for a Shabbat. We rented a car and three of us gals in the Cantorial Certification program took to the road. Our trip took us southeast to Jericho and north up the Jordan Valley. Boy was it hot! The Jordan Valley route separates Israel from Jordan along the Afro-Sryian rift...two tectonic plates that never really made friends. The terrain is desert like...especially in the summer. As we travelled north the two and a half hours it took to reach the Kinneret/Galil, we noticed several things; date palm groves (with the dates bagged on the tree), banana groves under burlap awnings, the Jordan River valley's fertile ground which appears to be utilized by Jordan, since there were border fences all along the route preventing us from getting near the river, and LOTS of the following graffiti.

Na...Nach...Nachma...Nachman...M'uman (in hebrew letters of course!)

What is this strange graffiti we find everywhere? Apparently it is a special string of words with a mystical meaning:

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman (Hebrew: נַ נַחְ נַחְמָ נַחְמָן מְאוּמַן‎) is a Hebrew language name and song used by a subgroup of Breslover Hasidim colloquially known as the Na Nachs. The complete phrase is Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me'uman. It is a kabbalistic formula ^[1] based on the four Hebrew letters of the name Nachman, referring to the founder of the Breslov movement, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, along with a reference to his burial place in Uman, Ukraine.
~Wikipedia
You can read more about this popular string of words online, and the Na Nachs are an interesting group in Israel. Their head covering is a white knitted cap bearing the Na..Nach...words, as in the picture. Na Nachs are thought of kind of like religious hippies here. The magical words originated on a note allegedly written by  Nachman of Breslov. 
The note is here on the right.



When we arrived at Tsafat (choose your own spelling) we were blessed to stay at a childhood friend of Alisa's. Ricki and her husband, Dubi run a B&B in Tsafat called the:
SAFED INN. It was a wonderful oasis in our time in Israel. Ricki and Dubi made us feel completely at home. Ricki is a spectacular cook, making her own cheeses, jams and liqueurs from their garden. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful the food was a the Ruckensteins Safed Inn!
The old city of Safed is a delight to explore. Hundreds of years of mystics, Kabbalist Rabbis have studied and taught here. Their graves are pilgrimages to thousands. The Thursday evening and friday we were there was the yahrzeit of Ha Ari, known as Isaac (ben Solomon) Luria Ashkenazi (1534 – July 25, 1572). Lots of pilgrims are in town to sit at the grave. 

On Friday we three explored the old city of Safed. It is a charming and enchanting place of artist studios, small synagogues. Here are some of the sights that drew my attention.

The engraving of the city name on the garbage receptacles.











An old city alley way.

A Safed cat with two kittens.

View inside an interesting sculpture shop.









Self portrait in shadow.

 Safed Candle Shop...gorgeous multicoloured candles. 

 View down towards the gravesites of famous Safed Rabbis.

Beautiful stained glass synagogue doors.

Beautiful window.

Stained glass window featuring the Sephirot.

Street scene.

Saying affixed to a wall in the street.

Directions to one of my favourite artists, David Friedman.

Alley view with afternoon sun.

David Friedman's studio.

My friends, Alisa and Laurie taking in the view.

 Bar Yochai Street...just cool!

Sunsets on the old city of Safed.












All in all it was a magical Shabbat in Safad...no matter how you spell it. I waited a long time in my life to be able to visit this amazing place and I hope to return one day soon!