Our house is a very very small house… Our entire Tzimmer (rental unit) is smaller than our kitchen in Maine. We have no stove, and most of our kitchen counter space is taken by electric 2-burner hotplate. Because the storage is small, we have to do shopping every day, but luckily the stores are all within 5 minutes walk. Our favorite shopping place is Yoram’s vegetable Market. In Israel you have to be careful of Trumot and Maasrot (the laws of fruit and vegetables grown in the Land of Israel), but all of Yoram’s produce is kosher accordingly to all the laws. Like many businesses in Tzfat it is a small family-owned business, and we sometimes see his teenage children taking his place in the store helping customers. We never before had such fresh, juicy, delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, full of holiness of the Land of Israel. Yoram is always smiling and friendly, and works long hours. On Fridays we see how he sends huge shipments of produce to hotels and large families to get ready for Shabbos.
Our favorite bakery is similarly a tiny family-owned place, with the constant supply of fresh, warm, just-out-of-oven bread and pastry.For the same reason of little storage place, we also have to cook every day, but much simpler than we used to, unless we are tired and decide to go out to eat in one of many small restaurants within 10 minutes walk. Like Yoram’s market, many of them are tiny one-man operations, with simple food such as kebabs, falafel, shavarma, shakshuka and very simple way to serve food. There are a few fancier restaurants with nicer accomodations and great views. Normally in Israel the town this size would hardly have any restaurants, but Tzfat is a summer vacation place, destination for great Shabbos experience, and in a last few years – a college town, with many college students. Most of the students are arabs, who come to eat in all Jewish restaurants and it is good for Tzfat economy.We have a favorite place for buying cheese, also one-man cheese factory called “Kadosh” that has a most delicious selection of cheeses and chalvas produced right there.
Coming with only 2 suitecases each, we could not bring many books, which we need for our Torah learning and classes we are taking, so we have to buy sforim (Jewish books) here. Fortunately, there are at least half dozen book stores, all close by, which are likewise small family-owned businesses, run by one person, with his children sometimes helping out. Some of the books we buy we have in Maine, but it does not help us here, so our new library of Jewish books is growing more than our current accommodations allow…Even simple daily activities are meaningful, because they make us feel being part of life in Israel, and it is a joyous experience.
We are looking forward to having our own place here, hopefully soon. Wishing everybody Shabbat Shalom.

After three and a half weeks, we are still enjoying the status of being “new” and have many invitations for Shabbos meals. That helps making new friends, and also to go to the different shuls, as we join our hosts in the shul they daven, to be able to share part of their life. So this past Shabbos we discovered a new shul – “Chertkov” – a tiny shul that we would not even find by ourselves as it is completely hidden in a labirinth of small alleys. Because it is hidden, there are no tourists there, only locals, about 20 people, all men dressed in black bekeshe, white socks and black shtreimels, and just a few women in women’s section. Because we came with Eber’s friend Yakov, people were immediately friendly to us, welcoming us warmly, asking where we came from etc. In this shul, it was first time that we heard Breslov “Lecha Dodi” since we came to Tzfat (They don’t do Breslov Lecha Dodi in Breslov shul.) Every shul is a totally different experience, but always positive, and there is still a lot to explore and figure out what is the best for us. Besides Shabbos service, we enjoyed both Shabbos meals in a company of English speakers, from US, England, France, Canada. There were people who made Alyah 10 years ago, 4 years ago, 7 moths ago, and us, the most new. At both meals, there was delicious food, prepared with a lot of caring and love, and an animated discussion about the Torah portion, with hosts giving dvar Torah, sharing the insights from their weekly learning, and guests actively contributing to the discussion, making Torah come alive at the Shabbos table. The apartment where we had lunch together with three more couples had a magnificent view of Kineret in a distance, which provided a pefect backgound for the conversation at the table. Then the discussion moved to personal stories of Alyah, and we stayed long at that table, reluctant to part with each other.Every day in Tzfat is amazing, especially Shabbos.

When we lived in Maine, we had difficulty finding a minyan, and now in Tsfat, we have a different difficulty deciding which minyan to go to.Within 10 minutes walk, there are at least 50 minyanim to choose from! Eber’s preference currently for morning prayer is Synagogue of Sanz Chasidim, which has many minyanim for morning, afternoon and evening prayer. He goes to 7 am minyan and likes the fact that it is small (15 to 30 men every day), clean, new, and people pray with passion. He made new friends there – all interesting unusual characters, and just from that community we already have invitations for quite a few of the coming Shabboses.
We are also enjoying learning opportunities we found so far. Together we go to the Hebrew Ulpan Mondays and Wednesday, from 8:30 am to 1 pm.  The best part for us is not the Hebrew, which is way bellow our level, but the people. Some of the students are in Israel for several years, and some just arrived, like us. After two weeks of the course, we have not learned much new Hebrew, but made many new friends, all very different from each other, each with interesting personal story. 
In one of my previous emails, I mentioned that on our first week in Tsfat, while eating at a restaurant, we made an acquaintance of a Rabbi and Rebetzen who run one of the local yeshivot. This resulted in Eber being introduced to another Rabbi whose study partner just left, and Eber became his new Gemarrah study partner two times a week, at 11 AM. His teacher is about same age as Eber, and has incredible knowledge of Talmud and history of all the Rabbonim who wrote the Talmud. Eber wanted to make a good impression and prepared for the first class. But as soon as he told the teacher that he prepared the page he assigned with the help of an outside source – the teacher said ” OK, we are not learning this page, we’ll learn a different page”, and instructed Eber not to use English language sources at all. Eber also has some common interests with his teacher, as they both are history buffs. 
We also found a very interesting Rabbi – Alon Anava, who made Alyah two years ago and already established a new shul and Beit Medrash in Tsfat. He has a learning program for women, that has been running for 2 years now, and to which I have been coming recently three days a week in the morning. There are three sessions, different on each day, but always using original sources in Hebrew, and interesting analysis of these sources, on various subjects. Rabbi Anava started men’s learning program just recently, few months ago, and teaches men’s class early morning, and then another class after mincha, and Eber not only attends early morning class, rushing there from his regular Sanz minyan three days of week that he does not have Ulpan, but also  prays Mincha there every week day as well in order to attend the Halacha class following Mincha. At 6 pm, we both return to Rabbi Anava shul to attend Zohar class for both men and women.  The original Aramaic text of the Zohar is used, and the teacher reads, translates and explains the text. I have been following the Zohar text loaded on my cell phone using the app “Sefaria”.
Besides Rabbi Anava new enterprise, there is Breslov  “Baalei Batim” daily Daf Yomi class that meets on Shabbos after Shacharit, and on other days at 8 pm, all in Hebrew, very lively and boisterous. Eber attended it a few times on Shabbos, and really enjoyed it, and wants to try too attend daily as well.
For me there is also a women learning group called “Bas Medrash” on Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, hosted by Judy, who opens her apartment/pottery studio for women’s learning two days a week. Many English speakers come to this group, and there is an atmosphere of camaraderie, passion for learning, always excellent speakers, good food, mutual support, laughter, and opportunity to join one of several groups that learn together accordingly to their interests and level of Hebrew  knowledge. I joined a group that learns Mikraot Gdolot focusing on Torah text and various commentaries’ language and meaning. I like that women’s group so much, that I play hockey from the morning part of my Monday Ulpan. On Wednesdays afternoon the women’s group also has an excellent Hebrew class, taught by Susan, originally from Newton, MA  who made Alyah to Tzfat 16 years ago.While rushing from our home to the next class, we stop for a minute to take a picture of a stunning scenery….

We have been invited for Friday night by friends of a friend from Jerusalem, and decided to meet them at their shul – “The House of Love and Prayer” – the place where the followers of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach get together to pray in Tzfat. We walked there under the pouring rain, on stone streets covered with rushing streems of water. When we got to where we thought it was, we could not find it, there was no signs, and no people – just an empty building… so we joined some people walking in opposite direction, and ended up in another Carlebach place – famous Beirav shul – a tiny historic stone shul, about as big as Americal living room. At first, there were just a few people, but then the place started to fill up with chasidim,  sephardim, yeshiva bachurs, people in shtrimels, bekeshes, jeans, sweatshirts, black hats. The women side got filled up as well – the room seemed to hold more people then phisically possible. Vast majority were very young people. The energy level was over 100%. People were jumping, dancing and singing even before Kabbalat Shabbat started. The whole service was masterfully directed by two older men with gray hair (about our age), who were able to unify everybody and give direction and focus to this youthful energy, sometimes starting a niggun, and sometimes breaking in with the short dvar torah, with every sentence in English and then Hebrew. After Maariv ended, the place emptied out, except Eber, me, and Moshe, who led the service. Eber felt immediate bond with him (possibly because they both have been running the shuls for many years…) We were fortunate to walk back with him, as Moshe happened to live next door to the people who invited us for Friday night dinner, as we did not know how to get there, since we never made it to the “House of love and prayer.”We had an excellent meal and great time with our hosts and their guests, all very interesting, unusual and remarkable people. Being in Tzfat, the Shabbos candles somehow arranged themselves im the shape of seven sephirot, as shown on the picture Eber took before we left the the house Friday night.

Today is one week we have been in Tzfat. There is a lot about Tsfat that is hidden. Small shuls, that are not listed anywhere, but you open the door and find a vibrant minyan; tiny one-person operated cafes, with unexpectedly great tasting food, etc. Tzfat is known as a city of gates, and today on our one-week anniversary of being here we had some gates opened for us. First gate was a gate to the language – we started the government-sponsored new immigrant ulpan. We have been, unfortunately, placed in “pensioners” class. Our group is composed of 8 Russians and 7 Americans. The first question the teacher asked us in Hebrew was “Do you work?” And everybody answered “No”. Most of the small talk in the class was in Russian. We were fortunate to sit next to Max from Queens, NY, who has been in Tzfat since last February. He told us about the place he found for prayer and learning, and offered to show it to us on his way home. (Everything in the town is a short walk.) The entrance gate to the shul was locked,  the doorway had no identification, no sign on it. Max said that mincha minyan should be starting in 45 minutes, so Eber returned to attend it. It turned out to be a new place run by Rabbi Alon Anava, who invited both Eber and me for 6 pm study group for Zohar. The study group was in English, but using Zohar in original Aramaic text. We were very impressed by the teacher knowledge and teaching style, and where else to study Zohar if not in Tzfat? After class we were immediately invited for Shabbos by Rabbi Alon Anava, and I have been also invited for women Halacha-learning group three mornings a week. After the Zohar class was over we went to a very nice cafe Monitin, and sat down for dinner. Next to us there was a religious couple, who looked at us as if they recognized us (this happen to us often in Tsfat). We started to talk, and they turned out to be Rabbi and Rebetzin, running an English speaking girls yeshiva. They gave us more information about what’s going on in Tsfat, and we exchanged our phones and emails – more gates have been opened… The final gate we opened at 11 pm today – was a kelim (dishes) mikva, which we were looking for a few days; we could not see it even though we knew where it was. Finally we realized that it was directly in front of us, in a 6-foot high stone box with a metal cover. We lifted the metal cover (gate) – and there was a mikva! We dipped the dishes, and now we are ready to start cooking!