Kindness in Tzfat

Approaching Passover is very visible in Tzfat. After the beginning of Nissan many places of learning and work have Passover break (all our classes stopped too until after the Holiday week.) Everybody talks about seder plans, all stores display kosher for Passover products, households are preoccupied with cleaning, and there is a happy and excited atmosphere. A fresh bright blue paint appeared overnight all over Old City on some doors, gates, railings. We can not figure out how they decide where to paint those bright blue patches of blue color that are so characteristic of Tzfat.These are signs of approaching Holiday visible to everybody, but Eber had an opportunity to see what is below the surface – a glimpse of the beating of the heart of our people.We ordered matza from the Breslov community, and Sunday night we were waiting for our friend to pick Eber up in his car to drive to the distribution place. When the friend knocked at our door, it was almost 10 pm.Together they drove to the distribution point in the industrial area, which has a piece of land donated by the city of Tzfat to the Breslov community. The distribution was held in the portable school house, which was full from bottom to top with large boxes of Matza. Everywhere you could see there were Breslov Hasidim, crowding, greeting each other, waiting to get their order. That was special and very expensive Matza, but the price was significantly subsidized by an unknown benefactor, so people could afford it.When they got their orders, it was after 11:30 pm. The friend asked Eber if he would not mind to stop at the Lelov shul to pick up the food donated for his daughter, who has 5 kids.When they arrived at Lelov, they saw a huge crowd of people, cars full of food, boxes with eggs, vegetable, juice, fruits etc; people loading  food in the carts and cars, and the atmosphere was lively and boisterous. This was a distribution center of food for Passover for poor Jewish families which are many in Tzfat, often with many children and very little money, especially for Passover, when everything is very expensive. All the food was donated by other Jews in the community and friends of the Tzfat Jewish community abroad. There was a long wait time, so Eber decided to walk home. On the way, passing the shul of Sanz Hasidim – he saw another distribution center of food for poor families – boxes with grape juice and all kinds of foods.The task of providing poor families with food for Passover continues throughout this whole week, and this morning the Breslov community was distributing fruits and vegetables to poor families.This is the Hagada of Pesach coming alive: “All who are hungry – let them come and eat.”