We're Still OK
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So, I haven't been keeping up with writing about the events of the week, and there's nice things to report, but first I have to update you about the sudden military crisis, so this will seem a bit backwards.
Most importantly, I'm fine and so is everyone else I know in Tzfat. Neither my house nor Rebecca and Avraham's have been hit, as far as I know. (At the very least, you can be certain that my house isn't badly damaged as long as you can reach this web site.) In case you don't know, Hizbolla terrorists operating from Lebanon have been peppering everything within range in the Upper Galilee with Ketusha rockets almost non-stop since this past Wednesday morning, although nothing hit Tzfat until Thursday, as I understand. It didn't seem so bad, and, until late yesterday, I'd intended to stay in Tzfat and go on with my normal plans, even though Rebecca had offered a ride for Steve and me out of town. But when a rocket hit in my neighborhood close enough for me to see the column of dust and smoke about 30 or 40 meters away (yes, it was quite a thunderclap when it hit), I knew it would be better to take a little vacation. Steve and I packed, and we piled in with my sister's family in their car, and we drove to Tel Mond to spend the night at the home of Lisa and Moshe, Avraham's sister and brother-in-law. And that's from where I'm blogging at you now, while the kids putter around the living room with their toys. Rebecca and Avraham had plans to be in Jerusalem for Shabbos even before this craziness started, but I'll stick here and show Steve a good Shabbos with Lisa and Moshe and their kids.
At least one nice thing about this little ordeal is that a couple of ex-boyfriends that I hadn't heard from in a little while checked in to make sure that I was OK. It's nice to know they still care. :)
It's surprising that the Klezmer festival could possibly be anything but the most exciting event of the week in Tzfat, but even though it was upstaged afterward, it was still a great show. I mostly skipped out on the opening night, since I had an engagement party to attend, and I was still tired from staying up late to greet Steve into town on Saturday night, but Rebecca and Avraham brought a birthday cake to my house. On Monday night, Steve and I wandered around the various stages with Rebecca and Ashira, browsing the booths of vendors selling all sorts of tchotchkes and nosh. Becca took us out to eat at a restaurant in honor of my birthday, but I came down with a stomach illness, so we cut the night short and I spent all of Tuesday in bed recovering. On the last night of the festival, Steve and I strolled leisurely through town and caught some very nice performances, including a rollicking show by Simply Tsfat.
On Wednesday afternoon, we took a field trip to Khadita, a little village of squatters that live pretty much entirely outside the system. They do their own farming, collecting their own water supply, and generating what little electricity they use. They're very much into permaculture and ecological farming. We hiked back from there to Tzfat, taking a very scenic route through the area's river valleys. The highlight of Thursday was taking Steve to visit my morning Talmud class with Rabbi Rothenburg's yeshiva. Whew, and that wraps up the report for this very full week.