A connected Shabbat

I spent Shabbat up north, in a very spiritual city called Tzvat. It is known for a city in which many people who contributed to the development of Kabbalah lived. I was even able to visit the grave of a very famous Kabbalist, the AriZal, whose order of prayers in the prayerbook Chassidim (such as Chabad) and Sephardim (all groups from Middle Eastern coutries, France and Spain) still use today.

The whole weekend was sprinkled with meaningful conversations, including the bus ride to and from the town. Many of the classes I attended there were open-forum, so I was able to get many questions answered. There were other classes that were at more beginner levels. Those too were great, because I was able to overview topics that I had learned parts in-depth. Thus, I was able to connect many of the ideas that are seemingly very separate.

On Sunday we took off on a hike in the woods surrounding the city. We walked about 30 mins up a long road, until eventually coming to the trail head. The woods were alder and olive. Every once in a while we would come to a clearing that overlooked the distant hills. The whole area was green, with small towns dotting the scenery. We decided to turn back as the sun went down, but not before we sat and watched the rich colors of the sky turn from light blue and orange to red, to finally purple.


The walk back was cold, which just made the warm food at the restaurant back in town feel even better.