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Published: September 5th 2011
Friday, August 26th: Knowing Rabbi Yossi Goldberg from Vancouver’s Kollel “synagogue,” we guessed we were in for a unique Shabbat experience staying with his parents in the upper Galilee town of Safed. Safed is famous historically as the main centre of Kabbala (Jewish mysticism) going back 500 years. It’s also where the Kabbalat Shabbat service originated, and Shlomo haLevi Alkabetz wrote the song Lecha Dodi in the 16th century (The letters of his name start each of the verses). It’s also a hilltop outpost that was of great strategic significance in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. In prevailing in the battle for Safed, the Jewish forces secured Israel’s position in the north.
One feels the reason for Safed’s strategic importance in every step taken in the town - which is either straight up or down. Yossi’s mom Fruma met us on the street after explaining there was no way we could find the house on our own. We reached the house, which is perched on the side of a steep hill, by walking down a long staircase, passing through two gate along the way. The second gate keeps the Goldberg animals fenced in. Apart from Fruma and her husband Rabbi
Goldberg senior, who Fruma call’s Avraham-Moshe, the residents of the Goldberg homestead include three dogs, one of whom has only three legs, a substantial (but unclear) number of cats, and a traumatized rooster who currently spends his nights inside the entrance room of the house. A mongoose recently killed the three family chickens and injured the rooster in the attack. In the process the rooster lost his mojo and no longer crows in the morning. When he tries, he sounds like someone clearing his throat. Shortly after our arrival Fruma and Avraham-Moshe chased down the rooster to bring him into the house – not exactly a typical activity for a Hasidic rabbi and rebbitzen (rabbi’s wife). But then, nothing about the Goldbergs is typical.
Rosie received a mixed reception from the Goldbergs’ dogs. The two larger dogs seemed okay with her presence, but the smallest dog – White Toes – yapped at Rosie whenever Rosie came into view, and snapped at her whenever Rosie was in range. To her credit, Rosie bared her fangs, but did not otherwise respond. Rosie did develop a nice connection, however, with the family kitten, as did Adin who named the kitten “baby.” Fruma
quickly adopted the name “baby” for the family kitten.
The boys and I joined Avraham-Moshe for Kabbalat Shabbat services at “The Ascent,” while Aimee helped Fruma prepare supper. Avraham-Moshe led us down a “goat trail” (so designated by the boys) – a thin rocky path snaking dangerously (at least for me) down the mountain side. Avraham-Moshe (who’s in his 60s) and the boys ran, while I picked my way carefully between the loose boulders. At the bottom of the hill Avraham-Moshe leaped over a fence, placing one hand on the top rail and springing sideways over the barrier – looking a little like a leprechaun, in his large black hat, knee length black coat synched at the waste with a rope belt, twinkly eyes, and ready smile.
The Ascent is a Chabad centre which hosts many tourists and visitors to Safed. A peppering of black-suited Chabadniks gave the service an almost-authentic feel. The organizers of the service at the Ascent asked Avraham-Moshe to attend (I’m guessing) for this purpose. From time to time during the service the Chabadniks broke into song and dance and pulled the visitors out of their seats and into the … spontaneous … display
of spiritual ecstasy. I had the sense that Avraham-Moshe, who kept largely to himself while praying, would have preferred to be davening somewhere else.
In addition to us, the Goldberg’s hosted 4 young women for supper who were visiting from a seminary called Nevai Yerushalayim located in the “Har Nof” (mountain view) neighbourhood of Jerusalem. Even though Avraham-Moshe would have ran home up the goat path in the dark, he opted to take us back the long way along the road. Which guaranteed that the Nevai girls in their flip-flops, and I (the boys would have preferred the goat path), made it home in one piece.
Saturday Morning, August 27th we all walked down the goat path to the regular Chabad shul in the old city. Aimee joined us for the walk, but then continued on with Rosie to explore the city on foot. A few things struck me about the regular shul. First, no tourists. Second, there were lots of Hasidim from sects other than Chabad. Different Hasidic sects can be identified by distinctive variations in attire. All sects, of course, dress exclusively in black and white. But the different Hasidic sects represented at the Chabad shul
wear different styles of hat, different lengths and styles of payot, and different lengths and styles of overcoats. Some wear black knickers and white socks of different lengths, and some wear “Shtriemals,” which are fur hats (again of different shapes and sizes), which may have been cozy and comfortable in an Eastern European Winter, but not so much in a Middle Eastern summer. Some Hasidim have flat top hats, while other sects have round top hats described by Avraham Moshe as “pork pies.” Chabad members wear Fedoras, but don’t have payot, or wear knickers, or Shtriemals. As such, Chabadniks have the most contemporary look, often tipping their Fedoras back stylishly in a variety of angles, and could easily double for Blues Brothers, but for the absence Ray Bands, thin black ties and prison tattoos on their fingers.
And the third thing that struck me about shul on Saturday morning … almost every Chabadnik we met was friendly (like the Goldbergs), and just a little bit wacky (unlike the Goldbergs) – but in a good way. Because of its mystical/Kabbalistic history, and location in the hills on the country’s northern periphery, Safed tends to attracts the weird and wacky. Like
the Chabadnik from Toronto who wanted to talk only about the Vancouver Canucks and their loss in this year’s Stanley Cup final, or the Ukrainian-American who speaks barely a word of Hebrew after years in the country and surfs the internet looking for a bride and answers to his undiagnosed mental condition – which may explain why he’s still looking for a bride - or the guy who shows up for the free Kiddush meal (following Shabbat morning services) to shout abuse at the chief Rabbi, who patiently waits for the shouting to stop before continuing with his D’var Torah (talk on the weekly Torah portion). Until, of course, the next round of verbal abuse.
Avraham-Moshe arrived a little late to the Kiddush lunch, having stayed on in the sanctuary to finish his davening. Having missed the Rabbi’s Kiddush (the sanctification of Shabbat made over a glass of wine), Avraham-Moshe had to do his own Kiddush. By this time, however, the wine was all gone and, being strictly observant, he had to do the Kiddush over the only other alcohol that was available – vodka. And he had to do it over a large full glass which, apparently, he
had to drink in its entirety to fulfill his religious obligations. Which also made for an interesting walk home up the goat path. Though Avraham-Moshe did not falter, he did need a little breather along the way, pausing on a park bench at the top of the hill, before walking the final steps back to the house.
Saturday evening we went to the big Chabad shul located in a newer part of town, packed with hundreds in black celebrating the life of the “Rebbi.” The Rebbi was the final leader of the Chabad movement who died in the 1990s and was viewed during his life by many (probably most) Chabadniks at the Moshiach (Messiah). After his death, a split in Chabad emerged between those who continued to believe he was the Moshiach and those who concluded that he was not. This divide played out Saturday evening in the two regular weekly video presentations – one by the Messiahnist Chabadniks and one by the non-Messiahnist Chabadnics. The two sides could not agree on the contents of the weekly video, but they could agree to have alternative videos presented one after the other.
On the way out of town on
Sunday morning, August 28th, we visited Motti, the Goldberg’s youngest son who works at a prominent art gallery in the old city. Motti - beardless and dressed in hip casual cloths, with sunglasses pulled back to the top of his head where a kipa once rested - has chosen a different, and entirely secular, path from all but one of this many Chabad siblings. A sweet guy with his father’s smile, Motti showed us some spectacular pieces of art, a number of which were priced in the tens of thousand of dollars. Ezra and Adin both asked if we could buy them one each for the bedrooms. We suggested this would have to wait until their grandparents arrived for a visit.
Back in Jerusalem, on Monday August 29th we all went to the boys’ school, Yehuda HaLevi, to check-in at the office. School itself didn’t start until Thursday September 1st. I could not gauge how the boys were feeling, but I felt enough stress for both of them. The stress, however, dissipated once we arrived in the office. Everyone was so nice. The principal and vice-principal greeted us all warmly. The school secretary, Rachel-ee, told that boys that they
could come visit her anytime, and that they should think of her as their second “Mummy.” Rachel-ee gave us a list of books and supplies to buy. Adin met his teacher (who is actually his substitute until the regular teacher returns from maternity leave in October) who showed him around the classroom – pointing out his drawer and coat hook. Adin was drawn to the aquarium and bunny hutch in the common area outside his classroom. As it turns out, the boys’ classrooms are two doors apart on the school’s top floor. The staff mostly spoke to the boys in slow and precise Hebrew, and they seemed to understand for the most part – especially Ezra. With Adin it’s often hard to tell because he gets non-responsive when he’s feeling uncomfortable. But overall, while at the school, a huge weight on us all lifted. On the way out through the school grounds Adin played in every hopscotch court. We had to drag him away. A good sign.
One great idea the school promotes is a buddy system, matching new English speaking students with a native English/Hebrew speaker in their class. This has proved hugely beneficial so far, and both
Adin and Ezra are very lucky to have been paired with really nice boys from really nice families. Tuesday afternoon Adin had a play-date with his buddy “Daniel,” and Wednesday both Ezra and Adin joined Ezra’s buddy “Eedoe” and his family for a day at a hotel pool – Eedoe’s mom is a manager at a hotel so gets free access to the facilities. Both boys had a great time, and have continued to build relationships with their buddies and their families. Aimee and I have connected, in particular, with Eedoe’s family – including his maternal grandparents who we met while working at a local community garden (on Thursday)
On Tuesday August 30th - while Ezra and Adin were hanging out with Eedoe and his family at the pool, Aimee and I took the boys’ school supply lists and drove to the nearby neighbourhood of “Pat” to a store recommended by the school – Intercal (pronounced Eeen-terrrrrrrr-kal). We drove by Intercal once without realizing it because, from the outside, the store looked like a “Makolet” (neighbourhood grocery store) from the 1950s. Once we parked and returned to Intercal, we had to squeeze through the door – the tiny store
was packed with last-minute shoppers who, like us, had left buying school supplies until two days before the start of the school year. We were able to get pretty much all the supplies the boys needed, though some of the books had already sold out. The store was criss-crossed with two lines; one going to a window which supplied text books, and a second line for check-out. While Aimee lined up for text books I gathered school supplies then lined up for the check-out. The overworked staff was extremely helpful and directed me to objects whose Hebrew words I would never have encountered but for the fact our boys are in school here – such as “kalmar” (pencil case), “kalsar” (binder), “chotsetsim” (dividers for the binder), and “sargal” (ruler). Adin’s grade one teacher Tal (the one on maternity) just happened to be in line beside Aimee, getting supplies for her kids. Tal noticed our Yehuda Halevi lists, introduced herself as Adin’s regular teacher, and helped us navigate through our lists.
In the end the experience was a positive one, and felt all too real, and entirely local. Rachel-ee back at the school had told us there was a discount
for purchases made before July 31st, but if we said we were Olim Chadashim (new immigrants) the store might still give us the discount. Sure enough Jimmy the owner said, “We’re happy do whatever we can to help Olim Chadashim.” We didn’t exactly lie …. we never claimed to be Olim Chadashim. Rather we said we heard that he was giving a discount to Olim Chadashim. Can we be held responsible if Jimmy drew a conclusion unwarranted by our query? In the end we still dropped about 1300 sheckles – close to $400. But we can’t complain, given that the tuition is minimal.
Wednesday August 31st was our last day of summer vacation – at least for the boys – so we walked (us) and cycled (the boys) to the Old City. The shops were half closed since the Muslims were celebrating a three-day holiday marking the end of the Ramadan fast period called “Eid Al-Fitr.” There was still enough open, though, for the boys to get the feel for the Old City market. We also walked down to the Kotel (the “Western Wall”) where the boys prowled for candies, thrown during the Bar Mitzvahs that day. Normally Bar
Mitzvahs are held only on Saturdays, Mondays, and Thursdays. However Wednesday was “Rosh Chodesh,” which is a minor celebration at the start of each Jewish Month. … in this case the first of the Elul, the month which includes the High Holidays and, most important, the 24th of Elul upon which Aimee and I, and Aron and Neri, got married. We also popped into our favorite shops; “Vics” ceramic store in the Armenian Quarter and “Cardo Silver” in the Jewish Quarter. There was almost a minor (perhaps not so minor) disaster in “Vics” when I turned abruptly while wearing my heavily stuffed day-pack, which slammed into a wall unit containing many ceramic pieces on display, some quite expensive. Though everything shook and rattled, nothing fell. Note to self – remove day pack from back when inside small stores containing numerous fragile and expensive objects. No near disasters at Cardo Silver, thankfully. The boys enjoyed spotting both our kiddish cup and saucer, a wedding gift from Aron and Neri, as well as a photograph of our wedding candlesticks, a present from my parents.
We spent Wednesday evening getting the boys ready for school; making lunches, loading up their packs with
school supplies while checking each item against the list we got from the school, and laying out their school T-shirts, and tseetseet (four cornered fringe garment worn by religious males under their shirts) which is required by Yehuda HaLevi. Both wore white T-shirts, in accordance with the school custom of wearing white for school assemblies (called here “teckes” which literally means ceremony).
Thursday September 1st : Day one of the school year. The boys were real troupers from the start. They forced themselves to have breakfast, chocolate and vanilla pudding, though neither was hungry. Ezra confided that he was “terrified,” which was the first time I had ever heard him use that word. We were proud of how they kept their composure. We accompanied them for the three minute walk to school. The dead-end road leading to the fenced in school yard was teaming with kids, parents, and cars. At the front door of the school the vice principal and resident rabbi welcomed each kid with a smile, taffee, and lolly-pops. With their fists full of candy, we could see that Ezra and Adin were warming up to the idea of going to school here. Ezra and I tracked
down Ezra’s classroom while Aimee got Adin to class. Both were relieved to see their buddies and quickly sat beside them. It was a little heart-rending to leave them in class, but they probably were having an easier time with it than Aimee and I. We remained for the assembly which took place outside. All very sweet, though we could see that the boys were overwhelmed by it all.
After the assembly Aimee and I returned home. It seemed so quiet with all the neighbourhood kids – including ours - in school. Taking advantage of the temporary absence of any responsibility for the boys, Aimee and I went for coffee on Emek Rephaim at “Tachanat Café” (“coffee station”) where Aimee caught up with her email while I did ulpan homework. But before we knew it, it was time to pick up the boys from school - they had early dismissal on the first day at 11:45 a.m. Both had big smiles when we met them. Ezra said: “It was awesome. Everyone was eating and drinking in class, throwing things across the room and screaming.” Adin’s class was apparently a little more sedate, but also fun. I’d say a good
start to the school year. In celebration we took the boys for a well-deserved lunch at the Kosher McDonald’s in Ramot Beth HaKarem. We then returned to work in the community garden together with Ezra’s buddy’s family and an eclectic collection of others from the neighourhood. The garden is on the grounds of the Nature Museum near our apartment. This proved an excellent way to meet and connect with other residents in the area, and a nice additional to our Thursday afternoon routine.
… After another short school day on Friday, we welcomed the relative peace of Shabbat, but looked ahead with some trepidation to the coming week, when school starts in earnest.
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Sharon Promislow
non-member comment
Just read your back to school blog, and love it.
We got back on Tuesday, and I am just now getting through collected email. what a treat to share your life in Israel. Made me feel I was walking the streets of Safed again. Barry and I have perhaps bought art in your pictured stores, as four of our favorite art pieces are from there. (plus our Challah covers). I hope that the boys continue to love school.. can't wait for the next installment of your blog (which might already be in my in box, without my getting there yet.) Love, Sharon