Tuesday May 6 - Tzfat, Israel

We awoke in Tzfat on Yom HaZicharon. Tuesday May 6th is Yom HaZicharon, the Israeli Remembrance Day. It's a bit like a mix of Remembrance Day in Canada or Memorial Day in the USA and Yom Kippur. When we got up in the morning, crowds of people were heading towards the cemeteries where those who have fallen in defense of the State of Israel are buried. Something that I didn't mention in Monday's travelogue is that we were heading along the road to Meron and happened to be in a mixed Jewish and Arab village when the clock reached 8 pm. Everyone stops whatever they are doing, stopping their cars, stopping and standing still, as a siren wails for a minute. The same thing happens at 11 am in the morning, as Yom HaZicharon is a Jewish day and the day begins at dusk and ends at dusk, so morning follows evening, on the same day. We began by looking for a synagogue for morning prayers. We found one from the Kosov Chasidim and stopped to pray with them. The synagogue, like all the other buildings in Tzfat is stone construction and had a large wooden stove for winter use. Of course it had electricity and a computer to go along with the stove. We explored the town and visited the artist's colony, and I must say I will go back to Tzfat. Next stop: Metula and the Golan