Last week I went with my tour guide class to the holy city of Tzfat (Safed). Tzfat is the highest point in the Galilee region of Israel. It is one of the four holy cities in the land of Israel. The city was first mentioned in the book of Judges 1:17 "And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah". It was mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud on one of the sites where fires where lit, so those outside of the land of Israel would know that when a festival occurs.
From a more personal standpoint, every time I go to Tzfat, I feel a different energy there. There is no place in the world like it. I think this is based on that fact that this is the birthplace of Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism, we're talking real kabbalah of course, not the trendy stuff that Madonna learns) and also complete lack of materialism. Although visitors to Tzfat come from all kinds of backgrounds, almost all of them come for a spiritual experience.
Tzfat began to rise to fame in the late 16th century. During a time when many Sephardi Rabbis moved to Tzfat, and the first Hebrew printing press was made. Many great Jewish works were written including the Shuchan Aruch (code of Jewish law), as well as Lecha Dodi, a hymn sang at synagogues all over the world on Friday night.
Its also interesting to note that until 1948, Jews were a minority of the population. Today, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics says the population is 99% Jewish. Just be sure the next time you are in the land of Israel to make a trip to Tzfat.
