Breema workshop tonight in Tzfat with the Center for Healthy Living

Despite the ravages of war, the Center for Healthy Living in Tzfat
continues its mission to improve quality of life using available
resources in harmony with the natural world. Due to a fortuitous
stroke of scheduling we are blessed to have nearby at this time Avishai
Pearlson, Breema teacher par excellence who is visiting his family in
kibbutz Kfar HaNassi near Tzfat. Breema is a system of gentle
movements, bodywork and principles of harmony that can help in
balancing body, mind and feelings. It can be effective in dealing with
stress, normal and extraordinary, and supports being fully present and
available.

The Center, in conjunction with Livnot U'lehibanot, is sponsoring
Avishai in a Breema workshop tonight, August 7 at 8:00 pm. This is a
hands-on introductory workshop in which people will experience and
practice Breema. It is suitable for people new to Breema or as a
refresher for those already familiar with it. It will be in Hebrew and
English. To accomodate maximum participation it will be held at the
Livnot campus (in a safe room) in the Old City. Livnot can be reached
by car via Ha-ari St.

This event is being organized primarily for residents of Tzfat in the
Old City and Artists Quarter as well as volunteers at Livnot and
elsewhere who have been working non-stop for several weeks now serving
needy residents of the city. It is subsidized by the Center for
Healthy Living. Contributions from those able to give are welcome.
Other guests welcome if space is available.

Due to limited space please let us know in advance if you will be
attending. Contact Moshe Tov Kreps: 0547-338388,
moshetov@netvision.net.il.

If you are not in Tzfat but would like to contribute to local relief
and service efforts during this time please check out the website below
for a link to donate on-line to the Tzfat Community Support Fund. So
far we have collected almost $2500 which has been distributed in direct
support or to local organizations serving people in need.

Moshe Tov
http://tzfatblog.blogspot.com
www.tzfatblog.com

Tzfat update - end of week 3

Hard to sleep tonight (OK it's now last night already). Don't know
why, it's been quiet and calm for more than 2 days in Tzfat. No
rockets. More people out on the street, some places open, the bank
and post office, people catching up on some business. Can we finally
relax a little or is it just a calm before another storm? Yesterday
afternoon at 2 the police were driving around with bullhorns on
telling people to go back to the shelters and safe rooms. Do they
know something? Heard the rumble and drone of aircraft overhead all
night, increasing toward morning. Couldn't sleep. Thought about
watching something on the computer. All I had was episodes of the TV
show "24". Could make-believe terrorists take my mind off the real
terrorists? No. I hear the "ding" on the computer. The following
mail just arrived from Missy Stein, Rebbetzin of he Har Zion Synagogue
in Philadelphia, who led an enthusiastic group of women to Israel,
first stop Tzfat where we hosted them.

Begin forwarded message:

<excerpt><bold><color><param>0000,0000,0000</param>From:
</color></bold>missystein@aol.com

<bold><color><param>0000,0000,0000</param>Date: </color></bold>August
2, 2006 05:32:18 IDT

<bold><color><param>0000,0000,0000</param>Subject: </color>3
Paratroopers Dead

</bold>

As many of you may know by now, three Israeli paratroopers died today
in the war against the terrorists of Hezbollah in Lebanon. What you
probably don't know is that this has affected everyone here at Camp
Ramah in the Poconos deeply. One of the young men who was killed was a
former camper and counselor here at Ramah. As a matter of fact he was
here on visiting day with his twin sister who was on staff last year.
He was on leave and returned to go back directly into the fighting.
His name is Michael Levin and his parents live in the Philadelphia
area. He made aliyah on his own and joined the army.

Today at exactly 11:00 am camp time (12:00 EST) the entire camp
gathered to say the brachot for our Israeli soldiers both who are
fighting and who have been kidnapped and join in a moment of silence.
Many of you may have been doing the same as this tfilah was said
simultaneously world wide. I couldn't help but have tears streaming
down my face. The irony of course is that at that moment we had no
idea what had happened to Michael Levin.

So as this war hits home for us here at Camp Ramah, let's all remember
that we must do our part for the memories of these young soldiers and
tell our colleagues at work, our repairmen who come into our homes,
people we overhear having conversations in passing, the truth of this
devastating war that these terrorists have begun and how once again
we've been forced to literally fight for our lives in Israel.

Send money, pray for the State of Israel and the Jewish people, and
most of all help to tell the truth for all of our sakes.

Missy

</excerpt>

This mail hits me like a ton of bricks. Again it's the connections
in this country, so easily tapped, that run so deep and yet can be so
tragic. It is ironic as I sit in Tzfat that this almost random
encounter with a group from Philly (via the sister of a friend) has
now personalized the losses and suffering in the situation.

And now suddenly, whoops, the first siren in 2 days just went off.
And it is only the start. Over the next few hours siren after siren,
and the missiles are falling. Mostly hearing muffled thuds, but I
feel the impact of some, and at the end of about the 3rd or 4th siren
a whistle directly overhead. Guess I was getting a little blase
about my "quiet retreat" in Tzfat. I go out a few minutes later and
find a neighbor who happened to be on the street nearby when one of
them came down, not far from him but fortunately on the other side of
a building. He instinctively threw himself down on the ground and the
rocket crashed luckily in the street without causing significant
damage except to the road.

I thought there wasn't going to be much fresh to write about from the
last few days and i was going to tell the story of Hanita and Mahmoud
at the garage from last week -- guess it will wait until the next lull.

These notes are now accessible as a blog at
http://tzfatblog.blogspot.com. I'm just coming up to speed with blogs
so all I can do is just point you to it for now. If anyone can tell
me how you can easily get notified when a blog gets updated please let
me know. If you want off the email list also just let me know.

If you are interested in donating to the Tzfat Community Support Fund
to help individuals impacted by the situation, use the following link:

http://www.golemproductions.com/tzfat-donate.html

All the best,

Moshe Tov

Tzfat update

Originally emailed; July 28, 2006 01:25:56 IDT

6:30 am sirens go off. Boom. 7:30 am sirens go off again. Boom,
boom. Rockets, but not close, a few kilometers away. Then a
different boom, more muffled, a series. That's shelling from this
side into Lebanon. By now we can tell, how far. Incoming. Outgoing.
In-between a paradoxical quiet peacefulness. Smoke fills the wadi
between Tzfat and Har Meron and where Rebbe Shimon lies watching.
It's like a strange almost-silent retreat in Tzfat right now. A great
chance to get intouch with the inner voices, occasionally punctuated
by sirens, booms and a dash for cover. they have it down now. the
sirens go off (all over the north at once, more on that later) and
there is usually about 30 seconds to get to shelter in case the
rockets are headed for your location (you never know). Fine tunes
your senses let me tell you. Long lulls and then sirens, some days
more or less constant other days just occasional. The nights have
been quiet.

Dear friends, a quick update before I head out again, to Kadita,
Amirim and then points south. Hopefully will be able to fill in more
details later. Been back in Tzfat for 3 days now. Things are mostly
intact, bits of damage here and there. About 10-12000 people remain
here (our of 30-35000). Many many of the people left are old,
infirm, poor or challenged. The Botzers at Livnot have been
organizing volunteers for community help projects. I;ve been
spending time cleaning out miklatim (shelters) to make them usable
(many were filled with junk, no electricity or water. And in the
adfternoons driving around a team bringing meals to people shut in,
mostly older people whose caretakers have not been able to get to them
(or who have left the area). Really a lot of needy people. Many
heart-wrenching scenes. Older folks who can't make it up and down to
shelters in big buildings or who are spending all their time in the
shelter but cant get out for food etc. There are quite a few efforts
both pulic and private to get help to people but it is \very hit or
miss. We had lists of people from the social service dept to find,
mostly we could, but finding addresses in this town is sometime like
going dow th rabbit hole, I think buildings are numbered in the order
they were built or something or according to some arcane kabbalistic
scheme based on at-bash gematria. A few hours of this kind of
detective work is physically and emotionally exhausting. But people
are very grateful. Also you see the very vulnerable side of society.
Yesterday I guy came staggering out in the hall of a building in a
very run-down neighborhood, clearly incoherent outof it, carry a
hypodermic needle in one hand, moaning pointing to his mouth for food.
Didn't know if he was ill, a diabetic needing his shot or a drug
addict. Turned out the latter, strung out. One side effect of the
situation here: the junkies are in withdrawal. We tried to help (it
was alittle over our heads) and tried not to get stuck while helping
him back to his place and setlled down. We took his name to get him
help from the city. Another old guy who wanted to show us and explain
all his paintings on the wall, of the sephirot, abba & imma and the
shekhina. He needed someone to listen to him. Did he go to the
shelter when the sirens went off? No, he just lies on his bed. This
is another side of Israel you don't see in the cafes on Shenkin or
Emek Refaim.

Yesteerday more driving and food deliveries. In the process several
things break in the car, the electric window stops working stuck open.
We blow a tire hitting a rough curb by one of the project blocks (not
untypical Tzfat ragged infrastructure experience). Later I'll relate
the stiory of taking the car today to Karmiel to the one Skoda garage
open, with Hanita (secretary) and Mahmoud (the mechanic) and the rest
of the staff running to the miklat when the sirens go off there. All
one human family.

Many people have asked "what can we do to help?" There are definitely
material needs, clothing, food, games/toys for kids etc. And you can
find many organizations collecting money for assistance. I'm sure
they are helping. Many of them say they have branches in Tzfat
although many if not most we have not seen here before. We have
decided to organize a Tzfat Community Support Fund to funnel help
directly to people we know are in need-- we are right here on the
ground and can see with our own eyes who needs what (in conjunction
with the local authorities or sometimes on our own). My friend
photographer Andy Eliyahu Alpern (has a gallery in Tzfat) has opened
the PayPal account of his business, GolemProductions to accept cash
contributions. This is not tax-deductible or an official non-profit
status (yet) but we can promise that 100% of the funds will go
directly to individuals who need help (like people whose homes were
damaged or who have lost sources of income) or to individuals and
organizations that are directly assisting people in Tzfat and
surrounding areas, such as Livnot U'lhibanot. There is also need to
provide support to the helpers and to residents in the the form of
simple stress reduction services which the Center for Healthy Living
is hoping to provide. If you want to help out check out this link to
Andy's web page for the Tzfat Community Support Fund.

http://www.golemproductions.com/tzfat-donate.html

or go to paypal.com and send to alps@israelvr.net and make a note that
it is for bombing victims.

The hidden nikudah tovah (good point) in all of this is the very
tangible sense of solidarity and unity that people feel. With
everyone pulling together we will come though this with renewed
strength.

more later, blessings,

moshe tov

Back in Tzfat for a look and feel

Originally emailed: July 25, 2006 03:55:47 IDT

Hello all. This is a group note... thanks to everyone for messages and inquiries and contact. When you're displaced, homeless and wandering it's the best thing to know that folks "out there" are thinking of you. That's kind of the strong point of living in Israel is general, the sense of connection, with people, with land, with other realms. With this communal/national crisis that strength becomes even more evident and tangible and percolates beyond the borders. So thanks for being part of the grand connection.

Anyway just wanted to let you know I've returned to Tzfat this evening for a day or 2, To check out how things are going here, see and support the people and animals who remained, see my house (wow what a blessing to be able to sleep in my house again tonight!). To feel what Tzfat feels like in a war situation.

I have to say, it feels amazing. It is quiet. Last Sunday 8 days ago (wow is it that long?) when I left it was the quietest I ever experienced in Tzfat. Now I think it is even quieter (save for the occasional boom boom in the distance of our shelling of them and the drone of an aircraft overhead.) And something of Tzfat's essential character is seeping out of the land to the surface. The energy is unbelievable.

Some of the people who stayed here in this semi-ghost town over the past 12 days are really heroes. they have been watching over and taking care of things, watering plants, walking dogs, feeding fish, entertaining kids in the shelters, fixing broken toilets, running errands and helping out people that need help. It's an honor to be among them

I got in around 11:30 tonight, saw a couple of people and walked a little around the neighborhood. So far in the area right around my house everything looks fine. The plants are healthy, grapes are hanging and the rooftop garden is overflowing. I'll check things out around more of the Artists Quarter tomorrow. the scoop is that most of the rockets are coming (if they come) between 1 and 4 pm so that is the time to lay low. Most of them are falling in open or outlying areas now. Nights have been quiet. Speaking of which I need to turn in since I'm supposed to be up and over at Livnot by 8 am to help Aaron Botser fix toilets in the miklatim (shelters).

Will try to be in touch, personally as possible, over the next couple of days.

Blessings,
Moshe Tov