SAFED, Israel — It's where a nose-ringed backpacker, elderly tourist, undergraduate, yeshiva student and middle-aged secretary meet. It's where they ascend a mountain to learn, tour an ancient city and discover the mysteries and spirituality of their Jewish heritage. Welcome to Ascent of Safed, Israel.
A Safed Hostel and Outreach Center Offers Mysticism
SAFED, Israel — It’s where a nose-ringed backpacker, elderly tourist, undergraduate, yeshiva student and middle-aged secretary meet. It’s where they ascend a mountain to learn, tour an ancient city and discover the mysteries and spirituality of their Jewish heritage. Welcome to Ascent of Safed, Israel.
“Ascent is a place where you can learn and experience the spiritual and inner aspects of Torah,” says Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Mordechai “Big Mo” Siev, director of outreach and English programming at the part-yeshiva, part-hostel, part-retreat center that is Ascent.
Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Siev has been with Ascent since 1987. He calls the center “your home away from home in Safed.”
One of Judaism‘s four holiest cities, Safed is considered birthplace of the traditional study of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. The 2nd century sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai authored the study’s primary text, the Zohar, nearby. In the city itself during the 16th century, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria plumbed the depths of the Zohar and began to teach its concepts. It was also in Safed that Rabbi Yosef Caro wrote his Code of Jewish Law.
