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  • Klezmer Trends And Influences

    Fiddler Ruby Harris was one of the original performers of The Diapora Yeshiva Band; a two-time consecutive winner of the Israel Chassidic Song Festival and one of the first modern Klezmer bands. Harris has jammed with the late great Shlomo Carlebach, Piamenta, and The Moshav Band. In addition, Ruby was voted Entertainer of the Year by Wild Chicago and won the appellation of Star at the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival. The fiddler plays with Fruteland Jackson at the annual Chicago Blues Festival. Ruby has been an integral part of the Klezmer music scene’s renaissance and has performed with the Klezmer Conservatory Band, Andy Statman, The Klezmatics, Jazmer, The Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, and Soulfarm. Ruby consented to an interview with http://www.safed.co.il/ on the subject of Klezmer.

    Scratchy 78s

    Q: Klezmer has undergone many changes through the years, from fiddle to clarinet and back to fiddle again, for instance. What do you see as the coming trend for this genre?

    A:  Same pattern: find the latest trends, today even Rap, heavy metal, and reggae, and throw in some klezmer and vice versa. We’ve been throwing in bluegrass, Santana and Doors for years. Still, yet, there are always purists who stick to the scratchy old 78s, which we all love, of course.

    Q: Do you think Klezmer is here to stay, or do you see the current popularity of this music as a trend that will fade and reemerge according to popular whim?

    A: It will remain, like many of the other styles that are randomly called for at weddings, such as “Motown”, reggae, country, Celtic, blues, Disco, and Klezmer.

    Q: How strong an influence does Roma or gypsy music and culture have on Klezmer music in general, and on your own playing in particular?

    A: I’ve been playing Gypsy music forever. It’s a major family of music in the general Klezmer family. Lots of good fiddle music.

    The Foxtrot

    Q: Klezmer and jazz seem to complement each other and even crossover at times. How do you explain the connection between the two styles?

    A: Today, as in the early 20th century, many jazz musicians make lots of extra money playing bar mitzvahs and weddings, plus some of the early clarinet or trumpet players got their start playing Jewish music, such as Benny Goodman, Max Kaminsky and Ziggy Elman. Even Charlie Parker and Red Rodney played bar mitzvahs. Jews like to keep up with the trends, so after 20 minutes of old style Jewish music, the bands were prodded by the balabus (the boss who hired them) or the crowd, or even a cute girl, to swing or jazz it up so they could dance the latest Peabody number, or foxtrot, or the Lindy Hop, or nowadays, the Twist or the Pony.

  • Your Bar or Bat Mitzvah in Israel

    Consider having your bar mitzvah in the spiritual city of Safed. Noam’s Events will escort your son along t

    Noam's Events

    he cobbled alleys to the sound of musical instruments, the blowing of the shofar, plus dancing musicians. Your son will then put on tefillin in the ancient Abuhav synagogue and be called to the Torah.This special event is followed by an uplifting tour of the Old City and a festive meal in one of Tzfat’s best restaurants. This will be a bar mitzvah that your child and family will never forget.

    Email us at: noamsevents@gmail.com

    Address: Simta Daled, 40 Safed, israel

    Phone: 058 597 7050 or 04-697 4615

  • For a Unique Judaica Experience to rejuvenate your creativity – fun for all ages!

    Ruth Knapp’s work is on display at the Soul Art Gallery located in the Artists’ Colony, in the Old City of Safed and at the Erentrou Judaica Gift shop on Jerusalem Street. From San Francisco, California to Boston, Massachusetts,

    Ruth Knappthrough Cameroon, Africa, Ruth settled in Eretz Israel to live and create her unique Judaica artworks (view video link below).

    Ruth lived 17 years in Jerusalem where she founded her company, jerusalemclay, and has now joined the Galil for its fresh air and inspiring mountains.

    Ruth has experience working with special children (at Alyn children’s hospital), and with the elderly and alzheimer’s patients (through Melabev as an Art Therapist).

    Ruth is available to host birthday parties, a family day with clay (all ages invited) and other special events, 5 to 50 people; or enjoy private pottery lessons for women, ceramics for kids, or art therapy for the elderly.

    Contact Ruth at:

    jerusalemclay@gmail.com                                                 cell: 054-604-0877

  • The Safed-Home.com

    website grew out of an interest to include a wide range of information about Safed in one central

    web location. The site provides listings of synagogue times, mikve facilities, food options (including

    Passover food options), activities in the city (including activities which are listed by

    Safed-Home Site

     

    holiday/vacation), accommodations, an updated calendar of events in the city, holiday celebrations, Kle

    zmer informatio

    n and more.

    Safed-Home connects the Safed English-speaking community and provides resources that allow visitors to connect to events, activities and opportunities in Safed.

  • Safed: Getting There

    While public transportation in Israel is excellent, Safed’s location as a remote mountain town in middle of Israel’s northern upper Galilee Mountains makes this city a bit of challenge to get to sometimes. Read on to find out the best ways to reach Safed whether coming by bus or by train, or by a combination of both.

    Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Safed

    Getting To Safed

     

    Unfortunately, Israel’s excellent and easy to travel rail system hasn’t yet reached the city of Safed, or any region in th

    e interior area of the north of the country. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t still utilize Israel’s rail lines to reach this mountain city. If you are in Jerusalem then take a bus from Jerusalem’s central bus station to Tel Aviv. You can choose to disembark in Tel Aviv at either the New Central Bus Station or the Arlozorov Station. You will then switch from the bus to the train at these stations. In both locations you will have about a two minute walk from the bus station to the train station. However, the New Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv is more than a bit seedy and run down. If possible, take a bus to the Arlozorov Station in Tel Aviv which is an open air, outdoor station. It is a more pleasant experience.

    Next, you will want to board a train from Tel Aviv to the city of Akko (known in English as Acre). From Akko you will then switch to a bus to Safed.

    Jerusalem (by bus) — Tel Aviv (switch to train) — Akko (switch back to bus) — Safed

    This option allows for the greatest flexibility because buses leave Jerusalem for Tel Aviv several times an hour from very early morning until late night and trains leave Tel Aviv for Akko at least twice an hour.  They even run once an hour through the night. Buses from Akko to Safed also run about twice an hour starting at 6:00am and ending around 22:15. The bus from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv takes approximately one hour, depending on traffic, the train from Tel Aviv to Akko takes one and half hours, and the bus from Akko to Safed takes one hour and twenty five minutes. Total travel time on this route from Jerusalem to Safed takes four hours, not including waiting, switching and standing time.

    Jerusalem To Safed Direct

    For a more direct route from Jerusalem to Safed you can take a bus direct.

    Jerusalem (by bus direct) — Safed

    There are direct buses from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station to the Safed Central Bus Station. Bus number 982 departs from Jerusalem seven times a day beginning at 9:18am. The last bus is at 23:18. On Friday buses cease running early and buses will run every hour from 9:18am until 13:18. The cost for this bus is 40nis and the total travel time is three and half hours.

    Tel Aviv to Safed Direct

    Tel Aviv (by bus direct) — Safed

    There is also one direct bus daily from Tel Aviv to Safed.  It departs from the New Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv at 17:00 and then pickups at the Arlozorov Bus Station at 17:05. The trip costs 45nis and takes approximately three and half hours, if you are not held up by traffic. This should put you in the Safed Central Bus Station at 8:30pm. On Friday the bus departs Tel Aviv 12:30pm, 12:35 at Arlozorov, and arrives in Safed at 16:00. The bus from Tel Aviv to Safed is bus number 845. Total travel time on the bus is three and half hours.

    Bus and Train Schedules

    To find out a detailed and up-to-date bus schedule that includes all bus times and destinations, check www.egg.co.il and click on the Eng (for English language option) on the upper left hand corner of your screen. For a detailed train schedule go to www.rail.co.il/EN/Pages/HomePage.aspx.

  • Weather

    If you want to know what to wear when you come on vacation to Safed, it’s fairly easy in the

    Weather

    summer and winter, but during the spring and fall you can be caught by surprise.

    Rain

    According to the Israeli Meteorological Service, the average annual rainfall for Safed is 712mm – about 28 inches, but under normal circumstances the rain only happens in the winter. Starting in September and October with the occasional heavy storm, the real rainy season starts properly in November and can linger through until March or even April. In recent years, however, there has been a drought in the whole country, and in the winter of 2010/11, it didn’t downpour properly until the middle of December when there was two months of rain in two days (177mm, 7 inches)!

    December, January and February are the months with both the most rain and the most days of rain. Nevertheless even January, which is the wettest month, is still sunny half the time! So even if you come prepared for rain, don’t be surprised if it’s actually nice and sunny. If you don’t want to bring an umbrella there are plenty available in the shops during the winter, although you may wan

    t to pack galoshes, as rain boots can be hard to find.

    Snow

    Occasionally Safed gets snow, and temperatures can fall as low as -7C (20F) in February, with January and February being the coldest months. Even then it can get as high as 21C (70F) in the middle of the day so don’t bother to bring your skis! If you forget your hat and gloves there are plenty in the shops, however you can always tell a real Israeli – they are the ones walking around with short shirtsleeves in the middle of winter!

    Sun

    Once the rains have finished it’s blue skies and sun all the way and you can count yourself lucky to see even one

    white fluffy cloud in the sky! July and August are the hottest months, with temperatures as high as 39C (102F), and even at night temperatures don’t usually fall below 18C (64F)! With most days of summer being in the more comfortable high 20’s or low 30’s (82F-90F+) you will enjoy walking around the city. However, in the hottest part of the day many of the shops take an afternoon siesta. In the evenings you might need a sweater or light jacket, but like the locals, you will probably welcome the cool breezes coming off the mountains.

    Heat Stress And Humidity

    During a shrav, when it’s hotter than usual for the time of year, you have to watch out for heat stress, as it can get very dry in Safed. There are usually weather advisories on TV and radio, and for English speakers you can check out the weather

     sites or listen to the internet radio station Rusty Mike for the latest weather reports.

    Hamsim

    When it’s very hot and dry it can also be very dusty, with winds bringing sand in from the desert and you may hear people talking about a hamsim. Humidity can fall as low as 10% so you really do have to think –desert conditions– even though Safed is in the mountains.

    Precautions

    Nevertheless take precautions even if it isn’t quite so dry when you visit. Do like the Israelis do and carry a water bottle around with you at all times. It is very easy to get dehydrated so keep yourself hydrated with water or fresh juice, and avoid coffee and alcohol, which can dehydrate you even further.

    Enjoy your visit to Safed.

  • Richard Woolf – Tour Guide

    Richard Woolf, a locally based official licensed tour guide, is a native English speaker and takes

    Richard Woolf -Tour Guide

    individuals, couples and small families on tailor-made tours around Israel. He is very familiar with Safed and the whole Galilee as he has lived in nearby Rosh Pina since making aliyah from Britain over 40 years ago. He is therefore an excellent choice as a guide whether you are just looking for a short walking tour of Safed, or a two week tour of the whole country.

    Why Have An Official Guide?

    Tour guiding courses are approved by The Israel Ministry of Tourism which sets the examinations at the end of the course and licenses the guides. These courses usually take between 18 months and 2 years to complete. They require students go on tourist site familiarization tours themselves in addition to considerable classroom study. These courses are extremely rigorous, giving students an accurate knowledge of the history, geography and archeology of the country, as well subjects like geology and botany. Guides must also have a

     basic understanding of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, whatever their own personal beliefs may be.

    Guide licenses have to be renewed every year, and this includes taking a few refresher seminars. Apart from passing the examinations, guides have various character checks before they get their initial guide badge. So when you take a licensed tour guide you can be sure that you are getting someone who really knows the country and is an upright person.

    Why Choose Richard?

    Richard offers friendly, personalized tours, which are tailor made for just for you. As a native English speaker you can be reassured that you be able to understand him easily. He also has fluent Hebrew and will be able to deal with any problems that might arise simply and straightforwardly. Richard is very experienced as he has been guiding for over fifteen years.

    Official Vehicle

    Richard gives tours in an official tour guide vehicle which means that he is properly insured to carry up to six passengers, and has the necessary public vehicle driving license. His car also has to have a safety check once a month so you can feel at ease when touring with him.

    Richard’s Tours

    Discussing your exact requirements enables Richard to help you make the best use of your valuable time. Whether you want to visit of all the historical and religious sites in the country or just take a day visiting one or two sites, Richard will be happy to oblige. If you travel in his car rather than a hired one, you don’t have to worry about driving on unfamiliar roads and can just enjoy the scenery, although he can accompany your vehicle if you prefer. Unlike other guides, he doesn’t require accommodation in either the north or in Jerusalem, so you don’t have that extra expense. In order to protect local guides, Israeli guides are not allowed to cross the border into either Egypt or Jordan. If you want to cross the border, to visit for example Petra, Richard can’t accompany you but will be happy to m

    ake suitable arrangements for you.

    Guide Book

    Richard also produces an annual guide to touring the Galilee and the north.  The book is packed with ideas for both driving and walking tours, and a simplified road map of the whole area.  It’s a must have even for locals, and is available at tourist information offices.

    Contact

    Richard Woolf: tel/fax 04 693 5377, cellphone 050 589 647 or email: woolfr@netvision.net.il

  • Beit Maimon – Ten Electric

    Whether you are looking to refurnish your house, or just to pick up a blender to make smoothies,Beit Maimon -Ten Electric

    the Beit Maimon store on Aliyah Bet Street can probably help. Extensively refurbished after the 2006 Lebanon War, the store offers 3 floors of furniture and electric goods.

    2006 Lebanon War

    In 2006, the furniture store was hit by the third katyusha to hit Safed on the first day of the war. Fortunately it only damaged the top part of the building, and no one was injured. After the explosion the street was full of clouds of smoke and debris. Various government ministers came the next day to see the damage and the incident even made the TV news headlines! After the war the company refurbished and redesigned the interior of the store as part of the rebuilding process.

    Ground Floor

    Recently combined with the 10 Electric company, Maimon’s now offers an even wider selection of electrical goods. Here you will find brand names you are used to like AEG or Samsung as well as Israeli brands like Amcor you may not be so familiar with.

    · washing machines, both the regular sized European style front loaders and the narrow top loaders designed for a

    small Israeli apartment

    · tumble dryers

    · refrigerators – from mini ones suitable for a holiday apartment through to large twin door fridge-freezer combos with ice makers, although they may not be as large as the largest American models due to the small size of Israeli apartments

    · TV’s and flat screens

    · stoves – duel and single fuel, from small one oven stoves to double ovens and large ranges, as well a wide choice of built in ovens and hobs

    · toaster ovens and toasters

    · microwaves

    · kitchen appliances like food processors, mixers and blenders – KitchenAid, Magimix, Kenwood etc

    · vacuum cleaners

    First Floor

    Upstairs you will find a good range of living room and den furniture

    · couches, armchairs and suites

    · dining room tables and chairs

    · bookcases

    · cabinets

    · armoires

    · buffets

    Second Floor

     

    Here is where you will find a good selection of bedroom furniture

    · bedroom suites

    · twin and double beds

    · children‘s beds – including bunk beds and beds which have two beds underneath that pull out to accommodate the larger families and smaller apartments that are typical in Israel

    · closets

    · dressing and vanity tables

    · bookcases

    · computer workstations and home office suites

    Prices And Payment

    While of course you will want to comparison shop, Maimon’s prices are competitive and they offer one of the largest selections of goods in the city. They will of course deliver (for a small charge) and it is possible to pay in installments. In fact the prices on many of the goods actually tell you the installment plan available, which means you don’t need to be embarrassed to ask about the details.

    Staff

    Most of the staff speak basic English and will be able to help you with your selection and explain any payment terms to you.

    Parking

    It is usually impossible to park in front of the store as the street is one of the busiest in Safed, but there is nearby metered city parking available up the street.

    Location

    Beit Maimon, 8 Aliyah Bet Street, Safed.

    Telephone: 04 697 0535

    Opening Hours:

    Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

    8.30 am – 1.30 pm & 4pm – 7.30 pm

    Tuesday

    8.30am – 2pm Tuesday afternoons: Closed

    Friday & Festival Eves

    8.30am -1.30pm

  • Utilities

    This article gives you information about utility companies and their services. Bills for utilities may be paid direct to the company office, by sending payment through your bank (heriot kever), online, by credit card or through the post office. Gas and electricity are normally billed bi-monthly.

    Utilities

     

    Water

    Water is metered in Israel and usage is charged by the cubic meter. Each person is allocated, at present, 18 cubic meters of water per month, charged at the basic rate. If you use more than this there is a new government “drought tax” which charges you exponentially. To be charged correctly, take everybody’s, including children’s, teudat zehut to the water company, which here in Safed is Peleg HaGalil. The water company will then register the size of your household and tell you how much water you can use per month. If you use more you will be subject to the drought tax. Water prices are scheduled to rise by 40%, in steps, by 2011 as part of a government measure to get people to save water.

    So keep your bill down by attending to any leaks, dripping taps and so on straight away. If you have a major leak, burst pipes etc call the plumber and/or the water company to sort it out, to avoid a huge bill.

    The water bill comes with your arnona bill, (city taxes) and you can pay for it at the arnona office.

    Hours

    08.30 – 12.30pm & 16.00 – 18.00 Sunday & Tuesday

    08.30 -13.00 Wednesday & Thursday. Friday closed.

    Address: 1st floor Mercaz Tzil building, Jerusalem Street. Tel

    Gas

    There are three main gas companies in Safed – Amisragas, Pazgas and Supergas, so see which company is best for you. As well as mains gas, there is also bottled gas or “gas balloons“. These are the metal gas canisters of various sizes that you can see outside buildings around Safed, especially in the Old City and the Artists Quarter.

    Mains Gas

    If you live in an apartment building that has mains gas, the vaad bayit (building committee) normally decides which company the building uses.

    Balloons

    If you have your gas from balloons you can order by telephone and the company will deliver either one or two balloons to your door, and switch them for you. Don’t forget to monitor your gas use so you know when to reorder. You don’t want to get caught without gas just before Shabbat or a major festival! Many people only switch one balloon at a time, so they always have one full balloon waiting.

    Amisragas shop: 59 Jerusalem Street  Tel no: 04 692 0657 or 1 700 701 0657

     

    Hours: Sunday – Thursday 08.00 – 13.00 and 16.00 – 19.00

    except Tuesday and Friday 08.00 -13.00

    Pazgas Office: 1st floor Mercaz Tzil, Jerusalem Street. Tel no: 04 697 4444

    Hours: 8.00 -15.00 Sunday thru Thursday

    except Tuesday 8.00 – 14.00 and Friday 08.00 – 12.30pm

    Supergas shop: 40 Jerusalem Street  Tel no: 057 720 2247 or 04 682 1116

    Hours: Sunday thru Thursday 08.00 – 17.00

    except Tuesday 08.00 – 15.00 and Friday 08.00 – 13.00

    Electricity

    Electricity in Israel works on 220/240 volts and 50 Hz so don’t use an American 120 volt appliance without a transformer, as you will permanently wreck your equipment. Electricity prices are higher in Israel than in America, and there is no cheap off-peak electricity like there is in Britain. You can save electricity and money using timers on appliances like heaters and water boilers and by using low energy bulbs.

    The Israel Electric office is in the new industrial zone.

    Tel no: 103

  • Taxi And Bus Hire Companies

    In Safed you will see a lot of white taxis, with a taxi registration number painted on the side

    Taxi And Bus Hire Companiesof the car, plying for hire. Each taxi has a little flag that shows the name and phone number of the taxi company. The taxi light on the front of the car unfortunately doesn’t indicate whether the taxi is already hired or not. There are two types of taxi hires in Israel: a “special” or private taxi and a sherut or shared taxi.

    Sheruts

    In Safed there is an excellent sherut service during the daytime that goes around the main part of Safed for 6

    shks a ride, which is only 2shks more than the bus fare. A sherut will pick up other passengers on the way, so don’t be surprised if there is a lot of changing of seats during the ride as people get on or are dropped off.

    A main pickup is in front of the Papaya shoe store on the corner of Jerusalem Street and Aliyah Bet Street and the sherut goes on a fairly circular route around the center of town, down the hill, via Weizmann Street with its Government Offices to the Maor Haim neighborhood and back up again. You can pick up a sherut almost anywhere along the route or by waiting at most bus stops. You just need to signal to a passing taxi. Just make sure it’s a sherut before getting in, otherwise they will charge you for a “special”. There is also another route that goes via Palmach and Hanassi, towards the Shikun Darom neighborhood and back up towards the bus station.

    Special Taxis

    You can order a “special” in advance or pick up a passing taxi on the street to take you wherever you want t

    o go in Safed. The regular “special” fare within Safed is 17 – 20 shks during the day, with higher prices at night and erev Shabbat or Chag.

    Price Guide

    Here is a guide to prices per person for daytime journeys outside of Safed.

    For Rosh Pina expect to pay around 40-50 shks, for Tiberius 120 -150, Akko 200- 220, Jerusalem 650 -700, and for Ben Gurion airport around 650 shks. Of course all prices are negotiable, subject to change, and vary slightly from cab company to cab company.

    Special Trips

    You can also hire a taxi to tour around the area for a day or part of a day. Many companies have large cars or minibuses (tenders) for larger groups, so ring around to see what is available in advance of your trip. There are also a number of bus hire companies which have everything from 10 – 20 seater minibuses to 40+ seater coaches.

    Taxi Companies

    Here are just a few of the many taxi companies in Safed, most of which don’t operate on Shabbat. If you think you will need a taxi on Shabbat you should enquire a day or so in advance to make the necessary arrangements.

    Taxi Ari: 04 699 9994 or 1800 399 994 is one of the bigger companies

    Taxi Benny: 052 370 1712 or 057 722 1915

    Taxi S.A.L: 04 692 4081 This company has male and female drivers.

    Taxi HaMavrich: 1 800 32 50 50 or 04 697 4222

    Taxi Tamir: 04 697 2111 or 057 725 4433

    Bus Hire Companies.

    Here are just a few of the well-known bus hire companies that have a range of bus sizes available for hire.

    Hassaot Yitzhak Malka: 050 550 0576 or 050 330 0572

    Shalom Et Segal: 04 690 2226

    Matayelay Safed V Canaan: 04 697 4548

     

    Safe travelling.