Day 687: Lech-Lecha Artist - Miryam Israel

I came across this woman's story and thought it was kind of cool. Apparently she was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and in the early 90s, decided to take a trip to Israel. While visiting Jerusalem, she had a special experience with G-d and felt like she was being called to return to her Jewish roots.

So, despite having a well established life and career in Portugal, Miryam left her family, home, and job, and moved to "the land G-d showed her." All alone, she made aliyah to Israel and began to paint. She focused her artistic talent on painting Biblical and/or Jewish landscapes, scenes, and the people of the Old City.

Today, Miryam is a citizen of Israel and continues to live and paint in Jerusalem. http://www.israelartguide.co.il/yisrael/

Even though Miryam doesn't appear to be affiliated with a specific art gallery, I have a strong feeling that I will meet her one day. I can almost picture walking down a street in the Old City of Jerusalem and there she is -capturing the scene with her canvas and pastels.

I think Miryam Israel is an inspiration to anyone who has ever felt the call to pick up and start a new life someplace else. Talk about a "leap of faith."

Day 686: Tzfat Gallery of Mystical Art

The Tzfat Gallery of Mystical Art. Okay, who could pass up on visiting a place with such a cool name? Certainly not me. Anyplace that combines art, mysticism, and Judaism, is my kind of place! So visiting this gallery in Safed is definitely going to be on my Israel "must see" list.  

The Tzfat Gallery of Mystical Art is located in the Old City of Tzfat, in the Mayan Haradum Square in the center of the Artist Quarter. The gallery is run by artist Avraham Lowenthal. Born and raised in the United States, this Israeli artist blends the study of  Jewish spirituality with his passion for painting. In addition to running his gallery/art studio, Avraham also offers an "Introduction to Kabbalah" class to travelers. This free presentation focuses on how the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah have inspired Avraham's art. Groups are encouraged to set up tours in advance.

Gallery Phone:  04-692-3051
avraham@kabbalahart.com

Returning Light Meditation

In the video below, Avraham discusses how this painting "Returning Light Meditation" is aligned with the teachings of unconditional love, as outlined in the Kabbalah.

P.S. I just love the sound of the birds in this video! Once I heard their sweet chirping, it made me want to visit even more. I think that if I could be in a place where I heard such lovely sounds, I too would be inspired to pick up a palette and start painting!

Day 685: Change of Plans

There is a great quote by the great "Jewish Philosopher", Woody Allen:

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” 

~ Woody Allen

So there I was, thinking that I had a solid plan on when I would travel to Israel. On the day that I first created this blog, I set a specific intention on exactly when I would be going to visit Israel. I even got clear on how long I wanted to go for. However, I wasn't too clear on the HOW.

But, being the woo woo kind of person that I am, I decided to say "Yes" to the whole thing. I somehow just figured that if it was meant to be, it would all work out somehow. After all, during the course of my life I have made many "leaps of faith" that worked out perfectly. The trick to this attitude is not become too attached to the answer. Which means, that you sometimes have to realize that the universe may likely tweak your goal and give you something even better than you originally thought of.

So a couple of months ago, my hubby and I decided to go out for coffee and talk. It had been quite awhile since we got out of the house and really had a good heart-to-heart about our life and where it was heading. One thing that came up during that chat was that my husband was actually not very happy with my plans to go Israel. Not because he had any issue of me going there, but more at not being included in the equation. Little did I realize that he thought 100 days was a little bit too long for us to be apart. So with that in mind, we started talking about "what it would take" for him to come with me.

One thing led to another, and we started to get a grander vision of maybe 100 days was thinking too small. If I really wanted to get a feel for what it is like to live in Israel, travel to all the places listed on this blog, then maybe we should plan a much longer trip.  Especially since I am now very determined that a big part of going to Israel is to document my adventures in a book.

At this point, I am not sure if my original departure date will work for both my husband and I traveling together.  Especially since my youngest son will still be slugging out his time in High School. So the trip might need to be delayed for a few more years... so that we are in a better position to pick up and leave the United States for an extended period of time.

However, not being the kind of person who throws the baby out with the bathwater, I am not willing to let go of my original departure date.  Perhaps it won't come into fruition of the 100 day trip I planned. However, maybe it might evolve into an abbreviated trip that I take by myself.  At the very least, it gives me a target to work towards... instead of a "someday we'll go to Israel".  I hate "someday" as it is just too vague and never seems to materialize.

 So in the meantime, I will continue with my plans. Continue with this blog.  And just keep moving forward towards that lofty goal of mine.