ISRAEL

SCHWARTZIE DIARIES

JUNE 24, 2011

Shalom & Chai Y'all, til 120, long & healthy & productive years. 

I hope & pray that this finds you healthy & well, + the serenity that real peace of mind conveys. "Real" peace of mind comes also when U live your dream but yr dream is not ONLY just for you.

That sense of self fulfillment is very calming & bestows p e a c e - THEN EVERYTHING changes (4 the btr!).

Many of you know that this is the 16th yr in a row that Olivia & I R the "Scholars in Residence" @ the Ascent Institute in the Holy City of Safed. Thank G-d for El Al's Tuesday non stop.

I teach every AM @ 9:30, after a really great Israeli brkfst, for an hr & a ½. And every nite from 8:30 till 10.

But in Israel, especially in Safed, it 1st BEGINS after class ends. The "classroom" surroundings R totally conducive 2 animated & exciting in4mal discussion abt religion & especially Kabala - since Safed IS the CITY of KABALA!

Safed is actually a summer resort in Israel bcz it's the 2nd highest elevation in the country. Since its in the incredibly Beautiful mountains, no matter how hot it was during the day (& its DRY heat like LA ), it cools off after the world famous, mind altering, nitely sunset.

The Ascent Inst. bldng is @ the north end of the sleepy little 4 century old small Shtetel. (2 give U a little idea- there R no fire stations or traffic lites in Safed but there R abt 40 restaurants.)

So my "classroom" is on the 4th floor of this 5 story bldng. Its an open air, large balcony , with a great view of the mountains that seem almost touchable from the 100 y/o  balcony.

On the weekends there R Seminars that draw 70 to 80 Jews ; all English-spking from all over the world .

The Sem topics include:

·         Kabala 4 Dummies; an overview.

·         The Valley of LOVE; what Kabala says abt human -male/female relationships .

·         The Essence of Prayer ; How 2 , & Meditation.

·         And the like.

Its always dfrnt ppl of all ages. Abt 10% R Orthodox, 30% R clueless, 10% R deep & searching.

In the last 15 yrs, Olivia & I have noticed a very interesting phenomenon; that what takes 3 full yrs for a person 2 progress 2 a certain point in LA

--- can take 5 DAYS in Safed.

But 2 Yall, my dear frnds , I say that we can & shd keep in touch. I luv hearing from U  And I have my loyal & trusty Blkbery always in my possession, so U will B very surprised how quickly U'll get a reply from me.

For any Rabbinical officiation for any life cycle events & beyond  Rabbi Mendel Schwartz is on call & available .

During our stay we will B making many pilgrimages 2 the tombs of various & sundry Jewish saints of our history.

There is a tradition 2 mention the Jewish names of ppl & their mothers' Jewish names 2 elicit divine Blessings from Al-mighty G*d 4 healing &/or livelihood or 2 find your soul mate , etc. 

SCHWARTZIE