History of my Aliyah to Tzfat is tightly woven into the history of Bas Medrash. It started in 2013 in Judy Paikin apartment on Rehov Yerushalaim where I met my new friends and became engaged in half-day study of Torah and Jewish Scriptures taught by the prominent Tzfat teachers and Rabbis. Since then every Monday, the Bas Medrash day, became my very special day. Regardless of the weather – in a heavy coat in the winter, or under large umbrella in rainy season, or climbing icy stairs during raging snow storm, I rushed to this special place on Rehov Yerushalaim – Bas Medrash. It gave me special spiritual energy and joy which lasted the whole week.
With time the locations changed, new people came on Aliyah and joined Bas Medrash, but the spirit which drove all of us to Bas Medrash remained. We became an ever growing community of Jewish women of different ages and different streams of Judaism (Litvaks, Breslov, Chabad and others), united by a great desire to come close to Hashem, to learn how to do it, to know more about Halacha (Jewish Law) and Mitzvot (Commandments), and to learn how to love each other as we are despite our personal preferences.
I made Aliah to Tzfat in July of 2016. Before my arrival i was very “successful” to rent an apartment. Unfortunately, upon my arrival, I found that it won’t be available for a month. In the interim, I was advised to stay with a roommate, which I did. Shortly after, a woman who lived upstairs warned me that my new roommate is unstable, and I better not stay with her alone at all. That was my introduction to Tzfat - you never know what you end up with! I did not know what to do until, Boruch Hashem, same woman from upstairs recommended that I talk to Judy Paikin. I was not yet familiar with Tzfat, so my friends’ daughter Rochel took me to Judy on Rechov Yerushalaim. Judy told me that I could stay with her until my apartment becomes available, but on Mondays she has Torah classes, so I would have to get up early and clear the room for class. I ended up staying with my friends, but on Monday I came to the class.
And, honestly, that was the day when my good life in Tzfat began. Bas Medrash is the place for everybody irregardless of your Torah knowledge, or even no knowledge at all. You feel at home. It’s so welcoming, all women are extremely nice. You make friends, and there are tons of classes offered that you can choose from.
And in The Good Days, B.V. (Before Virus)- and I hope that they will come back soon - a delicious healthy breakfast is served which actually turns into All-Day-Eating thanks to Judy’s generosity. This woman, bless her heart, is a Perpetuum Mobile!!! She never stops doing things for people! I could write a book about my encounters with her and so many miracles that happened! Now, during all this C. T. (Corona Time) in the world, you would think that she would stop. Think twice!!! We have classes on Zoom every Monday, regular schedule.
We had our sensational pre-Yom Kippur BootCamp thirteen straight hours learning!
I can go on and on and on... But when I told my friend from Beit Shemesh about Bas Medrash he said "It's phenomenal! On that scale It doesn’t exist anywhere in Israel" I felt so proud! Thank you Judy for creating and keeping Bas Medrash alive and well! Happy to be part of it!
