September 06

Tsfat: Images of the Aftermath
by Eliyahu Alpern
p. 2 of 3

Tsfat can seem like an unreal place -- airy, just like its familiar element. So, in amongst the devastation, it's not surprising that there were those who reported miracles. One of those is pictured here. A katyusha exploded near the home of Avraham Lowenthal, a talented Tsfat artist whose work draws on themes of the Kabbalah. I was at Avraham's house and studio a few months ago; he gave a talk to a group of visiting students in the middle of a driving rainstorm. As you can see above, the shrapnel shattered glass and damaged Avraham's house. But as you can see below, a glass sculpture depicting the blasts of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, which had been leaning against the shattered window, was totally unharmed. (As it happens, I had thought of buying the piece when I saw it a few months ago, but decided it was too expensive.)

Not every place was so lucky. Below is Midreshet Tzofnat, heavily damaged in the shelling.

Warning: next page contains graphic images.