Safed musicians in town for fundraiser

By ANDY LEVY-AJZENKOPF
Staff Reporter

Safed, one of Israel’s four holy cities along with Jerusalem, Tiberias and Hebron, needs help.
And organizers in Toronto are staging a fundraising concert to provide it.
A local grassroots assembly of Safed (also known as Tsfat) devotees have arranged for the musical group Simply Tsfat – a fervent trio of Safed-based, Breslev chassidim that includes two guitarists and a violinist – to perform June 6 at Shaarei Tefillah Congregation.

Safed’s residents, businesses and tourism industry were devastated by last summer’s Lebanon war, and town officials fear there may not be enough funding from the Israeli government to help them over the hump of rebuilding the town’s infrastructure and their reputation. All proceeds from the concert will go to the Nachal Novea Tsfat Fund, a New York-based charity that helps Safed’s needy families with interest-free loans, helps stock food banks, maintains holy sites and provides supplemental funding for various rebuilding projects. The fund is also championed worldwide by Safed’s active Breslever Chassidic community.

With more than 27,000 residents, Safed is renowned and revered for its historic, spiritual connection to Jewish mysticism through the teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria and Rabbi Yosef Karo, among others, and for its modern-day charm as a thriving centre for artists, poets and scholars high in the Galilee mountains. Rhonda Newman, a Toronto nurse enamoured with Safed and its Breslever community, volunteered at Simply Tsfat’s Toronto concert last year, and decided to get more involved with the fund as a spokesperson for this year’s event. “The money helps on different levels,” Newman told the CJN. “For education, the environment, re-development, and support for entrepreneurs.” Newman added that all of the volunteers involved in this cause feel a great sense of tikkun olam and “a passion to strengthen Israel, our people and our spirit as well.” The charity is also heartily endorsed by Safed’s mayor, Yishei Maimon. “It gives me great pleasure to watch the dynamic energy that [the fund] brings to the city,” Maimon wrote in a March 1 letter to Tsfat Fund President Samuel Solomon. In the past, the fund has helped build nurseries, educational facilities, visitor centres and most recently, a refurbished mikvah that provides access for people with disabilities.
Speaking to The CJN from New York, Michael Landsberg, executive director of the fund, emphasized the extent of Safed’s need. “Tsfat suffered heavy damage [from the war]. The absorption centre for the area’s immigrants and many businesses were forced to close,” he said. “All the tourist income that was a resource was eliminated. Tens of millions of dollars were lost.” Landsberg also stressed that by helping Safed, people should understand that they’re helping “one of the most strategic cities in the north,” portraying it as a crucial bulkhead protecting Israel’s perimeter in the Galilee. He added that donors can choose to direct their donations to whatever charitable cause in Safed donors prefer to fund.

Based on her previous experience, Newman believes attendees at this year’s concert are in for a treat. “The essence of Breslev Chassidut is to help everyone,” she said. “And Simply Tsfat are amazing. They have a joyful vibe… and you just get this charged feeling at their concerts.” According to Simply Tsfat’s website, the group believes in the power of music to help heal their city and the world. “Judaism is full of song. Even prayer is a song,” group members declare in a video on their website. This year, those songs will ring out once again to help heal Safed.

For concert information, call 416-787-163.