The eve of Lag BaOmer and Shabbat. The roads heading north are already jammed on Friday morning. Sages who saw the future booked a place in advance on a vacation organized by the Winter Club at the Hacienda estate in the forest, so that on Shabbat they would be close to the Rashbi's memorial, enjoy a pampering Shabbat, and on Shabbat they would immediately arrive for the lighting of the Meron. We, for our part, saw the future and sent our photographer Azriel Moshe there, so that he could bring us a short taste of a vacation in the middle of the year.
The peace and quiet surrounding the hotel lobby, which extends across wide meadows, are suddenly interrupted when the owner of the Winter Club, Haim Friedman, walks quickly in front of us. One picture, and he approaches with a cheerful face and asks: Is everything okay? Did you get rich? Did you mix? Did you find the rooms?
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On the side of the lobby, three generations of people are sitting happily on the couch: a father, a grandfather, and a grandson, enjoying the grandson's wisdom about Lag BaOmer, which is spoken with the sweet and pure childishness of a child, like this: What did Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai eat in the cave? And the child sweetly answers, "Rhymes"...
If in the previous photo we encountered three generations on one armchair, in this photo we found one generation looking three and a half generations ahead. They were so engrossed in the game that they didn't even hear the camera or notice that the snack in the bag had long since run out.
A welcoming attitude is the slogan of Winter Club. It doesn't end there. When there is the slightest problem, the owners come and take care of it personally. What turns out later is that there was no problem at all and everyone leaves satisfied and smiling.
Wexberger, the brother of... and a master in his own right as a Torah writer, also came to take a break from life in the center and be close to Rabbi Shimon on Shabbat. But it's impossible to enjoy Shabbat without friends, so they came with their families and wives.
Rabbi Shimon was content with a handful of carobs for his food, all in order to study Torah out of stress. There are those who come to rest on Shabbat, but they bring the Gemara and Parshi from home. Because Shabbat without Torah is like Rabbi Shimon without carobs.
Meanwhile, the guests who arrived early rush to the sauna and baths. The mikveh is active on site, and on Shabbat they are pampered, and also excited, just like at home. The warm breezes float in the air, and the relaxed atmosphere draws us to leave the camera and run to join them.
In the yard, on the lawns, children's and 'new born' photographer Rivki Schwartz, is busy photographing the children of the 'halaka' and their siblings. Look, smile, laugh, that's what the mother sounds like. And the photographer, with infinite patience, waits hunched over and waits for the right moment to capture the picture. We brought it to you at work. Let's hope they left a big tip for her too.
Where am I going to sing? The singer asks the guys from Winter Club, and they are on the sidelines - coordinating the appropriate place. Yes, an orchestra with a Lag BaOmer atmosphere has also been brought to the venue. Meir Weiner, the pianist and flutist, has already arrived, he plays on the piano on the sidelines, the gentle sounds are just an opening for the singing and the orchestra that will begin dancing in the next few minutes.
To the readers of the regular section - we would like to remind you that we wandered away from Jerusalem, the Holy City, left the Machane Yehuda Market and went to Rabbi Shimon. But apparently there are people who will never escape a picture or two and certainly not a few words. This is how we found him - Dov Eichler (who-knows-how-many-times-in-the-section), the son of... with Eli Schwartz, sitting and enjoying a breakfast-lunch that was specially put out for the section's favorite as a personal treat. Afterwards, they also posed for pictures. That's what happens when there's a need to take pictures next to celebrities.
My son, listen to your father's teachings, and do not forsake your father. While watching Lag BaOmer videos from Miron, the toddler sits at his father's feet and listens to the sounds of music rising from the orchestra in the lobby. His father, who has bought moments of peace thanks to the gentle sounds, hurries to check the lighting times of the bayan in the Rashbi's name.
""Take a picture, take a picture of us with the Rebbe." Who are we to refuse such a request? We took a picture of them. He, for his part, protested: "I'm not a Rebbe, don't believe them." You decide whether he is a Rebbe or not, in the meantime, in the picture he looks like a Rebbe with two Shin Bet security officers. The trip to Meron was no easier.
Shabbat is approaching in leaps and bounds, the sun is setting on the lawns, a father and son are swinging in a hammock, gathering some quality time. "Take a picture of him, in two years and eight months we will go up to Miron to do his halakhah. Then he will have hair." Are you sure he will grow hair? We asked. And he replied: "Take a picture now, we will compare in two years or so.".
We were filming them in a lively conversation about the state of the roads in Mirona, and the one with the back turned and said: "Write that I'm Zussman." We'll write, we said. "No, you didn't understand," he repeated, "I'm Zussman with an A so they know who I am, because you filmed from behind." We smiled, and now we were writing too.
And in the lobby, the latecomers meet happily, hugging each other. They didn't believe they would meet here, right next to Rabbi Shimon, after not meeting all year. And to the side, next to them, sit those connected to the whole world, each brother in his own chair and in his own world. From their seats, they wish their friends across the sea and those who remained at the center "Shabbat Shalom.".
Although the siren is not heard, the atmosphere of Shabbat is already permeating everything. In the hotel's spaces and seating areas, you can see people after the mikveh, relaxed. Sitting and enjoying the cool atmosphere of the Galilee, the silence resonates powerfully. Their wigs are still wet from the mikveh, and some are walking around in Crocs. But there is one word for everyone to say: 'Shabbat Shalom.'.
And on Saturday night, just before the crowd 'flew' to the Rashbi's memorial on Mount Meron, we still had time to hold a 'lighting ceremony' in the hotel courtyard.
