Rosh Pina

The kids recently went off to camp for 12 days. Yes, 12 days! 12 whole days of peace and quiet, and time to go off and do the things that they would possibly declare "booooring!". Mister Handmade in Israel and I decided to take a couple of days off work and chose the lovely Galilee town of Rosh Pina as our destination. En route we visited Metzudat Koach, a mandate-era British fortress (known also as the Nabi Yusha fortress) in the Upper Galilee. The fortress overlooks the beautiful Hula Valley and is used these days by the Israeli Border Police. Next door is the Reut Museum, a memorial site which commemorates 28 soldiers who fell during the conquest of the fortress during the War of Independence. In Hebrew the word koach means strength, which describes the Israeli soldiers who fought, and died, to secure the fortress and the surrounding civilian population in 1948. But there is a deeper meaning in the name. In Hebrew, letters and words have numerical values. The numerical value of the Hebrew word koach is 28 – the number of soldiers who gave their lives in the battle to control this important fort.

We left the museum with rather heavy hearts. Metzudat Koach is one of many places in Israel that inspires these conflicting emotions: the pain of the price we have paid for independence, and the beauty of that which we have created in the 67 years since. Shvil Ami, the Jordan River Promenade, a lovely paved promenade located above and along the flowing waters of the Jordan River, was the perfect way to relax and bring back that holiday feeling. Mister Handmade in Israel and I took a leisurely stroll along the promenade, enjoying the well-kept lawns, vine covered pergolas, and the sight of kayaks moving noisily through the river. The walkway is studded with biblical quotes, all connected to crossing the Jordan River.

We drove on to Rosh Pina, to our delightful zimmer (the Israeli B&B is known as a zimmer - German for room), Pina Barosh.  'Pina Barosh' is located on Hachalutzim Street (halutzim is a Hebrew word meaning "Pioneers"), right in the old town of Rosh Pina. The stone building was established in 1876 by Josef Friedman, the family's great-grandfather, and its upper floor is still occupied today by the sixth generation of the original settlers. The ground level of the unique building was once used as the farm livestock yard, and was restored in 1991. Our guest room was in the refet, the "cowshed", though only the beautiful arches and stone walls bear any reference to that nowadays.

Rosh Pina was founded in 1878. A group of young religious people left Safed, the neighbouring city, in order to start an agricultural village. They bought land from the Arab natives and called it "Gei Oni", but after three years of hardships and hunger most of them left, leaving a few who were great believers in the place and who were stubborn enough to hold on to the land. In 1882 a group arrived from Romania. They managed to stay in the place, with financial assistance from Baron Edmond de Rothschild, who decided to lend a helping hand. They renamed it Rosh Pina, 'cornerstone', taking the name from Psalms 117:22: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."

In recent years Rosh Pina has become a sought-after tourist spot. Ceramic studios, art galleries, good restaurants, and lovingly preserved old buildings make it the kind of place I love to wander through. We passed Beit Hapekidut (House of the Clerks) where the clerks sent by Baron Rothschild lived and worked, and the house of Simha Haim Vilkomich, the principal of Rosh Pina's school, the second modern Hebrew school built in Israel. The beautiful synagogue, with its amazing ceiling filled with fluffy clouds, was the first public building erected in Rosh Pina. Before descending through Gan Ha Baron, a small wooded area planted in 1884 and meant to look something like the famous garden in Versailles, France (it doesn't), we stopped off at HaChocolatte ('The Chocolate Box') gallery and café for the yummiest chocolate drink I have ever tasted!

At the uppermost part of Rosh Pina there is the Nimrod Lookout, a magnificent observation point which is part of the memorial site to Nimrod Segev, who was born in Rosh Pina in 1977 and fell in 2006 in the Second Lebanon War while on reserve duty. The beautiful views seen from the high Nimrod Lookout are the sights viewed by Nimrod throughout his life: the Hula Valley, the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, Israel’s tallest peak at 2,236 meters (7,336 feet), and the slopes of Mount Caanan on which the lookout is built.

We visited the the Nimrod Lookout on the 15th of Av, the Hebrew Valentine's Day, the date on which Nimrod was killed. Mister Handmade in Israel noticed a poster advertising a memorial evening in Nimrod's name and we were pleased to join it that evening, to hear Nimrod's parents speak about their son and to listen to a sing-along (erev shel shirim) with his friends. It was emotional, poignant yet enjoyable all at once.

Staying in Rosh Pina was a real treat. Although it was hot, we loved strolling around the small town. The cobbled streets and numerous steps brought us to many picturesque galleries and hidden corners. The dilapidated wooden doors and stonework of some still-abandoned premises are part of the charm. Many visitors come to Rosh Pina for the restaurants and, though not great "foodies", we especially enjoyed our breakfasts at 'Pina Barosh'. It was lovely to sit in the sunshine, with time to spare, just enjoying the magnificent views and open landscapes. The sleepy little town of about 2,500 people really was our perfect getaway destination.