B"H

Silence

Here in Tzfat we have a very long tradition of Jewish and Sufi
mysticism and so the practices that go along with attaining higher
levels of self-discipline are understood by the townspeople and
tolerated beautifully.

It is not unusual here to meet someone in the street, say hello and
have the person smile and take out a little piece of paper which says:
"I'm doing a talking fast today." Would that everyone were blessed
to live in a place where one could do that!

I undertook to do a talking fast once a week for almost a year a few
years ago. There are some who do it while fasting from food as well.
These practices inculcate a good deal of discipline in us, especially
those of us who come from a culture of "talking heads" and
indiscriminate eating of valueless foods.

With blessings,
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan