Sunday Feature: A City on a Hill

Jewish commentator Clive Lawton explores Safed in Northern Israel, one of the four holiest cities in Judaism and self-proclaimed world capital of spirituality. The city, which perches on the top of the hill in the Northern Galilee, is virtually unknown outside Israel and Judaism. Yet it has been home to an extraordinary school of scholars and mystics who redefined Jewish faith and law and attracts thousands of tourists, artists and modern-day mystics. Among the towering figures from Safed's past is Isaac Luria, known as 'the Lion', an Egyptian rabbi and master of the mystical tradition of Kabbalah. Safed today is home to just 30,000 people, yet it is one of the few places in Israel that has been continually occupied by Jews since biblical times. It is central to the practice of Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism and home to religious scholars and artists from all over the world. Clive explores Safed's streets, visiting synagogues and joining in the ceremonies, singing the famous love song to Shabbat known as Lecha Dodi. He wanders among the tombstones in the city's cemeteries and witnesses the ultra orthodox venerating the rabbis who were drawn to the area so long ago