Nissim

Leaving Everything for Tzfat

Nissim has been living in Tzfat for 12 years, but no one seems to know his family name. Even the postman delivers mail to "Nissim". Most people, however, call him "Nissim, you know, the one with the Dobermans."

Nissim grew up in a religious Tunisian family. His father, he recounts, was a typical Tunisian religious man, rising at 4:00a.m. to pray and say psalms before going to work at his shop in Ashkelon. Nissim never openly rebelled against his religious upbringing, but "I never really felt what I was observing. It wasn't a part of me."

Not, that is, until he came to Tzfat on an organized tour of the holy sites and gravesites of the great rabbis. After immersing in the ARI mikve, a ritual bath, he started to ascent the bus, only to find that some invisible force kept pushing him back. "It was as though someone pushed me with their two hands" Nissim remembers. "And that's when I said to myself, it's time to leave Ashkelon and come to Tzfat". Several days later, he packed a suitcase and a few hundred dollars and was on his way.

Nissim was actually leaving sizeable holdings and a thriving business in Ashkelon. He was a building contractor with more work than he could handle, and owned a nightclub and a casino. "And" he ruefully admits "not everything was totally legal". But Tzfat called to him, and he followed his yearning, living in difficult conditions for years while he studied, prayed, and settled in.

Roommates

Two years after he arrived, he accepted a female Doberman. She was sick and injured, and traumatized by abuse. "Flum" cared for her, treated her, and adored her, and as the years passed, she had several litters of puppies, one of which, "Glock" still lives with Nissim. Glock's daughter is "Pica", and the line is about to end, as Nissim intends to have her spayed. But Doberman House is every bit as much a tourist attraction as any of Tzfat's galleries or religious sites. The dogs spend much of their time on the roof of Nissim's house, patrolling, and passers point, take pictures, and engage Nissim in long conversations about their proper care and feeding. Glock especially seems to know that he's being admired....he trots through town holding notes that Nissim gives him for the shopkeepers detailing his needs, and then brings the bags home to Nissim.

Today, Nissim is studying art at the community colleges in Kiryat Shmoneh and Tzfat. He intends to open a gallery, though it's unclear what the visitors will be admiring - his art, or his dogs.