The GREEN Line

This Shabbat was one that I don’t think I will forget anytime soon. I decided to go with josh to his family friends the Guts who live in Efrat. We spent the morning downtown at machne buying the entire market up. I am pretty sure we had more food than we knew what to do with. Then we made our way across the green line(my first time in gush etzion) which was tantamount to crossing into Jordan(jk). We got a nice tour from eric who took us around the surrounding communities to see what life is like there. We arrive with plenty of time to spare before Shabbat, and were able to make ourselves presentable (it is kind of hard these days with a 4 week omer beard). We then headed to 1 of 9 synagogues in Efrat. There was a very spiritual and wonderful tefillah. The man leading kabbalat Shabbat put his soul into davening and made it connect with me. Right after I finish praying and I am leaving the building, of course who do I run into of all people: Yehuda Marcus. He was an israeli staff for wheels in 2008. He had been in the states for the past couple months traveling in Denver and working in New York. He just returned to Israel this past week and had the honor of seeing him on his first Shabbat back. We talked and caught up on the long 2 year absence that has been since I last saw him. Then it was off to dinner with the group. We went to a good friend of Eric’s by the name of Saul. He is a doctor that travels every 2 weeks back to NY to work and then 2 weeks to live here in israel. He is a brilliant man who has extensive knowledge in all aspects of life. We began a conversation in the beginning of dinner and i was so entrenched that the next thing I knew we had been talking for 2 hours. Often I had trouble keeping up with him but somehow he still complimented me on how smart I was and gave me great compliments. Besides the great conversation, the food was incredible. For some reason every single family I go to worries that I will not eat enough because I am a vegetarian but they all fail to realize that I make up for it by eating every single thing that I can instead of others that pass on food. The entire evening was amazing in so many facets. It was so different for me being a stimulating night that does not usually happen here with my college friends. The rest of shabbat was very relaxing. It consisted of a lot of reading, a lot of eating, some davened, spending quality time with josh and his family, and really realizing the holiness of the day that is something not to be taken lightly. The view from the settlements is beautiful and makes you realize that all of Israel is special and the territories that were given up are more than just pieces of game for peace. The weekend made me realize that the issues of settlements are a little more complex than we realize and the vigor that people express may need to be calmed.

Getting back from Efrat may be the easiest thing to do when it comes to transportation. Normally the bus arrives, goes through the entire town, comes back to tachanah mercazit all within an hour and a half. However, most of these American settlers in Efrat have business or relatives in Jerusalem and travel to see them after Shabbat. I walked out of Eric and Karen’s and the first couple I ran into I asked where they were going and the said Jerusalem so I asked for a ride for Joshy and myself and they were happy to oblige. They took us to Emek Rafaim where we hopped on the bus back to the cfar. I then had to rush myself out of the door to meet some people downtown. While waiting for them outside of a bar I thought I saw someone I knew having a drink and then after a double take I did in fact know her. It was Ayelet Firstenberg a girl from LA that has gone to school with my brother josh, and the sister of Gali who was in my grade. I chatted with her for a little since I had not seen her in like 10 years. She is here hanging, interning, and living life. It was really great to see her, a kind of blast from the past.