Weekend in Efrat

This past weekend we spent with some of Ilene's cousins in the city of Efrat. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the geography of Israel, Efrat is located South of Jerusalem, in an area called Gush Etzion. The first time I ever visited Israel I spent three weeks on a Kibbutz in this area and this was the first time I had been back in many years. There is a great deal of history associated with Gush Etzion as well. This area was the scene of many bitter battles during the War of Independence as well as during the years prior to the establishment of the State of Israel. While Efrat is considered a "Settlement" and therefore its inhabitants are "settlers", it really is just a suburb of Jerusalem. It is home to many professionals (I understand that it has one of the largest concentration of doctors and lawyers in Israel)who were looking for inexpensive housing. There is a large contingent of Anglo-Saxon immigrants. Total population is close to 10,000. Efrat is at a higher elevation than Jerusalem and therefore colder (and much colder than Modiin). We enjoyed spending time with Meir and Chaya Lowenberg. We also got to meet Dr. Michael and Naomi Baum, along with their family. Naomi is the daughter of Meir and Chaya. It was really nice being able to pray in an actual synagogue with a beautiful view. We were treated to some really great food and wonderful company. Saturday morning we took a walk around the city to get a better perspective and see more of its environs. Efrat is primarily a religious community and one can walk in the street on Shabbat without worrying about cars. The quiet and tranquility were wonderful. Unfortunately, right before the end of Shabbat, Gila came down with a temperature and we headed back home without taking any pictures. We have all been sick with various types of ailments this week and last. There seems to be some type of virus that is just rampant (epidemic?). In any case, it would have been nice to have taken pictures of Efrat, but we'll have to do it another time.