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| Ramat Bet Shemesh Aleph |
Back to Chicago. My wife and I are on our way back from Israel – having spent yet another wonderful Yom Tov in in Ramat Bet Shemesh Aleph (...except for Yom Tov Sheni of Simchas Torah – see post from last week for the reason.)
The suburbs of Bet Shemesh are growing by leaps and bounds. Construction is everywhere. All residences there are built using 'Jerusalem stone' - making for a very aesthetically pleasing look. The view of the surrounding hills are quite beautiful and can be seen from many of the homes there.
An entire new city (Ramat Bet Shemesh Gimmel) is being built (mostly condos) adjacent to Aleph with many people already living there. Greater Bet Shemesh is about to become one of the largest cities in Israel. It will be populated mostly by observant Jews (Charedim and Datim). Shabbos and Yom Tov there is palpable. You can feel it in the air. The only traffic on those days are occasional emergency vehicles. The streets become filled with children playing in them.
Although I'm told that the percentage of English speakers there is at about 40%, I could almost swear that the most common language spoken there is English.
The new 4 lane highway (38) connecting Bet Shemesh to the Jerusalem Tel Aviv Highway (1) is a dream! It is operational and fast. What used to be a long and slow haul - of sometimes up to an hour just a few short months ago now takes minutes to traverse.
But you do have to watch out for those 'crazy' Israeli drivers. Just kidding.
We truly enjoyed spending time with our son, daughter in law, and our American-Israeli grandchildren. Loved the Shul (Masaas Mordechai). Loved the people in it. The skies were blue, and the temperature as warm as the people we encountered. Can't wait to come back.