I landed on Monday after a crazy trip that I wrote about and spent Tuesday in Ramallah, which I also wrote about. The next five days were mine in Israel to do as I pleased. I spent the morning of Wednesday and Thursday meeting with potential clients and had a chance to be more Israeli than before as I explored the country with public transportation, doing the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem commute via train on Thursday. It was freeing not to have to be part of a group and to go when, where, and how I wanted.

On Wednesday, I left early for Be’er Ya’akov, 15 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv, by Gett (Israel’s version of Uber). I spent two hours there seeing a friend, touring Shamir Hospital, and exploring a potential working relationship. I spent the afternoon working while I relaxed. There is something special about being in Israel, in a hotel on the beach in Tel Aviv, that makes work a little bit easier. That night, I explored Bogroshov Street, just a short walk away, to pick a restaurant for dinner. I chose a good one and relaxed while I sat outside on a beautiful night, ate dinner, and people-watched. It was the kind of day I could get used to.

On Thursday, I got up early and took the train to Jerusalem to meet with another potential client. If you have never been to the Yitzhak Navon train station in Jerusalem, it is a sight to see. It’s deep underground, so when you arrive, you take a short set of stairs, three giant escalators, and then a regular escalator in order to get out. You can also wait and take the elevator, but the line is always long. It’s a spectacular train station, and the escalators are beautiful.

We met outside the train station and walked to a great, hidden coffee shop he knew. It’s not on my secret places to go visit! We sat and talked for a few hours before I headed back to the train to get back to Jerusalem. Before the train, the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem commute was brutal. With the train, it is a breeze. 35 minutes on a comfortable train and you are there. I got back to Tel Aviv, met my friend who had just flown in, and off we went to the Carmel Market. We met another friend there (this is Israel, so you meet people everywhere you go) and walked and talked through the shuk. We had a great time before splitting up as my friend and I were off to Jaffa, and my other friend was heading to his hotel to pack and get ready to fly home.

This time we took the bus to Jaffa. It’s incredibly easy, especially with the app Moovit. Before we knew it, we were in Jaffa and walking through the flea market. We decided to meet another friend of mine, Rodica, who is a former ambassador from Israel to Spain and Mexico. Rodica is one of the most brilliant people I know, and I can listen to her explain things and answer questions for hours. Of course, we discussed the upcoming election. We also talked about the Supreme Court issues in Israel. She was able to explain the details so clearly and concisely. It was amazing. I felt like I was in a master class about the Israeli political and legal system. We had a great time together and closed down the coffee shop, which forced us to stop the conversation and head back to the hotel. I met up with another friend in the lobby of our hotel and we sat and talked for a bit. I really felt Israeli using the train and the bus to get around. It’s amazing having so much public transportation to utilize.

Friday was our planned Jerusalem day. We took the train once again and then the light rail close to the Old City. We walked a short distance, and there we were. It was awesome to use public transportation like an Israeli to get where we needed. We did a little shopping in the Old City before stopping at my favorite Old City falafel shop and meeting up with my best friend who, surprisingly, was in Israel. We walked to the Kotel, stopping by the Chabad booth to put on tefillin and a tallit, and headed to the Wall to pray. The first time I ever visited the Kotel, I remember thinking it was going to be this powerful experience, and it wasn’t. I was incredibly disappointed and let down. I don’t know what I expected to happen when I touched it, but I didn’t feel anything. Two weeks later, we returned, and that time I did feel something. Every time I have been since, it’s a powerful experience for me. I found my spot at the Kotel, rested my head against it, and talked with God. I felt warm and peaceful. Connected. Tied to my ancestors and my heritage. Very close to God. I finished my personal prayers and met up with my friends. One of them had never been into the inside section, so we walked in and started talking about it. It was amazing to walk past service after service after service into the very back of the area. We stopped, told stories to each other, and then left.

We headed to Machane Yehuda, one of my favorite places on Fridays. We were getting there late, so it wasn’t quite as busy as usual. My gluten-free bakery was closed, and they were locking the very bottom door when I asked if they had any gluten-free challah left. The worker looked at me, grabbed a bag with some freshly baked gluten-free bread items in it, handed it to me, said, “Shabbat Shalom,” and walked away. I didn’t get my gluten-free challah, but I did get some gluten-free freshly baked breads, so I was thrilled. We walked around the shuk, exploring everything, before finding a stand to buy a late lunch and head out of the shuk. We found a place to sit and ate and talked. My friend staying in Jerusalem left us, and all of a sudden, we realized we missed the last train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. They stop early on Shabbat, and the only way to get back to Tel Aviv was by taxi. A taxi that took much longer than the train and cost 8 times as much! But we took it. We got back to our hotel in time to change clothes and head out for Shabbat dinner.

Shabbat dinner in Israel is always special. We went to a friend’s home where there were 8 of us for dinner. We sat around the table and talked, said the kiddush and motzi, relaxed, talked, ate, told stories, and had a great time. It was a couple of hours of being unplugged and connected with other people. The type of connection we don’t do enough of any longer. As we left her apartment and began to walk to our hotel, the streets were silent. It was such a beautiful sound of silence. We walked down to the Tayelet (the boardwalk along the beach) and enjoyed the sound of the Mediterranean, a slight breeze, beautiful weather, and the quiet of Shabbat. Getting back to the hotel was anticlimactic.

Shabbat day was beautiful. Breakfast and then the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day, the temperature was perfect, the water was perfect, and we got great beach chairs with an umbrella to hang out and spend the day. The entire day: 10 am until 4 pm relaxing on the beach. Reading, sleeping, going into the water – total relaxation. The extension of Shabbat was amazing.

As the day ended, a very close friend picked me up and took me to her home in Modi’in, where I got to hang out with her wife and children and a friend of theirs who came to Israel to vote in Tuesday’s election. I love the entire family – her wife has become a dear friend, and the children are adorable and I have fun with them. The oldest danced, the younger boys talked, and we sat and had dinner. After dinner, we took the dog for a walk and enjoyed our time together. She took me to the train to get back to Tel Aviv, and while I hated leaving, I had to prepare to end the restful part of my trip. It was a day filled with nothing and yet filled with everything. That’s Shabbat. That’s Israel on Shabbat.

Sunday was getting out of the hotel and heading to Jerusalem. Before we left, my friend had set up lunch with two IDF soldiers who had completed their active service and were now studying in college. He underwrote a scholarship through FIDF for both of them. It was the first time they all met, and I was invited. We sat together, talked, learned about each other, and ordered delicious food. Schachar is studying interior design and real estate while remaining in milium (reserves), where she helps find survivors from rocket attacks and falling buildings when she isn’t in combat. Orel is studying law and also in milium (reserves), serving in a combat unit. They are younger than my children and carry the burden of a nation on them. They were so thankful for the scholarship and what it means to them. We heard their life stories and their hopes and dreams. I worry about the future of America, but the more time I spend with the youth of Israel, the more secure I am for theirs.

We finished lunch, and Orel took us to the train station to head to Tel Aviv and the start of our planned incredible trip. The rest, relaxation, and freedom of this week were over. As we sat on the train, heading to Jerusalem, excited about phase two of this three-part trip, I reflected on the first part. The friends I got to hang out with, the people I saw in Israel from the US, the soldiers we had lunch with, friends and Shabbat dinner, my friends’ family in Modi’in, time on the beach, taking public transportation, walking the streets of two cities, two very different shuks, and how many people were scared that I was there and kept telling me to stay safe in a country that I always feel safe in. Safer than in the US. Safer than when I took the train around Europe after graduating college 37 years ago. A country at war that is such a happy and beautiful place. A country that only wants to live their lives, raise their children, and live in peace.

I thought of my day in Ramallah and the misconceptions people have about Ramallah. Hadil, my summer, and her son Amed, wonderful people that I am lucky to call friends. The taxi driver who wouldn’t go into Ramallah because it was so hard for him, an Israeli, to get through the checkpoints to leave. My Palestinian driver who treated me so well yet was so frustrated by the efforts to make his life harder that he screamed, F–K Israel, F–K Yahood. The restaurants and delicious food, the stores, the ice cream, the museums – not at all what people think. How I spent Wednesday through Sunday taking public transportation wherever I wanted, lying in the sun on the beach, enjoying every bit of my freedom while they struggled to get anywhere, and Amed dreamed of seeing the beach.

Israel is a wonderful and beautiful country. It’s also very complicated. The election is a big deal, and yet it may result in nobody winning, no coalition being formed, and new elections being needed before the end of the year. There are contradictions everywhere, and yet the desire to live freely remains everywhere.

Israel is a country that must be experienced and felt. It can’t be explained fully because, if you haven’t been here, you can’t understand. Once you have been here, you understand. There is still a lot to learn. I told Rodica we should start doing programs where she talks and teaches and then opens it up for questions. In 2027, I may start that. One thing I know for sure: I’ll never stop loving Israel and doing my part to make her the best country she can be. I’ll never stop trying to get people to come experience Israel firsthand and fall in love the way I have. I’ll never stop being a Zionist or believing in Am Yisrael Chai. If that bothers you, it’s your problem, not mine.