Waking up each morning for the past year has meant turning on the news to see what new disaster has happened in Israel during the night. There’s no question that we all are feeling down over what is happening over there.
With pepper spray being given out to employees at government offices for their safety, and non-government employees either buying pepper spray or coming up with their own creative ideas for protecting themselves, we’ve seen everything from women carrying oven cleaner in their purses to rolling pins as they go about their business. Certainly, this is a darkly humorous, albeit ingenious solution. I only wish that these makeshift safety devices never have to be used and this insanity stops!
To talk about more pleasant things, I wanted to share with you some enjoyable experiences I had while in Israel before the serpents and crocodiles were let out of their cages. I went on an exploratory drive with my husband through the Jerusalem Forest over several days during the yom tovim.
For those of you who have never had the opportunity to do this, it is a trip you should certainly try to do since the mountains and forests and the surrounding areas are particularly beautiful and tranquil, very much like going through the mountains of upstate New York, except with a different ambiance.
One day we went through one side through Mevaseret Zion, a lovely bedroom community just outside of Jerusalem proper with lovely homes and apartments facing the Judean Hills, with lush foliage from the edge of the Jerusalem Forest side. This area and much of the area below Mevaseret Zion actually lies more or less parallel with the main highway out of Jerusalem, and features many enclaves of different moshavim with a variety of large and small hillside homes amongst the trees, with magnificent views of both the mountains and valleys around them.
Most of the access roads leading to these places are still narrow mountain roads that need to be traveled carefully—carefully because the views are so exquisite that it is too tempting to not pay attention to the road, so going slow is imperative.
Crossing over to the other side of the highway, the roads bring you deeper into the forest through the village of Ein Kerem, and many of the old homes have become a series of art studios. Ein Kerem has become a vast metropolis of art galleries with creative artists, and stopping to walk around and see this unique village is another “must do” that should definitely be on your list.
We stopped for lunch at an incredible restaurant, Derech Hagefen, in Beit Zayit. Beit Zayit is an exquisite area of lush foliage and California wine country-style homes off small, winding roads. Derech Hagefen Restaurant itself was unique. The ambiance of this small kosher dairy restaurant surrounded by a landscaped pseudo rain forest containing fragrant gardens, country-style décor, and outdoor tables made for a relaxed dining experience. The menu offered an eclectic mix of Italian and Middle Eastern dishes, and the taste of everything we ordered was off the charts delicious. They even make their own homemade ice cream and sell homemade cakes, pasta, and wine from local wineries.
This was definitely a hard place to leave. The atmosphere was so relaxing, but onward we went to do more exploring. The options of places to discover throughout the miles of the Jerusalem Forest leaves you breathless, wanting to explore each place individually. Truly a different experience.
As we finish the chag in one of the most difficult years in most of our lives since the Holocaust, let us hope and pray that we will see the rest of the hostages returned to their families safe and sound, the soldiers safe as well, the war with these crazed animals finally over, and Israel safe at last. n
Anessa Cohen lives in Cedarhurst and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker (Anessa V Cohen Realty) with over 20 years of experience offering residential, commercial and management real estate services. You are invited to visit her website at WWW.AVCREALTY.COM. She can be reached at 516-569-5007 or Readers are encouraged to send any questions or comments by email to anessa@avcealty.com.
