I was fortunate to cover the Aug. 15 Nefesh B’Nefesh charter aliyah flight for The Jewish Link. I was also extremely lucky that the stars aligned and I was able to extend my trip for two weeks.

Several people have asked me “What was the highlight of your trip?” I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that I loved leisurely walking through the streets of Jerusalem. Each time I sauntered through Mamilla Mall to make my way to the Kotel, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how stores such as Zara and Christian Dior literally led my way to the holiest place on earth. It just doesn’t get old.

But if I had to pick something a bit more concrete as the highlight, it would be spending Shabbat in Efrat with Dov and Amy Kesselman, who made aliyah from West Hempstead, New York about 11 years ago. Also in the Kesselman home for Shabbat were two of their children, Dovid and Chaya (nee Robinson) Kesselman and their sabra baby; Chaya’s sister Tehilla; and as Amy refers to him, “my lone soldier” Sgt. Eliav Saban. Dov and Amy consider Saban, who has his own room and all of his belongings in the Kesselman home, a member of their family.

I had never been to Efrat; its scenery is magical. Everything done under the watchful eye of the Derech HaAvot valley seen from the Kesselman mirpeset seems to have an extra element of spirituality. On Shabbat afternoon I took my book to the mirpeset with the intention of finishing it, but found that I didn’t turn a single page because Hashem created a beautiful page for me to watch, sans words.

But it’s not only the location itself which made Shabbat in Efrat special, it was the people. Let me put this in context.

Dov and Amy each grew up in West Hempstead, as did I. In fact, Dov grew up around the corner from me. Amy’s sister Rena Schiowitz Maryles is one of my closest friends. I worked for Amy and Rena’s father for eight years. Chaya and Tehilla are formerly of the Upper West Side, where I currently reside.

Dov’s parents Bernard and Shelly Kesselman, who have known me since I was a little girl, hosted us for Shabbat lunch. Dov’s brother Moshe, also a former West Hempsteader and current Efrat resident, was also at lunch with his family.

Having spent Shabbat in Israel with friends who feel more like family is no small thing to me. Some decades ago, I went to Israel for my year after high school. I was only 16 years old. It was my first time ever in Israel, and I had no close family or friends there. I was nervous. I remember the anxiety as if it were yesterday.

But time has marched on, I’m a different person, and as aliyah numbers have certainly increased since the time I was a child, I now know more people in Israel.

Israel is our home. But being in Efrat with the Kesselmans really made Israel feel like home. And, I can only imagine how Sgt. Saban feels when he is in the Kesselman home.

Judith Falk is the creator of the Upper West Side Shtetl Facebook group and can be found on Instagram @upperwestsideshtetl. She is a lawyer by day and a former legal reporter.