Here to Stay

Route: From Kalya to Ein Gedi

Distance: 38.5 km / 23.5 miles

Time Waited: 25 minutes

The Story: The driver was a 52-year old man with a black knitted kippa and trimmed beard. It was Friday afternoon, Shabbat was approaching, but there were no indications that he was heading towards Shabbat plans (suitcases or a suit in the back seat). Also absent was a wife and/or kids. Most people driving past were already checking out for the weekend, and had either fancy clothing or camping gear in their cars. Turns out, he works for a leasing company and he was en route to help a client who needed his car fixed at Nahal David.

He'd spent every day of the past 52 years of his life in Israel. Yes, he's never left this tiny strip of land. His parents were Moroccan immigrants, and I'm sure his 3 kids (all married, he duly noted) have left the country. But he's not at all curious to see what the great outside world contains, although he'd had chances through his previous career.

He'd been raised to be a good person, which he tried to pass onto his kids. Although he's observant, he expressed tolerance towards his secular father, and secular daughter (who is married +1 and lives with him at the moment). One of his sons has become a little less respectful. This son was the Thai boxing champion during high school, but was then inducted into the army (a right, he points out; not an obligation). There he became more observant, and now turns over photographs of the daughter wearing low-cut shirts. This infuriates his father.

This led to a general conversation on the lack of respect in Israeli society. I shared experiences with the kids I've begun teaching. He shared that often, on the road, he'll let drivers cut him off. This leads them to realizing how aggressive of a culture we've become. Once someone got out of his car and thanked my driver for "waking him up." He believes this is a result of living in this tiny conflict-ridden country, that people become stressed and just go along, without critically examining their own behavior. Nonetheless, he has no plans to get out and release steam abroad, like so many Israelis do.