Everything about Efrat totally explained
Efrat (; ), or
Efrata (אפרתה), is an
Israeli settlement in
Judea (southern
West Bank), located south of
Jerusalem, between the
Biblical cities of
Bethlehem and
Hebron. Efrat was established in
1980, and contained 7,500 residents at the end of
2005 according to the
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Although it's geographically located within
Gush Etzion (the Etzion Bloc of Jewish settlements), Efrat is a
local council independent from the
Gush Etzion Regional Council.
Efrat's population is mostly
religious Zionist, and includes many
Modern Orthodox Jews who have emigrated (have made
aliyah) from the
United States.
(External Link
) The official
rabbi of Efrat is
Shlomo Riskin, an alumnus of
Yeshiva University and a disciple of the late Rabbi
Joseph Soloveitchik.
Rabbi Riskin was formerly the founding
rabbi of the
Lincoln Square Synagogue in
Manhattan. In
Israel, he's also founded a network of high schools and colleges that combine modern secular studies with intense study of
Torah.
Archaeology
The area in which Efrat was constructed was already a settlement in the
Bronze Age. Archeology by Rivka Gonen, summarized in
1979, revealed a cemetery consisting of a
tumulus built over a platform structure and some 27
Bronze Age burial caves of the shaft-tomb type, many of which had been reused over long stretches of time. These tombs were reused in the Middle
Bronze Age. Additionally, one of the three ancient
aqueducts supplying
Jerusalem runs beneath Efrat.
Naming Disagreement
Efrat is named after the biblical place
Ephrath.
While according to the
Israeli Ministry of the Interior, "Efrata" is the quotation from the Biblical verse, and therefore the town's name, the residents and municipality have maintained for many years that the reference isn't a name in and of itself, but rather means "towards Efrat". The reality that has developed is that all inter-city roadsigns, under purview of the
National Government, read
Efrata, while internal and private references speak of
Efrat.
The Israeli government's position in this matter is highly remarkable, since the '-a' ending is very common in (particularly Biblical) Hebrew and always means 'towards'. For example, 'to Jerusalem' would be written as
Yerushalaima (2
Chronicles 32:9). This has led many people to conclude that there's no basis for the government's position in the matter. On the other hand, there are very clear biblical references to 'Ephratah' are not mentioned in a possible context of moving "towards Ephrat", for example
Ruth 4:11, 1
Chr 2:50, 1
Chr 4:4,
Psa 132:6,
Micah 5:2.
It is also possible that the town's name is intended to mean "Towards Efrat", since the Biblical Efrat was actually located in modern
Bethlehem, which is somewhat north on the main road from modern Efrat(a). The name "Efrata" would thus indicate that ancient Efrat was nearby, but not at exactly the same location.
There are a total of 7 neighborhoods currently in Efrat. Rimon, Te'ena, Gefen, Dekel, Zayit, Tamar, and Dagan. All 7 are named after different species in the
Seven Species. Rimon correlates to pomegranate; Te'ena to fig; Gefen to grape; Zayit to olive; and Tamar to dates. The names of Dekel and Dagan are derived from the seven species. Dekel means palm which is part of the date tree. Dagan means grain and corresponds with both wheat and barley.
Further Information
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