Efrat, or “Efrata” is a blossoming
municipality in Judea, Israel. The earliest mention of Efrat is in Genesis,
when Jacob buries his beloved wife, Rachel after she’s given birth to her
second son, Binyamin: “And Rachel died and was buried on the road to Efrat.”
(Gen 13:19) Efrat is mentioned as “Efrata” or “towards Efrat” in Ruth 4:11,
Chronicles 2:50, Chronicles 4:4, Psalms 132:6, and Micah 5:1. It is located 7.5
miles south of Jerusalem between Hevron and Bethlehem (Wikipedia).
While the international community
considers it an “illegal settlement,” the State of Israel has always considered
Efrat, and the entire Gush Etzion bloc which Efrat is geographically a part of,
an integral part of the Jewish State.
Efrat was founded on Passover eve,
October 5th, 1983, by Moshe Moskovitz (Moshiko). Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, an
extremely vocal and well-known religious Zionist leader, soon joined Mr.
Moskovitz in his mission, establishing the Ohr Torah movement with the blessing
of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
