When Friday night services ended, Eitan and his wife Emma hopped in his car and headed towards Avishai’s apartment. Eitan lamented to his wife how tired he was, and how he just wanted to go home.
“You know how much this means to Avishai. Try to enjoy the dinner. He has been asking us to come to one of his Shabbat dinners for so long,” Emma reminded her husband.
“I know, but just a couple days before Rosh Hashanah, I have a lot on my mind,” Eitan replied.
“We don’t have to stay long,” Emma said.
“True. Just long enough to get some birthday cake,” Eitan said with a faint smile.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile in a few days.”
“Well, you know how much I like cake.”
Emma knew how much pressure her husband was under. When they emerged from the car and headed into Avishai’s building, she held his hand as they approached the elevator. They remained quiet as they ascended towards the twenty-first floor. Moments later they exited the elevator and made their way to the Levi apartment. Knocking on the door, Eitan could already hear the commotion inside the apartment.
When the door swung open, Avishai’s wife Lilly embraced Emma and Eitan with warm hugs.
“Happy birthday! We are so happy to be here!” Emma said warmly.
“Mazel tov, Lilly. Thanks for having us over to celebrate with you,” Eitan said, following his wife’s good wishes.
“Come on in,” Avishai hollered from across the room.
“Shabbat Shalom,” Eitan said, entering the room. He knew most of Avishai’s friends were Israelis who lived in the area. Some of them he recognized, and some he did not. All of them were young and attractive, and not in the habit of spending their Friday nights in synagogue. They were youthful and fun, part of the fabric of Miami Beach’s trendy crowd. Eitan loved to be with them. He enjoyed speaking Hebrew, and they were always happy to oblige. While Emma sat down to share a glass of wine with Lilly on the couch, Eitan had his eyes on dinner.
Quickly he fixed himself a plate from the buffet that was spread across the kitchen island. The kitchen opened up into the salon, where guests were seated around two round tables. Eitan took his plate over to the only table that had an open seat.
“May I?” he asked a young group seated around the circle.
“Of course, Rabbi. Please join us,” an attractive young woman responded.
Eitan sat down next to her while catching a glimpse of Emma nodding her head and smiling at him. Once he was seated, the Israelis around the table began introducing themselves to the rabbi. Some of them looked familiar to him, but he could not recall any of their names. The last one to offer an introduction was the woman whom Eitan was seated next to.
“And I am Anna,” she said.
“Nice to meet you all. How do you all know Avishai and Lilly?” Eitan said, trying to make conversation.
“All of the Israelis down here seem to meet each other at some point,” one of the young men at the table said. “I live here in this building, and I met Avishai in the gym. And Anna is my cousin.”
Anna smiled at the rabbi and asked what Temple he served.
“Temple Brit Kodesh,” Eitan answered. “You know, the one where Avishai works.”
“Ah yes, that’s right.” Anna pondered for a moment, and then remembered a conversation she had earlier with a guest at the hotel where she worked.
“You know, I had a really funny exchange with a guest this morning at our hotel,” Anna began explaining. “There were two orthodox men, but something was off about them.”
“What do you mean?” Eitan asked.
“Well, they were wearing kippot and looked orthodox, and they said they were from Georgia. It seemed weird to me that two orthodox men would be travelling together for the High Holy Days, with no family with them. I asked if they were from Atlanta, and they said they were from further north of there, but that area doesn’t have an orthodox community.”
“That is strange. I don’t imagine there are too many orthodox communities in Georgia anywhere other than Atlanta, and maybe around some of the universities,” Eitan responded. He was already becoming suspicious, but what Anna said next truly alarmed Rabbi Groh.
“I agree. And it got even weirder when I asked them where they would be going for Rosh Hashanah services. They mentioned Brit Kodesh, but why would two orthodox men plan to attend a reform congregation for the holidays?”
By the time Anna completed her sentence, Eitan was already motioning Avishai over from across the room. When he arrived, Eitan asked Anna to repeat what she had told him. As she spoke, Eitan and Avishai looked at each other, and Avishai could see the fear behind the rabbi’s eyes.
Excusing themselves from the table, the two men walked down a short hall and entered Avishai’s bedroom, where they could have a moment of privacy.
“Good Lord, Avishai. Do you think?”
“It sounds bad.”
“Should we alert the police?” Eitan asked.
“We have to, but I don’t want to waste time. Her hotel is near the beach. I want to go there myself and see who these guys are,” Avishai said.
“When?”
“Right now.”
“Ok, I am coming with you.”
“Absolutely not,” Avishai responded.
“Come on, Avishai. It’s me they want. I am not afraid of them. Let’s go see what we can find out.”
Against every fiber in his body telling him not to include the rabbi, Avishai said, “Fine, let’s go.” Both men told their wives they had to run and take care of a quick errand. Eitan told Emma to drive home and that he would catch an Uber home later. Nothing to worry about. Just something he and Avishai needed to do to prepare for Rosh Hashanah.
Before Emma could protest, Avishai and Eitan headed to the door. As they left, Avishai turned to Anna and said, “Anna, yalla, let’s go.”