I developed my Shabbat habits while serving in the IDF - it is hard to understand, for anyone who hasn't served on the sharp end of the military, just what getting out for the weekend is like. Getting out for a short weekend - 36 hours or so - after three weeks in, was fantastic. The greatest pleasure of all was going home, to meet and catch up with your friends and talk about subjects that weren't related to your day- to-day occupation. The weekend would be spent catching up with friends, people you might not have seen for weeks or even months, because they were serving just like you, and we'd walk around town, talking about subjects that weren't war.

Over the years, with my work and travel schedule, enjoying my friends and family on Shabbat has been key to my life balance and my enjoyment of life. Twenty-five years later, my Shabbat means time to talk with my wife, Tamar, my children, my friends, the members of Kahal and all the other groups of people I enjoy catching up with. It's a time to forget about the discussions of work and livelihood, to discuss more abstract issues, to study, to tell and hear stories and to enjoy company.

Choosing to join a community has a lot in common with a marriage; it is, in some ways, a union that you choose to go into, accepting the good and the less good of the people you associate with. As with friendship, as members of a community we seek to support the welfare of each other. I take great pleasure in spending time with our Kahal community and the greater Beth Emet community on Shabbat.

Zach Selch has been a member of Beth Emet for 8 years, and lives in Evanston with his wife, Tamar and his children Thalia, Lila and Jordan. Zach moved to Israel as a child and only returned to the U.S. 10 years ago, living most of his life in Israel as well as Germany, Jordan and India. Zach served in the reconnaissance unit of the Paratroopers and studied at Hebrew U.