The apartment we are based out of is on the 18th floor. Normally, this is not a problem. The view is nice and the elevator is fast. We were, however, not looking forward to walking up 18 flights of steps on Shabbat, when riding is forbidden.

This Shabbat, as we returned from services, a couple approached us in the lobby and wished us a warm “Shabbat shalom!” We jokingly asked them if they would like to join us on our long walk up. They could not believe that we were really going to walk all those flights up, and ended up walking us up, talking and bantering the whole way. Needless to say, the walk was a lot more interesting than we had anticipated.