An ordinary bus ride turned into a life-changing moment for Miriam and Moshe Kessler. The Jerusalem couple closed a moving circle when an 'Extra' bus, the same line on which they first met, picked them up from their wedding and took them home as a married couple.
It all began a few months ago at Jerusalem’s central bus station. Miriam boarded bus No. 67 with a friend. A few seats behind her sat Moshe, who asked whether she had a phone charger. Miriam replied that she did not, but added that if she had, he would have been the first person she would lend it to. The response left a deep impression. When she got off the bus, Moshe gathered his courage, asked her friend for her phone number, and sent her a message a few hours later. From there, as the saying goes, the rest is history.
This week, when the two married, Miriam decided to surprise her husband and bring the story full circle. She contacted the Extra bus company, which embraced the idea. Maayan Shemesh, the company’s operations control and customer relations manager, suggested turning the bus itself into the bride and groom’s vehicle for their ride after the wedding.
Miriam managed to keep the plan a secret from Moshe. “My husband was in shock,” she said. “At the end of the wedding we stepped outside and saw the decorated bus waiting for us. Family members were standing nearby, got on to take photos and were incredibly emotional. The driver was amazing and asked if we wanted a drive around the city. It was a unique experience, a bus that was entirely ours.”
The gesture also resonated with the bus company. “We transport tens of thousands of passengers every day and do not always realize how much a single ride can help build a life,” said Ihab Zaatari, manager of Extra Jerusalem’s Atarot branch.
“You never know where your match will come from,” Miriam concluded, “but ours came on bus No. 67, and we were lucky enough to close the circle.”