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Anglo-Chareidim Living in Eretz Yisroel: NO Place Like Home!

Eretz Chemdah: An Inside View

Various Perspectives and Experiences of Anglo-Chareidim Living in Eretz Yisroel

Great and Simple Environment

I grew up in L.A., studied in Waterbury after high school, and then came to learn in the Mir in Eretz Yisroel. I returned to America and learned by Rav Asher Weiss in Monsey, NY. I met my wife that year and we settled there. She was finishing her college degree and I was happy learning in kollel. My wife had told me how she always imagined raising a family in Eretz Yisroel and it was something really important to her. In 2013, after our first son was born, we finally made the move.

I started out learning in kollel and was fortunate to have my parents and in-laws supporting us. However, after about two years of living here, I needed to start thinking about a job.

As it’s generally easier to find a job in America, most people in my neighborhood that reach this stage of life move back to the States, but we wanted to try to make it work here. With a bachelor’s degree in accounting from America, I found an amazing job in Tel Aviv that had friendly people and a warm environment. At this job, I really had the opportunity to learn a lot about the international tax arena. The starting salaries here are usually in-between half to a third of what people are getting paid in the U.S., but after sitting down with my wife and going through it, while debating whether that was a reason to go back to America, we found that half of the salary was very much worth it.

First of all, there is nothing we can compare to this environment in which we are able to raise our kids. I love watching my kids start their lives at a higher level. They literally feel Shabbos and the Yomim Tovim here. Already a month before Yom Tov, the stores change over to the seasonal items, and the whole country is getting ready for Yom Tov. Instead of billboards, they see pictures of gedolim. The streets are flowing with clean Jewish things instead of the things I wouldn’t wish my kids to be exposed to.

Their primary language is Hebrew, and they are able to learn with no language barrier. Whereas I struggled with limudei kodesh, they fly. Also, I was amazed at the curriculum. The kids are taught on a higher level. Even if they don’t fully grasp everything now, the seeds are planted for the future, though I was very surprised to actually see just how much my six-year-old does pick up and how he explains difficult parsha topics with a clear understanding.

Secondly, as the expenses and standards of living are astronomically higher in the U.S., even with a higher salary it would still be difficult to make ends meet there. Tuition, health insurance, and expected gifts and vacations add up to much more than anything else here. I love that my kids love life and the simplicity of it—without all the latest gadgets and without comparing with their friends about which one of them got a more expensive gift for Chanuka or birthdays. We don’t have iPads for all the kids like we know some families in America do (and no we’re not blaming or shaming anyone here). I just find it so nice that the mentality of life here isn’t to be hooked on these things. It is just to be responsible, help out, play outside, ride bikes, and be creative. It’s nice to see how many games the boys can create with a pile of sticks that they find behind the buildings.

So, we decided that we need to get adjusted to living a somewhat simpler life and we are determined to make it a happier one. It’s not just the kids that live more simply; we don’t want to be hypocrites! Though—yes—it was an adjustment!

We sometimes joke that very wealthy people are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars to come here just for one holiday when we are able to do it for every holiday. We get to live in the center of the world where Hashem Himself is the One Who watches over us, which I think is another reason why I love living here.

We recently had a miracle where we were expecting a child. The doctors told us there was no hope and that an abortion was our best option. We went to Rav Chaim who told us that everything was going to be fine. We grabbed onto his words and davened and cried out to Hashem, and we really saw one miracle after another. B”H, we have a beautiful healthy boy. (The details and struggle about it are in the Mishpacha magazine, Shavuos edition.) There is a connection that I feel towards Hashem here—He is the One watching over Klal Yisroel here and He feels so close to us. I know that there are many gedolim in America, but there’s just something so special about being able to talk to Rav Chaim, go to the Kosel and pour my heart out, go to Kever Rochel, or walk the streets that I know our Avos walked on.

We try to go visit the United States every summer so our children can spend time with their cousins and so that we can reconnect with our siblings. We love going and enjoying a little bit of the American things that we reminisce about, even though the truth is that slowly but surely, increasingly, American products are showing up over here. But after a few weeks in America, we’re always so grateful that we get to leave that all behind us and come back to our real home—here in Eretz Yisroel.

Grounded to Yiddishkeit

As someone who works, I sometimes feel myself slipping into the working life. I love my job. I love the conferences, fancy work environment, and the expensive lunch or dinner meetings—the executive world. But instead of drowning in it, I get to walk outside after work and see Yerushalayim’s streets with Jews all over and my own beautiful apartment. I feel so much more connected and grounded to my Yiddishkeit and my life because of it. I recently joined a Friday kollel where we learn all the halachos one should know about in the working field, and again I find that it’s not two separate worlds as one of working and one of Torah. Here I find that it’s easier for me to stay connected to my growth in Yiddishkeit through my job, while I believe I would have a harder time staying as connected had we been living in America.

– Shaul Klein, Yerushalayim

This article is part of Matzav.com’s Eretz Chemdah series featuring Anglo-Chareidim living in, settling, and building up Eretz Yisroel. A joint project of Avira D’Eretz Yisroel, Kedushas Tzion and Naava Kodesh, coordinated by Yoel Berman – yoel@naavakodesh.org.

Reprinted from Matzav.com.

‘Life in the Land’ – Gorgeous Compilation of Real Aliyah Accounts (Heartwarming Photos)

Hello all,

The attached pamphlet includes articles from the Eretz Chemdah series, featuring also some out-of-town communities.
BE”H a few copies will be sent to each of hundreds of shuls across the U.S, sponsored by The Dream Raffle.
If there is a shul in the U.S. you would suggest it get sent to as well, please send me its name and address. If you are living in the U.S. and can have a few copies come to your address for distribution in a local shul, please let me know your address and in which shul you intend to put them.

Thank you!

—

Yoel Berman 053-3191618 יואל ברמן

Religiously Observant Zionists Can Also Claim to Follow the Chasam Sofer…

The True Followers of the Chatam Sofer

A close look at the Chatam Sofer’s beliefs, in response to a question from a skeptical hareidi reader.

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed

The writer is Head of Yeshivat Har Bracha and a prolific author on Jewish Law, whose works include the series on Jewish law “Pininei Halacha” and a popular weekly column “Revivim” in the Besheva newspaper.

More from the author ►

Q: Occasionally I read your column, sir, and I am amazed at your confidence in the path of the National-Religious community, which is diametrically opposed to the path of our rabbis, Gedolei HaTorah (eminent Torah scholars). After all, everyone is familiar with the statement of the Chatam Sofer that “chadash assur m’ha’Torah” (“ ‘new’ is forbidden by the Torah”, referring literally to eating chadash, “new grain”, before the Omer offering is given, but figuratively referring to the banning of all innovation). In utter contrast, you have changed everything customary among religious Jews for generations! Influenced by the chilonim (secular Jews), you invented new mitzvoth such as ‘Zionism’ and ‘nationalism’. You changed the tradition of learning by introducing secular studies, which the Gedolei Yisrael vigorously fought. How can you dare claim that you represent the path of Torah?

Rabbi Kook’s Students are the True Followers of the Chatam Sofer

A: Once again, we are witness to an awful distortion, based on false slander of the students of our teacher, Rabbi Kook ZT”L.

For the benefit of some readers who might not be aware of the greatness of Rabbi Moshe Sofer ZT”L, also known as Chatam Sofer after his illustrious book on Jewish law, let me preface by saying that the Chatam Sofer, who lived approximately two hundred years ago (1762–1839), was one of the greatest Gedolei HaTorah of recent generations. Till this day, his responses in Jewish law carry great weight in deciding halacha. Up till now, Jews from Hungary, Slovakia, and Transylvania still consider him to be their prominent rabbi. He served for over thirty years as Rabbi of Pressburg, and headed the great yeshiva he founded there.

It can be concluded that in most of the key issues, the students of Rabbi Kook continue his path (as well as the path of other Gedolei Yisrael), far more than the Haredi sector. I will now elaborate:

His Attitude towards Work and Secular Studies

Out of concern for their livelihood, the Chatam Sofer encouraged most of his students to work and set times for Torah study – unlike the practice today among Hareidi society, which encourages the majority of men to learn in Kollel. True, he did believe that in chutz la’aretz (outside of the Land of Israel), it was preferable for someone who could make ends meet without working and without having to rely on the public coffers, to engage in Torah study, similar to the opinion of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in the Talmud (Berachot 35b).

He did not object to the study of the sciences themselves, let alone for the sake of making a living, but was apprehensive about their possible merger with heretical ideas. Consequently, he took care to hire private tutors for his sons to educate them in secular studies, under his supervision. Additionally, his greatest students, Rabbi Yehuda Aszod, and Rabbi Moshe Schick (Maharam Schick), sent their sons to learn in the yeshiva of Rabbi Dr. Azriel Hildesheimer in Eisenstadt, which included secular studies. Even the Chatam Sofer’s son and successor, the author of Ktav Sofer, had originally considered appointing Rabbi Hildesheimer as his assistant (later, Rabbi Dr. Hildesheimer became one of the Gedolei Torah, and the leader of rabbis and religious Jews in Germany).

Which Type of Modernism did He Denounce?

The Chatam Sofer feared, and rightfully so, the influence of Gentile culture on Jewish communities, who were but a small minority among the non-Jews, and succeeded in maintaining themselves only by means of tradition, centered around the study of Torah and the observance of mitzvoth. Therefore, he strongly rejected all initiatives by Reform Jews, whose main goal was to create conditions enabling Jews to integrate with the Gentiles and the Diaspora. However, he did not rule out new initiatives whose roots stemmed from Jewish sources, in order to advance the public spiritually, or materially.

Needless to say, he denounced the ways of Moses Mendelssohn, who had been influenced by Gentile culture, but unlike many Hareidim, he referred to him respectfully. In one of his responses in which he rejects Mendelssohn’s opinion, influenced by Gentile thinking, in favor of allowing the delaying of burial for three days, he refers to him as a chacham (wise man). He also defended Rabbi Shlomo Yehudah Rappaport, (otherwise known by his Hebrew acronym ‘Shir’), who was the Rabbi of Prague, and had strong leanings towards haskalah [enlightenment]).

The Chatam Sofer’s Attitude towards Eretz Yisrael

As far as his attitude towards Eretz Yisrael is concerned, there are no two ways about it – the Chatam Sofer was one of greatest admirers of the Land of Israel. If all his comments on the importance of Eretz Yisrael were gathered, they would comprise an entire book. Following in the path of Chazal and Ramban, he wrote that the main fulfillment of Torah and mitzvoth is in the Land of Israel (Drashot Chatam Sofer 18:1), and compared chutz la’aretz to a grave (ibid. 76:1). He also wrote that “the ground of Eretz Yisrael is holier than the skies of chutz la’aretz” (ibid. 324:2).

All this coincides with his wonderful explanation of the importance of work in the Land of Israel, which I mentioned last week.

“Working the land and producing its holy fruit is itself a mitzvah – the mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Yisrael, settling the Land of Israel…” But not only that, he also wrote: “It is possible that other trades which involve social welfare are also included in the mitzvah.”  Now, as a posek halacha (adjudicator of Jewish law) who chooses his words precisely, we see that he was not content writing that the other trades are machshirei mitzvot (the performance of tasks that are necessary to enable a mitzvah to be performed), rather, he wrote that they are possibly an actual mitzvah. In other words, if these trades are considered machshirei mitzvah, then their importance is measured only according to their degree of benefit in settling the Land, but if the same outcome can be achieved by other people doing the job, there is no need specifically for Jews to fill all these trades. But if the trades themselves are a mitzvah of yishuv ha’aretz, they inherently possess kedusha (holiness). In any event, his remarks indicate that anyone who contributes to the prosperity of the State of Israel fulfills an absolute mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel (Chiddushei Chatam Sofer, Sukkah 36b).

In his book ‘Torat Moshe’ on the Torah portion Shoftim, he added that even vocational studies are a mitzvah: “”Not only working the land [is the fulfillment of a commandment] but also studying all trades, because of the settlement and honor of the land of Israel, so that no one should say that in all of the land of Israel there is no qualified shoemaker or builder and so on, and they would need to bring them from other lands, consequently, studying all the trades are a mitzvah…”

It should be noted that his approach had an influence on his disciples and their students, seeing as a relatively high percentage of them immigrated to Eretz Yisrael.

Another point worth mentioning is that the Lithuanian method of Torah study prevalent among Hareidi society today, is also radically different from the method of the Chatam Sofer, who emphasized learning aliba d’hilchata (straightforward and practical explanations).

The Distraction of Emancipation

Regarding his attitude towards emancipation (the granting of equal rights for Jews in Europe), he told the following parable: “A prince was once driven far away from his father’s palace, suffering many tribulations along his journeys. Nonetheless, as the years rolled on, he never lost hope that his father would eventually call him back. One day, a royal wagon arrived and a team of architects and workers jumped out and began building the prince a beautiful mansion in his remote village. “Woe is me!” cried the prince. “It seems that my father intends me to stay here for ever!”

“We too,” the Chatam Sofer continued, “on account of our many sins, have suffered exiles, persecution, and numerous troubles and evils, for almost two thousand years. We suffered it all, because we said: Our deliverance is near! And now, Hashem has inclined the hearts of ministers and kings around the world to view us approvingly, introducing positive decrees. We thank Hashem for all the good, and thank the kings of all the countries in which we reside for considering us favorably. But secretly, our souls cry, for our nation is not getting any younger… How much longer will we be dispersed, without hope of returning to Zion?… Nothing further need be said, the issue is clear.”

His students said this drasha (sermon) was given in 1833, following a meeting of the heads of state in which it was decided to grant the Jews rights. As a result, the leaders of the Jewish community turned to the Me’or Hagolah (the light of the exile), the Chatam Sofer, requesting him to give a speech thanking the ministers. And so he did. At the end of the drasha, he sobbingly told this parable, and in conclusion, said: “My brothers and my people, let us lift up our hearts and hands to Our Father in Heaven: ‘Please have mercy on us, to return us to our Land! There, we will rely on You, Aveinu.’ For Hashem will not abandon us forever, the Eternal of Israel will not lie, and the Redeemer shall come to Zion, speedily in our days. Amen.” (‘Chut Hamishulash’ by Rabbi Shlomo Sofer).

This all runs contrary to the attitude of some Hareidim who consider themselves students of the Chatam Sofer, but refuse to reject the galut (exile), with some of them l’chatchila (in the first place) travelling to America to build palaces there, despise Eretz Chemda (the cherished Land), and blaspheme the State of Israel. What the Chatam Sofer wept about, they celebrate.

The Rabbi of Pressburg and Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav

Thus, it was no wonder that Rabbi Akiva Sofer ZT”L, the author of ‘Daat Sofer’, grandson of the Chatam Sofer, and his primary successor as Rabbi of Pressburg, chose to associate with Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav after immigrating to Eretz Yisrael, where he regularly prayed shacharit (the morning prayers) for nearly twenty years. He praised the davening and yirat Shamayim of the students, as well.

Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah HaKohen Kook ZT”L related that in the final days of his mother’s illness, the Rabbi of Pressburg came to visit her a number of times. When asked what a talmid chacham was doing visiting an elderly woman, he answered: “Eyshet chaver k’chaver” (the wife of a scholar is like a scholar herself).

Who Continues the Path of the Chatam Sofer Today?

Despite all this, I must confess that the majority of the National-Religious community are not as meticulous in all the details of halakha in the manner of the Chatam Sofer, and do not regard the task of settling the Land with adequate sacredness, but rather, are greatly influenced by the environment of secular society.

However, the Torani public (Hareidi-National Religious) are truly the faithful successors of the Chatam Sofer. This is evident in a number of ways: in the importance it ascribes to Torah study and yishuv ha’aretz; by the necessary precautions it takes towards secular surroundings; by providing Torah assistance for soldiers in the framework of Hesder yeshiva’s, and by accompanying soldiers who chose the regular military framework, via the rabbis of the Mechinot (preparatory army academies); through the establishment of educational frameworks that combine Torah study and the sciences, such as ‘Machon Lev’; and providing a supportive Torah environment in the universities and colleges.

And the results of such upbringing coincide: The percentage of those who go off the path of Torah and mitzvoth among the Torani (Chardali) population is lower than both the National-Religious, and the Hareidi sectors.

Al HaAretz – Free Print Subscriptions for Principals and Gabba’im!

Dear chinuch professionals and others,
Living in Eretz Yisroel is a zechus we don’t take for granted.
In the past decades, physical, political and other realities may have forced us Chareidim from Western countries not to make an issue of living in Eretz Yisroel, but the time may have come to bring up its value once again.
In order to promote an appreciation of living in Eretz Yisroel, we are pleased to announce the publication of a new biweekly sheet in English, “Al HaAretz – Perspectives on Eretz Yisroel.”
The sheet includes a column called “Eretz Chemdah: An Inside View,” featuring insights and experiences of an immigrant – with a Chareidi/Yeshiva background – from America or another English-speaking country, living now in Eretz Yisroel.
It also features a section with a substantial excerpt from one of various contemporary seforim on Torah, mitzvos, halachos, and minhagim of Eretz Yisroel. Three smaller sections include a quote from one of our gedolim about Eretz Yisroel, a bit about a place in Eretz Yisroel written by a tour guide, and some history tidbits – all from a Chareidi/Yeshiva perspective.
The sheet will be published B”H once every two weeks.
First issue is available here – Al HaAretz issue #1
Free subscriptions for the printed version are available for shuls and chinuch institutions. To subscribe, please reply to this email with name of institution, contact name and phone#/email, number of copies requested and mailing address.
You can also subscribe to the online version on our website below.
Yours truly,
Yoel Berman
Editor, “Al HaAretz”
P.S. several of our “Eretz Chemdah: An Inside View” articles have recently been published online – can also be seen on our website below – as well as in print in the English-language Yated Neeman.

—

Yoel Berman 053-3191618

Israel: The Mundane and the Spirit

Nature and Ruchniyus

I love nature and I’m also attracted to ruchniyus. It was only natural that I made Eretz Yisroel my home, being the place where ruchniyus is natural and where nature is ruchniyus.

From the Teveria apartment building I live in, there are views of the beautiful Kinneret and its green surroundings. I enjoy looking at the scenery and connecting to the kedusha. It’s not just a big and beautiful lake—all other lakes in the world get their chiyus from HaShem “personally” keeping His “eyes” on this one. This is true as well for all the other elements that make up nature—the mountains, valleys, plains, skies, oceans, and everything else you can think of. The kedusha root of all of it is in Eretz Yisroel.

One thing I love about Eretz Yisroel is that I can find a place where I can be a frum Yid and also ride a horse. (Maybe not really in the city, but not too far out.) I need access to nature, and here I have all of that as a frum Yid who is part of a normal kehillah.

Within the small area of Eretz Yisroel, there are plains, deserts, an alpine mountain (the Hermon), forests, a coastal region, and more. I try to go around as much as I can, exploring both my immediate surroundings and the wider area.

It used to be that we had to be in golus to collect the nitzotzos of kedusha from all around, but now many are making their way straight to us in Eretz Yisroel. Those coffee beans from Costa Rica don’t need us to be anywhere outside of Eretz Yisroel for us to make a brachah on them and thus be metaken them. We can find them in the coffee corner in our local shtiebel, and that’s just one small example.

I originally came to Eretz Yisroel from the U.S. on a tour, but while on the bus from the airport I was already sure this was the place I wanted to call home. My wife had been here for seminary, so she also knew what Eretz Yisroel was like. We lived in Milwaukee for the first two years of our marriage, which is I think a great community to be part of if you must live in chutz la’Aretz. We then had the zechus of pursuing opportunities in ruchniyus here in Eretz Yisroel, eventually ending up in Teveria.

We came about two years ago to join a small kehillah in Teveria Illit. We were previously living in Ramat Beit Shemesh, but the rising prices forced us out. The warm family-oriented feel of the small kehillah and the slower pace of life here in Teveria was a welcome change from the larger communities we had lived in before. My wife and children quickly made many friends, as might be expected in a new community.

We are now part of the unbroken chain of frum Yidden who have had a long and ancient presence here in Teveria, sanctifying this place with their Torah and mitzvos. Though there recently has been a renaissance of Chareidi life here, their presence has always existed. Since the days of Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, talmid of the Mezritcher Maggid, who lived here in Teveria about 250 years ago, many chassidim have called this place home, infusing the city with a spirit of Torah and avodas HaShem.

More recently, there has been a steady growth in the frum community here, which includes many different sects of Chareidim. I sighted a busload of Toldos Aharon chassidim returning from Rosh HaShana in Yerushalayim. Karlin has an impressive representation and so does Sanz. The Litvish also have recently started a community here, and Sephardi bnei-Torah have always been around. There are some Slonimers and Lelovers as well.

Every week, more people arrive here in Teveria. New schools open and new batei midrash are built. One of the kehillos had built a new and beautiful beis medrash which was filled beyond capacity just two weeks after its inauguration, as they had not anticipated such quick growth.

The communities are primarily Israeli; though, there are a few English-speakers spread around, and even an English-speaking Rebbe (Lizhensk). I would be happy if other English speakers would join me in my community to take advantage of the opportunities Teveria affords.

Just a short few years ago, when I would have occasion to visit Ramat Beit Shemesh and people would hear that I live in Teveria, they would react incredulously as if I was living on the moon. Now, people are asking me about what’s happening here, as it’s becoming a more mainstream option for many.

The heimish infrastructure is well-developed and getting better all the time. There is also the wonderful pleasant feeling of the city—warm and inviting, quiet and relaxed. Cars stop for pedestrians with a smile.

 

Respect for the Land

Several years ago, we were operating a small vegetable farm in Yish’i, a small moshav near Beit Shemesh. After moving to Teveria, we restarted as a compost manufacturer.

Eretz Yisroel has a relatively dense population and there are not enough places to handle the waste produced. By turning food waste into compost, we are not only making a parnassah, we are also minimizing the amount of garbage piling up on the Land. If this is an important thing to do anywhere we live, it is all the more so in Eretz HaKodesh.

– Binyamin Klempner, Teveria Illit, Teveria

This article is part of our Eretz Chemdah series featuring Anglo-Chareidim living in, settling, and building up Eretz Yisroel. A joint project of Avira D’Eretz Yisroel, Kedushas Tzion and Naava Kodesh, coordinated by Yoel Berman – info@naavakodesh.org.

Reprinted with permission from Naava Kodesh.