Search Results for: eretz chemda

Introducing a Pair of ‘Very Ordinary’ Jews Who Made Aliyah

Eretz Chemdah: An Inside View – How We Made It in Eretz Yisroel

Various Perspectives and Experiences of English speakers Living in Eretz Yisroel

How We Made It in Eretz Yisroel

It was over fifty years ago when my husband, Meir Miller, first came to Eretz Yisroel as a bochur to learn in yeshiva. He had a strong desire to learn Torah in Eretz Yisroel and therefore worked hard as a waiter for a whole summer just to save up for a ticket (by boat, in case you were wondering). The difficulties that such a move involved did not daunt him.

He grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, in one of the few shomer Shabbos families there. As there were no options for proper chinuch in his hometown, from the age of eight and a-half he would commute daily to cheider in Boston, Massachusetts, a commute of over fifty miles that took an hour and a-half each way, all by himself. In the following years, he would take along his younger siblings as well. This arrangement lasted until he advanced to yeshiva high school in New York.

Not knowing anything about the yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel, he inquired about them at the Jewish Agency in New York. They suggested he enroll in one of them, but when he arrived at the yeshiva, he found that they could not accept him because they didn’t have room. He then decided to go to Yerushalayim. He was referred to a Zionist yeshiva there, but he felt the atmosphere just wasn’t right for him.

Soon thereafter he chanced upon a childhood friend from America while walking through the Geula neighborhood in Yerushalayim. This friend had been referred to Yeshivas Kamenitz and was slated for an interview with the rosh yeshiva, HaRav Yitzchok Scheiner. The friend suggested that Meir join him at the yeshiva where the rosh yeshiva was American-born, and several talmidim were from America.

Meir was accepted warmly into the yeshiva by Rav Scheiner, and was quickly absorbed into the atmosphere of Yerushalyim, including being exposed to many of its special personalities. It was clear to him that he was here to stay, with his future awaiting him in Yerushalayim.

About four years later, Rebbetzin Herman, the wife of R’ Nochum Dovid (son of R’ Yaakov Yosef of “All for the Boss” fame) suggested our shidduch. I was an American girl, the daughter of Holocaust survivors from Europe, who had come to visit Eretz Yisroel after my first year as a teacher in New York. I was staying by my aunt and uncle in the Yerushalayim neighborhood of Sanhedriya. Yerushalayim captured my heart, and I dreamt of building my life here.

We shared the dream of building a true Jewish Torah home and being zoche to doros yesharim mevorachim, not in Providence, not in New York, but in Yerushalayim—shel matah and shel ma’alah.

After getting married in the U.S., we came back and settled in Yerushalayim. It wasn’t easy, but no one promised me a life of roses. All we had was the shirts on our backs, no money and no “P.H.D.” (Papa has Dough). I knew that chazal say that Eretz Yisroel is only acquired through yissurim (by the way, Torah and Olam Haba, as well, are acquired through yissurim), so I decided to accept these yissurim with simcha!

Both of us were at a tremendous distance from parents and family, without the support that many young couples have. We really missed our family, but we did put in a lot of effort to make it here and build our own home by ourselves. We did have, though, the love and help of the Kamenitz rosh yeshiva and his wife, and of our dear aunt and uncle. As time went on, we also made many new friends. To quote Dovid HaMelech, Yerushalayim is the city “shechubera lah yachdav“—that makes all Yidden friends.

Throughout the years there were financial ups and downs. In one of the financially difficult periods, my husband, who had meanwhile received semicha, was offered a respectable rabbinic position in Providence with a high salary. It wasn’t easy to decline. We did have what to miss in the land we both grew up in, but Yerushalayim won out.

I think it was our firm resolve, perseverance, determination, and will power that brought about the tremendous Siyata Dishmaya that allowed us to fulfill our dream. Boruch HaShem and bechasdei HaShem, today we own a spiritual empire! Bli ayin hara, we built four generations here in Eretz Yisroel—children, grandchildren and a slew of great-grandchildren—all chareidim l’Dvar HaShem, bnei Torah, and all living in beautiful homes purchased here. They all have a chelka in Eretz Yisroel.

It all happened here in Eretz Yisroel, from scratch! HaShem saw we had the will and He did all the rest! We are very ordinary people, nothing special, so if we did it, you certainly can too.

“Ani Ma’amin” — My Beliefs

These are the beliefs that got me to decide, over fifty years ago—as an eighteen-year-old—that I was coming to live in Eretz Yisroel.

Without going into the essence of the mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Yisroel, and of the practical pros and cons, I firmly believe that Eretz Yisroel is the safest place in the world to live in.

Why? Because the Torah says that this is the Land which HaShem’s “eyes” are always on, throughout the whole year.

Is this not enough of a guarantee for me to be satisfied?  What safer place in the world can there be?

Also, I firmly believe that Moshiach can come any day. I surely do not want to get caught up in the rush hour when throngs of Yidden from all over the world will be trying to come here to Eretz Yisroel when Moshiach arrives.

I want to be settled here before Moshiach comes! I want to have enough time to get dressed in my best to greet him and be able to absorb the highlight of the most magnificent moment of the world’s existence. 

– Meir and Leah Miller, Sanhedriya, Yerushalayim

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.

The Aliyah Experience – Yoel Berman Speaks

Present and Future

Various Perspectives and Experiences of English speakers Living in Eretz Yisroel

Present and Future

I came from Los Angeles as a bochur to the Mir Yeshiva, and then got married here in Eretz Yisroel.

I continued learning in the Mir, while my wife worked for Otzar HaChochma, the world’s largest digital seforim library, in its beginning stages of amassing and scanning thousands of seforim.

We then moved to Modi’in Illit, where, with the help of our parents for the down payment, we purchased our first apartment. As is common in this country, we bought “on paper,” paying the contractor in installments as the apartment was built. Meanwhile, we rented down the block. It was an interesting experience watching the progress of the construction of our apartment.

My wife then worked at ImageStore doing document digitizing and electronic archiving. It was one of a few companies which started the trend of creating workspaces tailored for large numbers of Chareidi women interested in working together, close to home in a sheltered environment. Next door to ImageStore was another such company, CityBook, which provided jobs to many native English speakers living in Modi’in Illit by outsourcing for American companies.

While my wife worked, I continued as an avreich in a small kollel in Kiryat Sefer where we would hear shiurim from HaRav Moshe Mordechai Karp shlit”a (author of the popular Hilchos Chag BeChag series). The group comprised a real mix of Litvish, Chasidish and Sephardi avreichim both from Eretz Yisroel and abroad.

When one of my neighbors started teaching safrus, I jumped at the opportunity. I always had creative and artistic leanings, as well as an attachment to the written words of the Torah. The idea that I can actually create a physical object which would be imbued with kedusha also appealed to me. As I had dreamt about having my own real kosher Megillas Shir Hashirim for reading at the time of Kabbolas Shabbos, I figured that instead of spending the money (which I didn’t really have) to buy one, I might as well invest in learning the trade.

That decision served me well, as I have been able to turn this occupation into a livelihood as our family has grown.

My father bought the first Megillas Esther I wrote. He reads from it every year for many family members, including his mother—my grandmother. I remember hearing how excited she was to see the megillah, proud that her grandson was a real sofer. It was even more interesting to hear it from her, as a member of the generation that wanted to see their children as doctors and lawyers.

After some years in Modi’in Illit, a married cousin with several children followed suit and came to join us from Los Angeles. There weren’t enough Americans in the neighborhood to make it comfortable enough for her, so they ended up moving to a more Anglo neighborhood in Yerushalayim, where her husband also learnt safrus. Even though they ended up moving back to the U.S. after a number of years here, her husband still makes an income from the trade he learnt here—writing Sifrei Torah, tefillin and mezuzos.

I ended up moving up north with my family to a new Chareidi kehillah in the neighborhood of Giv’at Hamoreh in Afula. What allowed for our move is the fact that safrus is an occupation that is not dependent on location. It was an amazing experience to take part in the growth of a new community in Eretz Yisroel, contributing our talents and efforts to make it happen. After several years there, we moved to Yerushalayim to be closer to my aging grandfather who had meanwhile immigrated here, where, utilizing the connections I have made up north and elsewhere, I am involved in promoting the more-affordable communities of Eretz Yisroel for the Anglo-Chareidi community, mostly in the north and south of the country.

Being the oldest in my family, I was the first one to establish myself here in Eretz Yisroel. Several siblings thereafter followed me, with three sisters currently living here with their families and other siblings coming to visit occasionally including when they are here on their post-high school or seminary stint. My parents also come to visit and to share in simchas.

I think my parents see Eretz Yisroel as the future not just of the Jewish people in general, but of our family specifically. Having grandchildren that are playing in the streets of Yerushalayim and elsewhere in Eretz Yisroel makes them feel strongly connected to this amazing part of our nation’s history that is playing out now. When, at the end of the Pesach Seder, they say “l’shana haba’ah b’Yerushalayim,” it is a Yerushalayim that is much more tangible to them, not just some esoteric concept. They’ve been here, they are represented here, and they have a future here.

I am proud to be part of that future.

 

The Security Situation

When, as a bochur, I decided—with my parents’ approval—that I was to go to learn in Eretz Yisroel, there were several relatives who expressed concern about the security situation in Eretz Yisroel.

It was just a few days before I was scheduled to leave home that my father and a few of my siblings went to do some shopping. While at the store, a gun-wielding teenager forced everyone into the freezer while he cleaned out the cash registers. (The cashier led them instead into the refrigerator.) Although, Boruch HaShem, the traumatic ordeal lasted just a short while, without any injuries, I was thereafter not subject to any dissuasion due to security concerns…

– Yoel Berman, Yerushalayim

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.

What An Israeli Yishuv Is Like – A Real-Life Account

Eretz Chemdah: An Inside View – Finding Our Place in Eretz Yisroel

Various Perspectives and Experiences of English speakers Living in Eretz Yisroel

Finding Our Place in Eretz Yisroel

In 1996, while we were in our late thirties, we moved from Baltimore to Eretz Yisroel with our six children aged sixteen down to one and a half.

Although many rabbonim do not recommend moving to Eretz Yisroel with children from ages eight through high school, we came with the blessing of our rav in Baltimore, Rav Mendel Feldman, ZT”L.

We spent our first year in an absorption center in Mevaseret Zion (just outside Yerushalayim), with no idea of where we would eventually settle. This temporary setup (which no longer exists there) enabled us to: live rent-free for the first half year; attend ulpan, with a free daycare on the premises; and send our children to schools in nearby Telz-Stone and Yerushalayim. Additionally, it gave us the opportunity to see many communities around the country, which was thanks to trips organized by the absorption center and by Tehilla (an organization that conducted pilot trips, organized field trips in search of communities, and provided emotional support to new religious immigrants in the days before Nefesh B’Nefesh). Moreover, we had the opportunity to meet many other new immigrants with whom we could exchange information about job and community searches and give and receive emotional support.
We discovered Ma’aleh Amos by taking rides with other absorption center residents who were looking at various communities. Many aspects of Ma’aleh Amos appealed to us.

The small size classes in the Bais Yaakov and Talmud Torah elementary schools were five to ten students on average. This was wonderful compared to the class sizes in Yerushalayim of up to forty students. Also, the fact that school was about a two-minute walk from home was appealing.

The relatively inexpensive cost of housing was also appealing. We first rented a four-bedroom home, and then eventually built our current home in the empty lot next-door, as part of a project that included eight homes, for a fraction of rental and sale prices in Yerushalayim.

We also appreciated the small and intimate community with only about fifty families at the time. The rav, HaRav Z’ev Wolf Charlop, Shlit”a, who is English-speaking, is an approachable talmid chochom who understood the issues faced by American immigrants. (Having an accessible rav was always of primary importance to us). Many of the families here were also immigrants from the U.S. or from the former U.S.S.R. Since we were all without family, we became each other’s family and support system. Even the Israeli families did not have family nearby, so they became part of this support system as well.

Ma’aleh Amos is an easy commute to Yerushalayim. It is about a half-hour drive to Gilo at the southern end of Yerushalayim, or about a one-hour bus ride to the city’s main entrance. When we moved here, my husband worked in a high-tech park in Yerushalayim, which made for a very reasonable commute for him.

Ma’aleh Amos is in a quiet area where the Judean Hills and the Judean Desert meet. It has a remarkable view of the Yam Hamelach and the mountains of Jordan. We see a lot of sky here. The amazing view, the quiet, and the feeling of being in nature and not in a congested city was very appealing to us. During a simple walk in the yishuv (small settlement), we can see sheep on the nearby hills, sometimes a family of camels, and many other interesting animals and plants. The quiet, calm, and small-town atmosphere is very conducive to ruchniyus growth through participation in yishuv life and having time to learn, whether in shiurim, with a chavrusa, or on your own. We don’t have all the conveniences of the city, but on the other hand, we do not have to deal with a hectic and urban pace of life. As I tell other people, the only time people rush here is to catch the bus—because the next one won’t be leaving for several hours.

We also liked the fact that there were enough English-speaking families for us to feel comfortable. At the same time, we did not want to live in an American “bubble,” but rather in a yishuv that operates in Hebrew, so that we and our children would pick up Hebrew quickly and befriend people of various nationalities.

Boruch HaShem, we felt comfortable here from the very first day—our children were already playing with neighbors their age while the movers were still unloading the moving truck!

Just a brief postscript on our employment: Aryeh is a CPA who currently works for Roth & Co., a frum NY-based accounting firm that recently opened up an auditing office in Yerushalayim. (They’re looking for more accountants.) I am a freelance translator, working from home.

Finding Work

Just as HaShem supplied Bnei Yisroel with all their needs in the desert, He has taken care of our parnassah needs here—in the middle of nowhere!

Several people from our area work in schools and day-care centers either in the local mosdos, in nearby yishuvim, or in Gush Etzion, Beitar, or Yerushalayim. They are teachers, rebbeim or assistants in the Bais Yaakovs, Talmud Torahs or preschools.

A few are employed by the yishuv in various positions, mostly part-time, in the capacity of handyman/gardener, secretary, klita (absorption) coordinator, youth directors, librarian, post office administrator, community coordinator, cultural and activity coordinators, security director, and cleaning the schools, offices and mikvaos.

Some work from home as architects and interior designers, by running businesses from their home, or in other types of work for companies with American hours.

Two residents are bus drivers. One resident owns and operates the makolet (grocery store) with the help of some part-time cashiers who fill in when he is not available.

Several new residents work in Yerushalayim, Beitar or in various Gush Etzion communities as medical or other secretaries, in stores, government offices, or in security positions.

Some women operate their own day care or preschool programs in their homes or in public buildings here, or work in day-care centers here or in nearby yishuvim. Several sofrim work locally, and one resident has a batim business for tefillin.

Some are independently employed, including a construction contractor and a painter.

Two male residents are nurses in Yerushalayim. Some people work part-time as chugim leaders for exercise or crafts classes, here or in other communities. There’s really something for everyone.

– Aryeh and Shoshana Weinberg, Ma’aleh Amos

This article is part of Matzav.com’s Eretz Chemdah series featuring English speakers, living in, settling, and building up Eretz Yisroel. For more info please contact info@naavakodesh.org or visit naavakodesh.org/eretz-chemdah

Reprinted with permission from Naava Kodesh.

Making Aliyah? Consider Givat HaMoreh

Eretz Chemdah: An Inside View

Various Perspectives and Experiences of English speakers Living in Eretz Yisroel

Paving the Way

I am the youngest of eight siblings. We all grew up in England, and all of us ended up here in Eretz Yisroel for a few years of married life. That was the original plan—to be in this environment conducive to shteiging for a few of the formative years of life.

Most of my siblings had managed to make it here for at least two to three years before heading back to England. Finding that Yerushalayim was prohibitively expensive for a kollel couple, we had to think of an out-of-the-box solution for the longer term. Although we were still keeping two days of Yom Tov, we weren’t quite ready to leave Eretz Yisroel.

The new Litvish community in Givat HaMoreh, Afula, was the unlikely candidate. At the time we joined, there were about a hundred and fifty families, who, for the most part, were Israeli. The few English families that were there were mostly related to each other (and not to us), but it meant that there were enough people from a background similar to ours so as not to feel totally isolated. There were also a few Americans, as well as some English-speaking children of Anglo immigrants to Eretz Yisroel. Being that the Israeli members of the kehillah—almost all young couples like ourselves—were also far from their hometowns and “natural habitats,” they were more open to create new relationships with people a bit different from themselves, like us chutznikim. This was true even in regards to my wife, who at the time we came could barely speak in Hebrew.

Although the environment in Afula meant moving quite a bit out of our comfort zone, one thing that brought us here was the prospect of taking part in the creation of a new kehillah in Eretz Yisroel. That wouldn’t have been enough to make us stay, though—it took a while even here until we quit Yom Tov Sheini. Both my wife and I had almost all our family back in England, so we didn’t have any of the natural physical and emotional support that comes with living near family. We were basically staking it out alone in the wilderness, at least in the beginning.

Being a small community with most members not having family close by, this fostered an environment of mutual care and responsibility. This made up to some degree for the lack of family living close by. Having people around us who care about us was definitely a cause in the eventual shift to the realization that we are here to stay. This was in addition to the fact that the affordable housing here meant it was possible for us to seriously consider purchasing a home here, which would surely make our connection to this place much stronger.

Having lived here for about three years, we have come to appreciate our neighborhood and community. Members of the kehillah live peacefully with the surroundings, including traditional and not-yet observant neighbors, with some of them becoming inspired by the kiddush HaShemwe make as frum Yidden and decent people. The unfortunate occurrence of cars driving on Shabbos is not uncommon, considering we do live in a mixed neighborhood, but it is considerably less than what may sometimes be seen at the edges of some Chareidi neighborhoods of Yerushalayim, as this is a quiet neighborhood.

As far as chinuch is concerned, the local Chareidi cheider and school caters to a wide spectrum of backgrounds, including the diversity of the “Litvish” kehillah itself, which includes Bnei Torah who are Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Teimanim, and a bit of Chassidish-oriented as well, and both Israelis and chutznikim. The Chareidi populace of the general area, many of whom also attend these schools, includes also a few Chassidim as well as Sephardic baalei batim, which are very common to come across in these areas. The exposure to children from the homes of Yirei Shomayim from all different Chareidi backgrounds is, I think, an added benefit to the high scholastic standards of the schools.

After we settled here, others have considered following our path. My wife has a friend who eventually moved here with her husband, both originally from England, and I think it was much easier for them to make the move following our example. Of course, we also benefitted from their move as it meant having more people around us with whom we more closely identify, who speak the same language as we do, and share a similar mentality with us. We have a cousin from England who joined us here as well, and having us as cousins here already must have been a factor in their decision as well.

The kehillah now numbers about three-hundred families, bli ayin hara, kein yirbu, and although it seems that the kehillah will definitely stay a predominantly Israeli one, there is definitely room for us chutznikim who want to join and be a part.

Although in the beginning we had to move a bit out of our comfort zone, it has become our very own zone, and we are quite content with it—our own little piece of Eretz Yisroel.

Why Didn’t We Know About This?

One of the chutznik families here in Givat HaMoreh manage an apartment here that is rented out for weekends and short-term to vacationers.

A friend of mine was planning on terminating his stay in Eretz Yisroel, as it was just too expensive for him to stay being an avreich here. He decided to end his stay here with a weekend vacation and rented that apartment for a Shabbos.

After being exposed to the warm and fully functional kehillah here, and realizing that there were more English families here than only my own, he told me that it just never occurred to him that such communities existed where he would be able to afford staying here as an avreich. He was mistakenly comparing the finances of chutz la’Aretz to only Yerushalayim and its surroundings.

– Yehuda Orzel, Givat HaMoreh, Afula

This article is part of Matzav.com’s Eretz Chemdah series featuring English speakers, living in, settling, and building up Eretz Yisroel. For more info please contact yoel@naavakodesh.org or visit naavakodesh.org/eretz-chemdah

Reprinted from Naava Kodesh.

From Lakewood to Beit Shemesh: An INSIDE VIEW

Eretz Chemdah: An Inside View

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

From Lakewood to Beit Shemesh

We came to Eretz Yisroel in the summer of 2014 after living in Lakewood for almost seven years. Being “in-towners” originally from Monsey and Flatbush, moving to Eretz Yisroel wasn’t really the “in” thing to do, so why did we?

We always had a soft spot for Eretz Yisroel, but, like most people, we didn’t think it was realistic for us to live here long-term, so we settled in Lakewood, New Jersey like everyone else. After being inspired by a friend, I started to research the significance of living in Eretz Yisroel and how it has recently become exponentially more practical. At some point it dawned on me that Eretz Yisroel today is actually a most-amazing opportunity presented by Hashem, and I wanted to be a part of this project that was bringing us to Klal Yisroel’s ultimate destiny.

Like in the U.S., we have our very own “upstate”—except that it’s Tzfas and Meron. The actual mountains seem to always be singing. Looking for Miami? No need to fly. Within a car ride of just an hour or so you can be taking in the sun-washed shores of Netanya. Of course, the greatest of them all is being able to type “The Kotel” or “Kever Rachel” into Waze and it tells me “you are forty-five minutes away.”

Before we immigrated to Eretz Yisroel, we went to get a bracha from Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, shlit”a. He clearly stressed the importance of making sure that my wife would be happy there. It also seemed very important to him that we had a plan for parnassah, which we were indeed confident about. At that time, I was working for a tech company that would let me take my job with me, so we didn’t have any excuse not to go. Working American hours in Eretz Yisroel meant that the mornings would be utilized for learning (what a better way to start a day), shopping and other errands, and this is something that many others are doing in our community in Eretz Yisroel.

Although my family would miss us, they respected the idea and were very supportive. My wife had two brothers already living in Eretz Yisroel, which made it much easier. WhatsApp and Skype can’t replace the real thing, so our parents now come visit about once a year, and we go once every few years for the summer.

We settled in Ramat Beit Shemesh, which has many nice American Yeshiva-style communities like where we came from. There are tens of shuls which range from yeshivish to balebatish to heimish. Some are into integrating with Israelis, while others work to create an entirely American environment. We have found American immigrants who have been successful coming with children of all ages, but they generally live in the more American neighborhoods that seem more appropriate for such a move. It is of course easier to integrate when the kids are younger.

Most people in my community are those who have stayed on for long-term after coming to Eretz Yisroel for yeshiva, and mostly originated in out-of-town communities; though I do know other people, besides myself, who have come here directly from in-town places like Lakewood and Monsey.

As our oldest child was turning six when we came here, chinuch was already at the forefront of our minds. People had warned us that things are different in Eretz Yisroel and there aren’t any schools that have the variety and balance that you’ll find in the U.S. When doing our research, a very different picture emerged, and when we arrived, we were glad to see that our fears about chinuch were unfounded. B”H, there are many schools that cater to Americans like us, some geared to kollel families, others with a working parent body, and then some more that are in between. In general, the schools with higher percentages of Americans seem to be more balebatish, and the ones more kollel-oriented seem to have a higher percentage of Israelis, though there are exceptions.

I think that we frum Yidden coming from America have what to contribute to society in Eretz Yisroel. For one, many of us bring a can-do attitude—we won’t just take situations as a given but will try to improve them. Another is the fact that we are proud and content to be hard-working and self-supporting ehrlicher Yidden. For us, after five or ten years of learning, this is just a new and different phase of our avodas Hashem—not a failure. Of course, there is much for us Americans to learn as well from the surrounding Israeli Chareidi society, including a much-less focus on materialism.

Living here has brought our lives to a different plane of existence, which has manifested in several different aspects. One thing that really stands out is the diversity. Even though in any specific neighborhood there might be just one kind of group, it takes only a three-minute drive to reach any public area—shopping, leisure, etc.—and all the walls fall apart and all types of Jews are interacting and getting along. It’s beautiful to see so many different colors and flavors of Yidden living side by side in harmony.

Our Very Own “Mountains”

Like in the U.S., we have our very own “upstate”—except that it’s Tzfas and Meron. The actual mountains seem to always be singing. Looking for Miami? No need to fly. Within a car ride of just an hour or so you can be taking in the sun-washed shores of Netanya. Of course, the greatest of them all is being able to type “The Kotel” or “Kever Rachel” into Waze and it tells me “you are forty-five minutes away.”

– Tzvi Moshe Arnstein, Ramat Beit Shemesh Gimmel

This article is part of the 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.