אוירא דארץ ישראל Avira DEretz Yisroel

Leave the Goyim and Join Your Brethren in the Jewish Heartland!

Not Just a Spectator

Yedidyah B., Yerushalayim

B”H, I am happily raising my family in Yerushalayim, making a living running a business I started, and learning Torah as well. Honestly, though, all of this is not something I take for granted.

I grew up in a regular American yeshivish home in a frum community in New Jersey. I am fortunate to have ended up living in Eretz Yisroel, but from a class of fifteen kids in cheider, I’m the only one so far. One of the kids in my class unfortunately ended up marrying a shiksa r”l. I am very troubled by the thought that the same percentage of the American chinuch system’s complete failures — at least concerning my class — is also the same percentage of those who have succeeded in coming to live in Eretz Yisroel. I am still contemplating why this is so.

Anyone who has gone through the chinuch system has been exposed to Torah, shas and poskim. Therefore, the centrality of Eretz Yisroel must surely be so very clear to them. How can they not want to live in Eretz Yisroel? People are busy with chumros in all sorts of things, so why is living in Eretz Yisroel left out—even if it might not be an absolute chovah?

I came to Eretz Yisroel in 2003 at the age of nineteen. I liked the yeshivos in America, but the love of Eretz Yisroel brought me here. I started out in a small yeshiva in Yerushalayim catering to American bochurim. I quickly realized that if I really wanted to stay in Eretz Yisroel, it would be best to integrate into the Israeli Chareidi system and culture, so I decided to make the jump into an Israeli yeshiva.

I attended the famous Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak for a year and a half. When I first arrived there, I only knew some basic “siddur” Hebrew, and I had to pick up the language quickly; basically overnight. It was the best ulpan [school for learning the Hebrew language] and merkaz klita [integration center] into the Israeli Chareidi world. I had the most amazing time of my life in Bnei Brak, with exposure to the rich Torah center and its special personalities.

Now living in Yerushalayim, I am part and parcel of the Israeli Chareidi community with all of its pros and cons. (Of course, what constitutes a pro or a con is a matter of personal opinion and a question of priorities.) For example, I would be happy if my kids knew a bit more math, but we made a decision that it is more important to be part of the Chareidi community and not feel different. My kids are well integrated, so much so that they don’t feel like “American” kids at all. Proof is, my daughter did not elect to be placed with the dovrot [English speakers] group.

Here in Eretz Yisroel the Torah becomes alive. When discussing the Me’aras HaMachpelah from the weekly parsha, it isn’t something we just read about—we were actually in Chevron recently, looking at what was the sadeh that Avrohom Avinu bought. For us in Yerushalayim, the absence of a sheep for the korban pesach is glaring. The Beis HaMikdash is a real concept, waiting to be rebuilt on the Har HaBayis behind the Kosel HaMa’aravi.

There was a time in recent history when Eretz Yisroel needed Yidden to come here to make it happen. Today we are at a point where much has already been built up here, both physically and in a Torah sense. The center of the Torah world—including prestigious yeshivos, respected and widely recognized batei din, rabbonim of world-renowned stature—is now here in Eretz Yisroel. Despite that, Eretz Yisroel still needs you; the more frum Americans here, the greater our influence would be on what’s happening here. Realize on one hand that there is great opportunity here, and on the other hand, it’s you, your children and family who are missing out by not being here. It’s your choice to jump on the train and be a part of history in-the-making, or just to watch it as an outside spectator. As my ninth-grade rebbi would say, “You can make a cow thirsty and bring it to the freshwater lake, but you cannot make it drink.”

I have come across many older people visiting here—some who come as often as three times a year, many who even own apartments here. I often hear them saying how they would love to retire here and how lucky I am to live here. The reason many of them are not staying to live here is because they have children and grandchildren settled back in the U.S. If the chinuch for the value of living in Eretz Yisroel doesn’t have a big enough impact on the younger generation, they won’t make the move. Not only will they miss out, but the older generation might just find themselves stuck there in America, dreams unfulfilled.

On a practical note for those who do want to come, I recommend first finding a suitable community to be a part of, carefully considering the pros and cons (especially including the school system) you are willing to deal with. This doesn’t mean you have to give up your identity. Contrary to popular belief, there is a tremendous amount of diversity within the frum world here. Just stick to your community’s guidelines though, and don’t count on changing the system. For the kids, it’s especially important that they not remain outsiders.

So many Goyim!

My father is descended from the Zoref-Salomon family who were very involved in yishuv Eretz Yisroel. Our ancestor R’ Shlomo Zalman Zoref was instrumental in getting permission for Ashkenazi Jews to live in Yerushalayim almost two hundred years ago. To his signature on a document now on display in the Churva shul’s lobby, he appended “ish Yerushalayim” [man of Yerushalayim].

The connection to Eretz Yisroel must be in our genes. On a recent trip to America, I was sure my ten-year-old daughter would have a good time. But it didn’t take long for her to want to go back home, as, in her words, “It’s freezing here and there are so many goyim!”

Reprinted with permission from Avira D’Eretz Yisroel.

Live in the Mountains – 10 Minutes Away From Jerusalem…

Country Living in a Yerushalayim Suburb

Eliyahu Grumet, Agan HaAyalot

About twelve years ago a friend of ours who went into real estate was selling houses in Agan HaAyalot (also known as Givat Ze’ev HaChadasha) and suggested that we look into buying an apartment there. At that time there were only shells of a few buildings. The neighborhood was originally designed as an expansion of the existing municipality of Givat Zeev, but because there was no interest from the non-religious, it was eventually – and very successfully – remarketed as a Chareidi neighborhood. Its proximity to Yerushalayim and the substantially lower prices of its spacious suburban-style housing—all which is within a sheltered Chareidi enclave with no chillul Shabbos in sight—was a winning combination.

We originally came to Eretz Yisroel after getting married in the US with the idea that we would be here for about five years or so. We thought that buying an apartment would be a good investment even if we would end up moving back, so we signed a contract on one of those shells. We moved into our house when it was fully built three and a-half years later. (Today the pace of construction is much faster.)

After settling down in Agan HaAyalot and realizing we were here to stay, my wife, who had trained and interned here in Eretz Yisroel as a speech therapist in an American program, went through the process of obtaining citizenship and getting licensed so she could legally work here. Her background is very useful here for helping the local English speakers.

Agan HaAyalot translates to “Doe Basin.” Living in the mountains the whole year round, we occasionally get to see some deer running around. I find it to be a very pleasant place to live in, while being close enough to the hustle and bustle of the city (only six miles away) but still like country living. The houses and buildings are spread apart. Many apartments have private entrances and many of the buildings have only four apartments. There is much more space, quiet, and privacy than in nearby Yerushalayim, where the developers are capitalizing on the limited space as much as they can. Here you can buy much more for your money. For about two-million shekels (under $600,000), you can get a four-bedroom apartment between 120 to 140 square meters (1500 square feet). There are private homes being built as well.

The Yerushalayim neighborhood of Ramot with its new and large shopping center is only a ten-minute car ride away, so Agan HaAyalot is really the closest thing to living in Yerushalayim. Most people in Agan HaAyalot have cars, but it is not a necessity. (We lived here without one for several years.) There is a small local shopping center, a hardware store, a toy store, medical offices, and other small businesses. It’s also just a short bus ride to get into Yerushalayim. The bus fare between here and Yerushalayim is even the same as for the inner-city buses in Yerushalayim, so we really are like any other Yerushalayim neighborhood. There are many people here who work or learn in Yerushalayim. There also is a busload of avreichim (with many Americans) going every day directly to the Mir yeshiva.

Most of the English speakers here moved in after deciding to settle down here in Eretz Yisroel after being part of one of the more transient communities in Yerushalayim. Many have learned in Mir, Brisk, Toras Moshe, and other similar Yeshivos. There are some older people who have already married off children and even grandchildren, who moved here after selling more expensive properties in Yerushalayim. In general, though, it is a young community, with most people moving here close to their thirties.

Today there are about nine-hundred families in the neighborhood. About 70% are Hebrew speakers, and 30% are English speakers. The Americans are generally bunched together in the same buildings or on the same block. The two chadarim and one girls’ school serve everyone together. There is an English track in the preschool, but it’s just to ease the transition. They’re eventually integrated into the mainstream system with everyone else.

Community life here is amazing. About five years ago we built an American-style shul/kehillah. Even the furniture in the shul is in the American style, with chairs and tables like in the Agudah-style balebatish shuls back in America. The official language of the shul is Hebrew, so Israelis who want to join can, but most members are English speakers. The Israelis who join are attracted by the warmth and community feel. The rov is English speaking, but came to Eretz Yisroel at the age of three so he has been well integrated into the Israeli Chareidi society. Though his derashos are in Hebrew, he answers shailos in either language.

Our shul is one of twelve shuls in the neighborhood. Six are nusach Ashkenaz, four Sephardic, one nusach Sefard, and one Belz. One of the shuls is a hub for working Israeli Chareidim. Everyone has a place here.

The second-day Yom Tov minyan is at our shul, but it is primarily for family and guests of the residents, because most of the English-speaking locals are here to stay. However, there is an increasing trend of Americans buying vacation homes in the neighborhood—including some parents of the permanent residents here—and they also make up part of the second-day minyan.

With many like-minded people around and more space inside and outside the house, people here are happy and content. With significant construction going on the population is expected to double within a few years. Maybe there’s a place here for you too.

Still in Eretz Yisroel

When we moved out of Yerushalayim, many of our family and friends were a bit skeptical. They felt that by moving out of Yerushalayim, we were moving out of Eretz Yisroel. In reality, though, this unique suburb of Agan HaAyalot with its proximity to Yerushalayim has enabled people to stay longer­—many even permanently.

We told them that we’re still much closer to the kosel than from those people still in America. Every Chol HaMoed we take a family trip to be oleh l’regel to the Old City. We tell our children that while there are thousands of people that spend thousands of dollars to travel there, we are fortunate that we can do it by just a cheap, quick bus ride.

Most of us Americans are living far away from our families, so we are here for each other like family. It has happened more than once that after a Friday afternoon birth, neighbors and members of our close-knit kehillah put together a shalom zochor within a short time.

This really is a wonderful and successful community.

Tzefas Is Not Just for Visiting…

No Reason to Go Back

Eli Mendel, Tzefas

I grew up in Manchester, attended school in Yeshiva Ketana Chayei Olam in London, and then the Yeshiva of Gateshead. Afterwards, I went to Eretz Yisroel to learn by R’ Tzvi Kushelevsky for two years, just because that’s what people were doing.

A shidduch was suggested for me with an American Israeli from Tzefas, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to live here or in Manchester because of the extremely different mentalities. Because I wanted to leave the door open to go back to Manchester, the shidduch was finalized without my commitment to living here in Eretz Yisroel. My wife suggested we first try living here for a year, and I felt secure doing so as I had “pas besalo“—that if I ever wanted, we could move back to Manchester. We have been here for nine years already and are very happy here. I see no reason to go back. In fact, we can’t even see ourselves living in chutz la’Aretz anymore.

We started out in Yerushalayim. It was quite ridiculous to pay a whole month’s salary for renting a basement, so we moved to Tzefas where the housing is much more affordable. You can even buy a private villa here—including a small unit to rent out to others—for less than a small apartment in Yerushalayim.

We came to Tzefas several years ago as part of the first major wave of young Chareidi families to move in. Back then there were four dogs in my building, which is not a common sight in your typical Chareidi neighborhood. Today there are none, and instead, you get to see lots of frum kids crossing the street to cheider or to school, just like in any other Chareidi city. If your impression of Tzefas is based on what you saw when you came here for vacation—even if it was only a few short years ago—I suggest you come to check it out again.

Here in Tzefas there is an atmosphere of peace and simplicity—you can be your real self here, as there is no need to show off. People here are friendly. In a way it’s like a shtetl [little village], but it’s also like a city. Besides for being beautiful and peaceful, Tzefas has everything we need. There are all kinds of mosdos and shuls here. Though I send my kids to a good Chassidish school, I am learning in a Litvish kollel. There are good Litvish and Chassidish chadorim and schools through high school. The Chassidish are united here and not sectored. We feel we all need each other, so there can be a kana’i, a Belzer chossid and a Rachmastrivka chossid all joined, putting their personal yichus aside to make things happen in the community.

There are shops of every kind here and none of them are open on Shabbos. Though there are many Jews here who are traditional, they are nonetheless connected to and have respect for Yiddishkeit. Neighborhoods are becoming more Chareidi as the non-religious are not really moving in. There aren’t any churches or mosques here either.

There are also interesting job opportunities here. I get paid by someone to drive down every day to nearby Amuka to daven by the kever of the holy Tanna, Rabbi Yonasan Ben Uziel. I am also an agent for vacation apartments up north, for groups, yeshivos, and families. There are jobs specifically suitable for English speakers to engage in because of so many English-speaking tourists, including in the field of tourism and kiruv.

Tzefas has a very large English-speaking community, though they mostly are those who have come here to Eretz Yisroel at a young age and are therefore completely integrated with the Israelis. There are many Jews from France as well.

The calm atmosphere and the comfortable weather here have an appeal no less than places in chutz la’Aretz like where I grew up, while there is also the additional kedushas Eretz Yisroel. Being the highest city in Eretz Yisroel at nine-hundred meters above sea level, the breeze makes it comfortable even in the summer heat. The cold of the winter is something I’m used to from back in England. Being so elevated it often snows here. Magnificent views include the close-by Kinneret to the southeast and the snow-capped Hermon mountain to the north. On a clear day you can see all the way to Haifa on the west coast.

From here I can also easily and quickly get to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meiron whenever I want to. Some people from chutz la’Aretz pay thousands of dollars to come just for Lag Ba’omer, and for me it’s almost free.

After all is said, I don’t know where people get the notion that Tzefas is all about old mekubalim and broken-down houses. With such misconceptions, many people would not dare to live here. If they’d come for just a few weeks they’d be shocked to find it’s such a beautiful and livable place, modern, yet with a lot of “character.” If they would know how it really is here, they would wish they would have the opportunity to join us. Though maybe not for people who would really miss hectic city life, those who are looking for quiet would really enjoy it here, living in “vacation land” the whole year round.

It’s All in the Mind

Among the countless great Tzaddikim buried in Tzefas there is one known as R’ Leib Ba’al Yissurim [the afflicted one]. According to legend, he promised that he would help anyone who needed a yeshua who would come to his kever and say the whole Tehillim on Erev Shabbos after chatzos.

He was one of the first Ashkenazim to settle in Chevron, moving in his later years to Tzefas. Although it is not known what yissurim he went through to acquire this title, all of the early pioneers here in Eretz Yisroel went through substantial yissurim to be zoche to live here.

In these times, the yissurim for us to be zoche to live in Eretz Yisroel sometimes just amounts to changing our mindset.

Reprinted with permission from Avira D’Eretz Yisroel.

Live the Life You Always Wanted In IMMANUEL!

Jumping Right In — To Live the Life We Wanted

Avraham Pollack, Immanuel

Ten years ago, when I was forty-five years old, we decided we’re just going to jump in and make the move. For many years, we knew that we were headed to live in Eretz Yisroel, but for practical reasons it just hadn’t happened. If we would have continued taking into consideration every one of the practicalities, we might have ended up staying in the US indefinitely. So, with just six thousand dollars in cash and without any work planned, we packed up our house and got ready to go. We received funding to transport a container of our goods and joined a Nefesh B’Nefesh charter flight.

I was already learning half-days with chavrusos, but in the small community of Charleston, South Carolina, which we lived in at the time, there was no kollel setup for those like me who would be interested in learning with a group. We looked into other communities that had such options, but we instead decided that if we were already going to move, what we really wanted was to be in Eretz Yisroel. My wife constantly said, “For two thousand years we have davened and cried for the ability to live in Eretz Yisroel, and now we can just get on a plane, and in a few hours’ time, we’ll be there — and even the ticket is paid for….” Though our two older children were teenagers already, they had grown up with the idea that Eretz Yisroel is the place for us to be.

As part of our preparations, I did my research and found a kollel in Yerushalayim that would be suitable for me. For the first seven years in Eretz Yisroel, I was learning in kollel full-time. Half of the funds we needed for our eight-thousand-shekel monthly budget (to cover all expenses including rent for our family of five), came in the form of financial support from abroad. During this time, people were coming to me in order to help sort out their conflicts, which I would do on a volunteer basis. I had experience in the field, as I was doing negotiations for my business when we had lived in the US. My wife suggested I study to become certified and turn this hobby into a parnassah. I am now practicing as a certified mediator, mostly working in the evenings.

We first lived in Cheftsiba, a neighborhood of Modi’in Illit near Kiryat Sefer, for about nine years. Though my wife is an engineer by training, she hadn’t worked in the field for many years. Originally from Switzerland but having lived in the US, she spoke both German and English. One day she saw an advertisement in one of the local bulletins looking for a German or English speaker for a kitchen-design company. She said, if they are looking for an English or German speaker, they really want a German speaker but will take someone who speaks English. That turned out to be the case. Now, for almost eight years B”H, my wife has been running a successful kitchen design business.

About two years ago we moved to the rapidly growing community of Immanuel. Today there are over a thousand families spanning all age groups, though most of the newcomers are young couples. They include Ashkenazim, Sephardim, and Teimanim — both those who identify as mainstream Chareidi as well as some Charda”l. The Ashkenazim in Immanuel are predominantly Chassidish, but there is a small and growing Litvish kehilla as well. A sizable percentage of the residents are English speakers. There is an acceptance committee under the auspices of the community rabbonim to assure that newcomers are suitable for the community and that the community is fitting for them.

Residents place tremendous emphasis on educating their children, and there are a number of different schools. Lately, there has been talk about opening a Litvish yeshiva ketana (high school), which would take advantage of the quieter small-town setting more conducive to learning. People here are constantly working on enhancing their spiritual growth, and they value a pure and idealistic life. The community is known for its warmth, for excelling in chessed, and for emunah.

City Hall works together with rabbonim from all the kehillos. There are special activities and chugim for the benefit of the children and all residents, as well as a community library and swimming pool. There is a small shopping center and many small home-run businesses.

Housing is affordable with prices starting at about 600,000 shekels for a 2-bedroom apartment and there are many other options available including private villas. There is considerable construction underway.

A little more than an hour drive to Yerushalayim and under an hour from Bnei Brak, we have here in Immanuel a city full of fresh air and breathtaking views. There is also a walkway surrounding the entire city with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and the neighboring communities nestled within them, the streams, waterfalls and the wildlife.

The future is here! Come join us!

Affordable Housing—with Yerushalayim Still Within Reach

There was no way you could have convinced me that we weren’t going to live in Yerushalayim, but after we went every day for the first two weeks there to look for apartments within our budget, we realized that it would be just impossible for us.

We had heard from an acquaintance that their daughter was living in Modi’in Illit and paying only 1400 shekels a month for rent. (Now ten years later, as Modi’in Illit has developed to a full-fledged and bustling city, rent has gone up almost threefold!) We figured we could do the same, and with the money saved on rent, we could buy a car, which would get me to kollel in Yerushalayim, about a half-hour commute. Now, from Immanuel, it’s just a bit over an hour drive (if I don’t want to stay and learn in Immanuel).

P.S. More information about Immanuel is available on the website I have put together at http://emanuelcity.home.blog.

Reprinted with permission from Avira D’Eretz Yisroel.

Don’t Bash Your Children’s Schools!

Valuing Yishuv Eretz Yisroel

Leib K., Yerushalayim

My parents had lived in Eretz Yisroel for a short time after they got married. They bought an apartment in the Matersdorf neighborhood of Yerushalayim as they apparently intended to stay here long-term. They went back to the U.S. to be with my grandparents for Yom Tov and ended up staying in America. My mother always told me, “This was the biggest mistake that I ever made.”

I grew up in Lakewood, New Jersey. As a child, I frequently heard my mother asking my father, “Can we move to Eretz Yisroel?” My father would respond that we could only realistically make such a move after the youngest child graduates from high school to avoid chinuch issues such a move would involve.

I came to Eretz Yisroel for summer vacation after tenth grade and stayed by my married sibling who was living in Yerushalayim. I traveled around the country touring and sightseeing. This was beneficial to me when I came back a year later for yeshiva — I was not distracted from my learning unlike many others to whom the country was new and exciting.

As a bochur, I had once heard a shiur by Rav Asher Zelig Rubinstein, zatza”l, in which he mentioned a statement made by the Chofetz Chaim about Eretz Yisroel being the safest place in the world. This had a profound impact on me and is part of what made me comfortable with living here.

Several years later, when I was a chosson, a family in the Sorotzkin neighborhood hosted me for the night of Shemini Atzeres. My host asked me if I was keeping one or two days of Yom Tov. I didn’t know what to answer as I hadn’t thought about it. My host mentioned that one of the biggest poskim, HaRav Yisroel Belsky, zatza”l, was staying by one of his children just downstairs and I could ask him for a p’sak. I found him sitting and learning in the sukkah. I told him that my kallah and I were planning to start out in Eretz Yisroel, but with no commitment for the future. I also mentioned that we did indeed want to live here as long as possible. He said that if my kallah would agree to me accepting a shteller (paid rabbinic position) here in Eretz Yisroel, then I should keep one day. I had no idea and no way of finding out, as my kallah was in America and it was Yom Tov, but when I did have a chance to ask afterward, she gave a positive response.

After getting married in the U.S., we came to Eretz Yisroel a short while before Pesach. Since we had just arrived, we stayed in Eretz Yisroel for Pesach. In retrospect, I wouldn’t advise newly married couples to make their own Pesach away from family. Life continued and it began to get difficult from a financial standpoint. After Pesach, we rethought the issue of settling in Eretz Yisroel. We believed it really wasn’t financially possible for us to stay here long-term. We asked HaRav Belsky, through a cousin who was learning in Torah Vo’daas at the time, if this would mean we should revert to keeping two days of Yom Tov. He answered in the affirmative, and that’s what we did for the following Yomim Tovim.

I think it is very hard for young couples to live here if the wife does not have a job. There is also a psychological difficulty for women who can earn dollars back in the U.S. and instead work here at a job that pays that same number—only in shekels! Though the alternative of staying at home is worse because it leads to homesickness, which is a sure way to get right back on the plane. I know of someone who came here as a newlywed without his wife having a job, and to make matters worse, he stayed in yeshiva during lunch break. Although he really wanted to stay, they didn’t last here too long.

The following Pesach we went back to the U.S. for Yom Tov. After coming back to Eretz Yisroel, we realized that we were much happier being in Eretz Yisroel. We felt that the level of simplicity and ruchniyus here really suited us more. After asking another shaylah, we were back to keeping one day of Yom Tov.

We first lived in Yerushalayim’s Romeima neighborhood, but I was looking for a neighborhood where there was a shul in which the rav would give the derashos in English. We now rent in an area where there are several such shuls nearby (Ramat Eshkol, Sanhedriya and Sanhedriya Murchevet). Though financial struggles are definitely not exclusive to avreichim in Eretz Yisroel—and I don’t think that finances here must entail being somech al haness any more than in chutz la’Aretz—I feel that at least here in Eretz Yisroel we have a big consolation that while we are emptying out our pockets and paying our rent, we have the added value of paying for our fulfillment of the mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Yisroel.

When my youngest sibling graduated from high school, my father was in extremely poor health. We did our research and found that all the advanced medical equipment and services he required were also available in Eretz Yisroel. This enabled my parents to move here, and my father was zoche for the last ten months of his life to live here in Eretz Yisroel and to be buried here. Our parents’ love for Eretz Yisroel definitely made an impression on us children, and most of my siblings now live here.

Children and Eretz Yisroel

My rebbi, R’ Yosef Stern, zatza”l, once told me that if I have a choice, it is better to raise children here in Eretz Yisroel, since they will need a lot less gashmiyus compared to what is needed for an average family in chutz la’Aretz.

I once asked my mashgiach why there were certain neighborhoods with a lot of kids from an American background “off the derech.” He said that in his opinion, in many instances, it was because the parents were bashing the same local chinuch system they were sending their children to. If you’re going to move here, you have to back the system you are going to send your children to.

An acquaintance moved here with teenage children. Although they had a tough time adjusting, having mentors from Yedidim—an organization which deals with such issues—significantly eased the transition.

Reprinted with permission from Avira D’Eretz Yisroel.