Book Review: Living in the Land – A Book to Both Grace Your Coffee Table and Your Mind, Heart, and Soul
29/11/2023
A valuable new book has just made its way into the frum world:
Living in the Land, Mosaica Press 2023 by Yoel Berman:
Fifty frum olim describe the joys, challenges, and opportunities of making the move to Eretz Yisrael, as well as the resources and strategies that made for success.
And it comes with a strikingly beautiful cover by the gifted frum artist Yehoshua Wiseman.
I think we have really been needing a book like this and it’s great that Yoel Berman fulfilled this need.
Why Focus on Charedi Aliyah?
We need a book that focuses solely on charedi aliyah and the settlement of Eretz Yisrael.
And charedim from outside of Eretz Yisrael, despite not being “Zionist,” comprise a huge percentage of aliyah.
You run into them everywhere in Eretz Yisrael.
Charedim really need guidance devoted to their specific needs — needs which vary from group to group and family to family and individual to individual.
With most aliyah organizations having been secular or traditional, charedi needs & interests traditionally got shoved to the side — though that never stopped charedi aliyah.
In fact, the charedi aliyah continues to increase.
Despite lots of propaganda to the contrary, charedim (though they weren’t called that then) built the foundation for Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael.
With humbling self-sacrifice, they settled the Land, built up & expanded Jewish settlement — even sacrificing their lives for this goal.
And Charedim continue to contribute to Jewish growth in every way.
I remember when Ramat Eshkol was a depressingly secular Israeli neighborhood. Within 20 years, it transformed into a vibrant charedi community, encompassing a thriving English-speaking community.
The face of Yerushalayim also changed with the growth of Torah-observant communities in all sectors.
I remember Yerushalayim over 30 years ago and feel awe at how it transformed, with frum people vastly outnumbering the secular, and secular ads and stores shrinking while you can see things like a huge sign advertising for “Savta Sara’s Cholent!”
From Myrtle Rising, here.