Spies Like Us

Soon we will read the Torah portion Shelach, recalling the sin of the spies. These were the 12 men that Moshe sent to scout out the Land of Israel before entering. When they returned, their distorted and negative reports caused the b’nai Yisrael to despair. As a result of speaking and believing this slander about the land, Hashem decreed a 40 year delay before they could enter the Land.

Our first year here, Nefesh B'Nefesh initiated a "12 to 12" project. They requested that, because olim are witness to all that is good and special about living here, we tell our family, friends and neighbors abroad what those things are. In 2007 hundreds of us composed lists of 12 things we appreciate and love about living in Israel and emailed the lists to at least 12 friends in the “Old County.” In this way, we hoped to help rectify the Sin of the Spies.

David and I sent out a letter we called “12+1.” The next year, the project went on quietly and we sent you our “12 to 120.” Last year, I continued with “12 Invitations”

This year I am doing it differently: I’d like YOU to be the spies.

Please write to me here with anything you believe to be positive about living in this wonderful, holy Land. I’ll put them together and send it out to the list (with or without your name, let me know) before Shabbat Parsha Shelach. It’ll be our “Achdus” list. In the merit of your Loshen Tov about Eretz Yisrael, may all our efforts help to bring about the miracle we are anticipating-when you all come home soon.

Send your email to me here soon! ...

12 Invitations

B”H

26 Sivan 5769
June 18, 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s that time again, for the annual “12 to 12.” Nefesh B'Nefesh requested that every Oleh compose a list of 12 things we appreciate and love about living in Israel and email our message to 12 friends abroad. It’s a tikkun for the sin of the spies we read in Parsha Shelach. In the past, we sent out “12+1” and “12 to 120” and this year, “12 Invitations.” Let’s make an extra effort this week not to say anything that could possibly be construed as negative about the Land. (there’s a lot of Hebrew in this one, so I put a glossary at the end)

In Israel, we read parsha Shelach last Shabbos because your 2nd day Shavous was a “regular” Shabbos for us. Which of course brings me to one of the nicest things people tout for living here:

1) No 2-day Yom tov. I had no idea how special that could be until


we lived it. All the energy of the yom tov condensed and distilled into one 25-hour oasis, crystallizes the magnificence of the holy day.

And so it is with all the holidays-
2) The entire country regardless of custom or level of observance shares the chag. For secular Israelis Shavuos may be a day off --for basking in the sun, and for Chassidim a day on-- for dressing in the most regal of clothing and basking in the countenance of their Rebbe. For those in our realm, it’s like Shabbos with a different aroma. I don’t mean cheese and butter; there is richness to the very air. We hear singing all day in the Old City alleyways. The yeshivas are spending their last chag together; the boys hang on to every sweet morsel of the experience. The seminary girls who come to us in droves, B”H talk about all they learned and David and I comment on how they have matured into fine young women ready to begin a new generation of Kl’al Yisrael, b’esras Hashem. We bless them that the will return soon with their husbands and establish their homes here. (amen)


3) Tourist Season. The kids are mostly gone now, and every week in the summer months friends and acquaintances from Atlanta and kiruv group participants are booked for meals at our Shabbos table. It’s really something to look forward to as these visitors always energize us. They readily share their week of life changing experiences and insights over the meal. It’s delicious.


4) Days of simcha and days of mourning express themselves fully here. Beginning soon with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, the Jerusalem air each day will feel emptier and emptier until by the 9th of Av there will seem be no air at all to breathe. The stones seem harder, the sun harsher, the loss even greater.

And then-- it is Shabbos Nachamu- last year at the Kotel on Shabbos Nachamu morning just after the Torah reading, I heard the voice of a frightened little boy. He pierced the cool morning air with a longing wail, “ aba-aba!” I turned to see the almost 3-year-old in his tiny vest and Shabbos pants, shiny shoes and un-cut hair tied into a flowing pony tail, looking utterly lost and alone. Just then, his mother scooped him into her arms and held him close until his sobbing subsided. And the haftorah began: Nachamu, nachamu ami----

5) Then, the country goes on vacation together and there is an astounding abundance of natural beauty to visit during the weeks of comfort called “chufsha, ” “bein hazmanim,” a.k.a., vacation. Israelis go to zimmers (cottages) in the cool mountains and valleys of the North, camping along the sapphire Mediterranean and on tiyuim (trips) to the craters in the sparse dessert or to lush wineries throughout the country, or on adventures like caving, rappelling, biking, rafting and hiking. Yeshivas close, run a less rigorous program and some move out of the city for a refreshing change of pace in preparation for Elul.

6) Elul is very, very serious here. Shiurim take on an urgent tone and pop up everywhere, every day, every night. We work in earnest to prepare for the awesome days soon upon us. Slichos begins at dawn for Sephardim and the shofar blows all morning throughout the Land. Buses to Rachel’s Tomb and Hevron are full, we give tzedeka to the collectors a bit more freely and we bite our tongue a bit more often. It’s also a sweet time. The kids are back. Israeli teachers fill the Kotel Elul mornings with hundreds of young students in identical pastel shirts and dark pleated skirts, or children capped in brightly colored kippot, wearing shorts and flying tzitzit. Yeshiva boys announce themselves in great song on Friday nights. Throughout the week, new American seminary students giggle in groups in the plaza in and shed sincere tears in solitary prayer at the wall.

7) Even the gashmius side of life here takes on a yom tov aura. In America, Labor day sales are emptying the stores of summer clothing, but in Israel we will wear white into October. Hat store windows display 17 different styles; only white in Elul. All along Jaffa Road you can buy flowing skirts and men’s three piece suits in pure white. Deep into usually “black” Geula, women shop for tailored outfits and children’s dresses as white as clouds.

And on the streets and in the malls and at the shuk you have no doubt that any yom tov is on her way. Sefarim stores fill their shelves with recent publications and reliable classics written to inspire deeper insights into the holiday at hand. Relevant machzorim pile on tables in front of the stores on crowded sidewalks. In Elul, honey bottles, bears and jars are everywhere. Tablecloths fly out the doors of linen shops. The silver stores clean their windows--just as we work to clean our souls, so their polished wares gleam in the sun.

8) Every Jew directs their prayer towards Israel and Jerusalem.
When the Awesome Days finally arrive, we find ourselves standing on the front lines of prayer. Do we feel fully worthy? Not at all. However, we know that we are backed by you, holy Jews around the globe begging for mercy, heeding the shofar, honoring the King, longing to come home.

9) The Yom Kippur fast ends early and the hammering begins…
Our fast is over somewhere around 6:30 and immediately after a light meal, we begin to hear hammer on nails, planks banging and metal bars clanging. Store fronts turn into lulav and esrog stands overnight, sidewalks and mall kiosks overflow with sukkah decorations and Simchas Torah flags. Before we know it we’ve moved outside for a week of delight in the cool fall air, sleeping near our snoring neighbors under a blanket of Jerusalem stars.

10) With the chill of winter comes donut season! Beginning on the 1st of Cheshvan, it lasts all the way until the 8th night of Chanukah. After that, you’ll rarely see (or want to see) another fried pastry until the next Cheshvan. During Chanukah schools get off early and work understands that you’ll be leaving by 3. Everyone, and I mean everyone, lights menorahs. We walk around different neighborhoods to enjoy the simple flames outside the doors or twinkling in the windows in every apartment on every story. Everywhere.

11) The almond trees blossom to announce that Tu b’Shevat is here-- and then on 1 Adar Purim “begins.” Kids pile off the buses in costume and hamentashen pop up in places which just a few months ago hawked varieties of doughnuts, and before that sold esrogim and lulavim. The Breslovers drive around in Adar with huge speakers attached to the roofs of cars with bungee cords. You just can’t help but smile and put a little bounce in your step when you hear their music and see their joy. This national simcha escalates for 2 weeks and then, the party begins! And for those who didn’t get enough to drink on Purim day-you can always head to Jerusalem for Shushan Purim. Now that’s a 2-day holiday many people go for!

12) Pesach: While it’s great that entire stores go kosher for Passover, it’s even better that any number of rabbis are available 24/7 for the multitude of shailas that come up several times each day. We love how once it is Chol Hamoed, everyone is finally relaxed and ready for the concerts each evening and fireworks after sunset. Every town and moshav has its festival, some with magicians, musicians or clowns or balloon sculptors, maybe art displays, special tours and tiyulim.

But I think the very best part of Pesach is that one pure Seder. The one that ends just like yours does: “Next year in Yerushalayim.”

So come home soon.

Love,
David & Rena

We are so excited IY”H to welcome our dear friends, Moshe, Caryn, Tova, Chaim, Yael, Shira, Shalom Tzvi and Gila Oberman as olim chadashim (new arrivals on aliya) next week! May they have only an ayin tova (see good) about the Land and may their yishuv (settling in) be easy.

Aba-father
b’esras Hashem, G-d willing
chag, yom tov-holiday
Chol Hamoed- interim days of Passover and Sukkos
Gashmius-material
Haftorah-a section of the Book of Prophets read after the Torah portion on Shabbos
Kiruv-outreach
Kl’al Yisrael-the Jewish people
Lulav, esrog, sukkah-used on the holiday of Sukkos
Machzorim-holiday prayer books
Moshav-village
Parsha-Torah portion
Sefarim-books
Sephardim-Jews of Middle Eastern and Spanish descent
Shiurim-Torah classes
Shabbos Nachamu-the Sabbath of comfort following our day of national mourning
Shailas-questions about Jewish law
Shushan Purim-the day Purim is observed in walled cities such as Jerusalem
Simcha-happiness
Simchas Torah-last day of Sukkos
Slichos-prayers of repentance
Tammuz, Av, Elul, Cheshvan, Shevat, Adar-Hebrew Months
Tikkun-rectification
Tzedeka-charity
Yeshiva-boys’ school ...

Making a Living, Making a Life

B"H

3 Tishre 5769
Tzom Gedalia
October 2, 2008

Dear friends and family,

Often a letter (remember those?) or more contemporarily, a blog will begin with "Sorry, I haven't written in a while, but…."

Well, if you read my missives, then you know I've not written since July –and some have emailed in complaints, which I took as a compliment, you can be sure. But that doesn't mean that I have not been writing. I have been writing for m-o-n-e-y! Yes, publications have actually been paying me a pittance for the words I string into ideas that hopefully make their readers smile, cry, think or (hopefully not) skim and skip.

It's certainly not enough to support my husband in learning—yet. But that is among the many things I prayed for yesterday. And now it has been decided.

In the aftermath of all that davening, in the fog of this fast of Gedalia, I have been thinking: since our income is predetermined for the year, why do we even bother to work at all?

This question came up in a recent discussion I had with some visiting seminary students who are in the midst of deciding what they will study next year. With their teachers, they are exploring this idea of why we must find a parnassa. They learned that when Hashem told Adam that his livelihood would come "by the sweat of your brow," He was saying: our relationship has changed. I will no longer openly provide for all your needs. Now you must go to work. Only after Adam made the effort, would Hashem provide the food and shelter they needed.

Work is the vessel into which Hashem's material blessings flow.

Our need for food, clothing and shelter are a constant distraction from the real meaning of our lives. Sometimes we forget what our purpose is. Then comes Rosh Hashanah to remind us that we are only here to be emissaries of the King, and He will give us everything necessary to support us in that mission. And we are supposed to feel secure. But we do not.

Earning a living is hard. Effort is not always commensurate with reward. In the economic debacle we witnessed this Elul, we found out that financial security is often an illusion.

Nowhere is this more clear than in trying to support a family in Israel. The most common question I heard on my recent trip to America was, "Is it really possible to make a living there?" The answer is "Of course it is."

Then of course, David and I haven't completely figured that out yet. While we, like many, came with a job, a high percentage of those first oleh jobs do not hold for the long term. We count among that group. But a new, exciting position was not long in coming and Hashem once again proved to be the holder of the keys to success. While opportunity abounded last spring, Rabbi Berel Wein's organization, which depends on fundraising efforts in America for the bulk of its projects, is now suffering along with its benefactors. Hishtadlus, effort, is still necessary, but in the light of the economy, success is clearly and undeniably dependent upon His will.

Living here allows us to be defined by how we serve Hashem. We take our kochos, G-d given strengths and talents, and use them to do mitzvos-which includes providing for our families. Our job or career is not an expression of who we are, but rather, a utensil, if you will. It is the container for the physical means that helps us rise to the challenge of becoming a mighty soul.

You might say this idea is not really so different than the way it goes in America. It's true. But the difference is that in chutz l'aretz, hishtadlus and success are more relational. Effort seems to have a more direct effect on achievement. Here, you really need a deeper sense of bitachon. More often than not, we do not see a reciprocal cause and effect between the direction of our effort and the source of our reward. Help usually comes from an unexpected place-- often one that defies logic.

But there is also something else. It's how we live. It's a simpler life. And therefore, there is less pressure on the budget. Clothing, food, utilities may be more costly, but our closets, desires and homes are smaller so it takes much less to fill their demands.

Sometimes income can be measured in what we do not spend. If a family has a car, they usually have just one. And they walk to the makolet, bank, gan whenever they can. The children take the bus to school and run outside every afternoon to play. Their tuition, our doctors and prescriptions are miniscule in comparison to what we paid in the US. Entertainment comes in taking a walk on holy soil, bumping into neighbors, going out for a Fro-Yo, lingering over a "café auh-fuh" (upside down coffee), sitting on a bench and watching the children play, tourists walk by, the cloud formations, the stars.

It's not an American life, it's a simple life and it's a Jewish life.

And that, my friends, is what it is like to live in Israel …. A land that HaShem your G-d cares for constantly…(His) eye is on it from the beginning of the year and until the end of the year"

Our parnassa was decided yesterday. Now, our job is to creatively and energetically address the opportunities that Hashem sends our way, and the result we entrust to Him.

May you be blessed with "parnassa kalla v'nikiya" (an easy and clean- so you don't have to sweat too much- livelihood) in the new year. In any effort you expend, may you merit to see Hashem's hand in the reward. And of course, may you all come home soon.

Love,
Renee and David



















9 Recommendations for Making a Living in Israel

1-Get a Degree

In Israel they like degrees-if you are a college graduate, in almost any area-jobs are here. If you are young enough, you can attend university for free.

The younger you are, the easier it is to snag those jobs. Over 40, it's more difficult. However, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well here, and expertise is valued, especially in new companies.

2-Teach

English teachers are in high demand http://www.eslemployment.com/esl-articles/english-teaching-in-israel.htm

Teachers in the school system are required to get an Israeli teaching certificate. To get a certificate requires a 1-2 year program of courses and apprenticeship.

3-Professions

Accountants can provide local financial services or international financial services. To provide local services they must get local certification.

Lawyers who wish to practice Israeli law in Israel must also receive local certification. You must have a reasonable level of Hebrew proficiency and perform an apprentice program with a local lawyer and pass the Israeli bar. Many Israeli companies require the services of American and European lawyers for doing business internationally. They do not need Israeli certification.

Medical professionals must receive Israeli certification. The certification process requires validation of credentials, a reasonable level of Hebrew proficiency and passing Israeli licensing exams (in Hebrew). Nefesh b'Nefesh has an incentive package for doctors that you should check out. http://www.nbn.org.il/news_2008/_january/01.14.08.ynet.htm

4-Sell Abroad

-To sell anything to Israelis requires an excellent understanding of Israeli culture. Don't plan on making a living in sales here.
-However, Israeli entrepreneurs are in need of experienced people to sell their products abroad. If you have expertise and contacts in any area, especially hi tech and medical, there are companies that need your services.

5-Construction, Renovation

Construction in Israel is booming. The workers get paid poorly and are usually either foreigners or Arabs and the business end requires many inside contacts to tread through tricky bureaucracy. Therefore, it's important to have an Israeli partner with protexia.

There is a need for those who can do "shiputzim," small to medium renovation work at American standards, even better if using only Jewish labor. This is a good starter business; plus with your truck, and a few strong men, you could be a mover (always needed) on the side.

6-Hi-Tech

Programmers, web specialists, electrical engineers are in demand. Experienced applicants can receive salaries in the top 15% of the country. Even applicants right out of college can receive in the top 40% of the country. Weekly newsletter with computer jobs: http://www.cji.co.il/index.html

7-A new career

Consider re-training, it's subsidized for olim.

http://www.esek.com/jobsii.html
http://www.aliyahjobcenter.org/index.php

8-Network

the OU is having a Job Fair in November: click here

Join yahoo groups in the areas you are considering living. You'll see job postings regularly. I can give you those links if you want.


9-Good to know:
-Learn Hebrew as soon as you get here.
-Do research in your field before you come, but don't expect to find a job while you are still in America. When employers are hiring, they usually needed you yesterday.
(We did neither.)

-Salaries are considerably less, which can be shocking at first. We discovered that a top, top salary is $50,000-$60,0000. Unless you are supporting kids in America, (traveling there a lot or maintaining an American lifestyle here) you can really make it just fine on less than that.

-Now that there is tax relief for 10 years on income earned in America, and in the light of the projected long term downturn there, the economic barriers to aliya are diminishing.

We have seen time and again that the only way to make it-- is through honest, well planned hishtadlus plus a heavy dose of bitachon, trust that the Almighty, who created the world and can do anything He wants-will be the source of our help. ...

12 to 120

B”H

17 Sivan 5768
Erev Shabbos, Parashas Shelach
June 20, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

This coming Shabbos we read the Torah portion Shelach, recalling the sin of the spies. These were the 12 men that Moshe sent to scout out the Land of Israel before entering. When they returned, their distorted and negative reports caused the b’nai Yisrael to despair. As a result of speaking and believing this slander about the land, Hashem decreed a 40 year delay before they could enter the Land.

Today we are witness to all that is good and special about living here and we have the ability, and perhaps the obligation, to tell our family, friends and neighbors abroad what those things are.

Nefesh B'Nefesh is again this year promoting their "12 to 12" project. They requested that every Oleh compose a list of 12 things we appreciate and love about living in Israel and email our message to 12 (or 120) friends abroad. Last year David and I sent out a letter called “12+1” (if you’d like it, let me know). Here are our 12 for this year:


1. The education-yes, you read correctly. The Jewish education here is excellent. Secular, too. Our graduates become Nobel Prize winners, develop companies that attract a disproportionate amount of foreign business investment and Israel is depended upon for the next great medical breakthrough. Educating children anywhere is difficult. Look in any bookstore in the states; there are shelves of guides to help both parent and child overcome obstacles and get the most out of their schooling. In what other place do Jewish parents have so many opportunities to educate their children al pi darko, according to their ways? Here, parents tell me they love that they can choose the school and educational system that most suits their child. They do struggle with the decisions, but they have a decision to make. (And notice, I did not even mention tuition.)

2. We are surrounded by enemies who want us wiped off the face of the earth, and the best thing is that we know exactly who, and often where, they are. Random acts of violence are rare. Terrorist attacks are devised and planned, but before they are executed, they are usually thwarted. Baruch Hashem.

3. Tourists are everywhere, crowding the alleyways and thoroughfares, littering and talking loudly in the streets. They fill up the restaurants, empty the shops, and give parnassa to the street cleaners. We wake up every morning in their once-in-a-lifetime destination.

4. The government of Israel wants us to be a nation like all other nations. Besrat Hashem it WILL be. --despite what we “see in the news,” we are witness to a Divine Plan that will end when we are deserving of a leadership that represents the highest of ethical standards. Those which emanate from our eternal constitution, the Torah. Then we will be the nation that all other nations want to be like.

5. The kids have to serve in the army. We recently had the zechus of having a Shabbat meal with 18, 19 and 20 year old chayalim, soldiers, from both observant and non-observant homes. They exhibited more character, maturity, focus, dedication and wisdom than any young person to whom I have spoken in my life. Our children would do well to have these middos surrounding them.

6. Little kids run around without any supervision. And most of them are very well behaved. They look after younger siblings, they scoot out to the makolet to get milk for breakfast in the morning, and teens don’t spend hours on cellphones because they are always with their friends.

7. The buses rule the roads. They roar around, twisting, zooming, making impossible turns. They take us anywhere and everywhere. Those standing, stumble as the bus careens, and someone catches them. Mothers give their babies over to “strangers” as they fold their strollers and walk away to pay the driver. Young girls get up and tell not so young women to take their seat. Men move next to other men so women can sit together; this is so that everyone’s dignity is preserved. Simply put, the passengers on any bus in Israel are sharing the ride of their life.

8. Not knowing the language well is an opportunity to make someone’s day. I often find myself waiting for a bus with an elderly woman who knows not a syllable of English but wants a little connection to another Jewish woman. I try my hardest to tell her, using the 50 or so words I know, what I can about my life. When she helps me with my Ivrit, she feels needed, it’s the best. I met an ancient wrinkled beauty from Iraq, a sweet toothy woman from Russia and a 6th generation Israeli and her 88 year old younger sister that way. Plus, I picked up a few new words in the process.

9. The best jobs and special deals are discovered through the good ‘ol boy network and that is hard to get into. To break in, you have to be--an olah. We help each other find jobs, tutors, movers, doctors, ulpans, lawyers. We find a bargain or or hit upon a good idea and we share it on our local anglo yahoogroups. We promote olah business on http://www.nbnbusiness.co.il/ ,give recommendations on http://israeleasy.blogspot.com/ and list resources with maps on http://israelataclick.com/ All in English. It’s a great club, and no secret handshake.

10. I love that there are no long thin lines in Israel. If you expect to be waited on first come first serve, you are mistaken. Once we got here we realized it was best just to get over it. My take on it is that we are like a family; it really is not rudeness. It’s a cultural thing--like no personal space. Because we are family, there is no “alone space,” either. People care enough to tell us how to dress, how take care of our kids, our health and our relationship with our spouse. And if one is ever in need of help, lo aleinu, the shoving stops and our family is right there to take care of us.

11. Yes, there are indeed giants here. Giants of Torah. And we have the opportunity to gaze upon them every day.

12. Finally, the only best thing about living in Israel is that we are home, where every Jew belongs, where our Loving Father longs for our return.

Well, those are our 12 for this year. You might not agree that all of these are good reasons to live here, but please, as a tikkun for the spies don’t say anything. Life in Israel, like anywhere has its trials. Within our trials lies the opportunity for our greatness. Doing mitzvot with joy, being kind and merciful to one another and judging every Jew favorably will end this exile, the most difficult trial of all. Then the best thing about living in Israel will be that all of YOU will get to come home soon.

Love,
Renee and David ...

In The Blink of an Eye

B”H

22 Nissan 5768
Isru Chag shel Pesach
April 27, 2008


Dear Friends and Family,

As the first year anniversary date of our aliya approaches we want to acknowledge our gratitude to Hashem for all He did to bring us here. For ten years we talked of living in Eretz Yisrael. It was our dream. Until the day David said that if we did not set a date to work towards, it would remain just a dream. So we looked at our life and set our date for three years into the future: May 7, 2007. We started to plan. Of course, G-d laughed.

Our aliya story is a megilla of hidden and revealed miracles.

December 2006. Five months before our projected aliya date, things were not coming into focus. David felt he could not responsibly leave his position until the company he worked with, could hire medical sales professionals. He was trapped. They had no present plan to make this hire and we had no parnassa plan for Israel. However, David said things could change in the blink of an eye, so we started filling out the Nefesh b’Nefesh paperwork.

By February it was time for us to renew our lease at the apartment we’d rented as part of our aliya plan, which had included selling our house. We had a decision to make. Renew for a year, six months or three? We calculated the costs to sign at a lower rent for year and break it when things hopefully fell into place. Would it be wiser to commit to staying 6 months at a bit higher rent? It was quite pricey to sign for three months, yet that would bring us almost exactly to May 7, the date we’d chosen three years earlier. It had seemed so, so far away then. Now May 7, 2007 would be here in the blink of an eye. We decided to show Hashem that we wanted to come and we meant it. We signed for three. If He wanted us, we’d be ready.

The next week, David was somewhere he’d not been in 3 years: home in the middle of the day during the workweek. He was between appointments and decided since he was closeby, that eating his packed lunch on a table at home was nicer than eating in his car. On that day at that time, his cellphone rang. It was Rabbi Solomon who wanted to know if he’d be interested in working for HaRosh Yeshiva Noach Weinberg, may he have a refuah sheleima. This amazing opportunity came in the blink of an eye-after 10 years of prayer and effort.

An interview in Jerusalem was arranged for mid-March. David and I both felt that this position with Aish was a long shot, besides he still had that commitment to the company he was with. But the chance to spend a week with Rav Noach, shlita, was worth the trip alone and if that was not working out, then maybe another opportunity would arise while he was there. Just a few days after he booked his flight, David came home in the middle of the day again. This time he had news: management had finally decided to put on a medical sales team! In the blink of an eye, he was free...and we were jobless as well as homeless.

The interview in Jerusalem at Aish headquarters lasted a week and after a few days, all thought it was a match made in heaven. The compensation they offered was considerably less than a US salary but plenty to live on here, and the position was irresistible because it would, number one: be an exciting employment of David’s talents and energies on behalf on k’lal Yisrael and number two: get us to Israel: start date may 20.

I began a serious apartment search. Before David left, I had posted our desire for a 3BR 2 BA apartment with A/C on yahoogroups, luach, and flathunting. David was going to work in just 8 weeks, we needed a place soon and we preferred to live in, or at least near the Old City. I spent hours combing real estate listings, emailing agents and calling potential landlords. Nothing. Then, in the blink of an eye, that very week David was in Jerusalem, an apartment suddenly appeared on luach.com. David looked at it immediately. It was the apartment of our dreams, and still is...less one bathroom.

After a gracious outpouring of kindness and well wishes from our Atlanta community and mesiras nefesh, self sacrifice by our family who had to say good bye, we flew New York to catch our free El Al flight on May 7, 2007. But without David’s passport. It had vanished, and we weren’t going over the ocean without it! It was a tense, trying two days in New York to obtain another passport and aliya visa. The overnight passport agent charged $500 for his services, miraculously, I had stashed exactly five $100 bills –for emergency-in the same envelope that I thought held both our passports. On the afternoon of May 9, we stood in the consulate lobby with the Israeli guard who cried with us when our aliya shaliach exited the elevator, brand new passport and visa in hand.

David’s tenure at Aish HaTorah lasted about as long as the blink of an eye: only 6 weeks—it was a wonderful experience but not a good fit. However, that job gave our aliya a practical basis and was very meaningful work, exactly what he needed at the time. A month ago, David began working for Rabbi Berel Wein-also great lover of k’lal Yisrael who has dedicated his life to teaching all Jews about their heritage. This position promises to be an exciting challenge, too. Those nine months between jobs afforded David the once in a lifetime opportunity to learn Torah full time. He loves learning at Yeshiva Rabbi Akiva, it is tailor made for him. Rabbi Gold is kind and serious, and understands both the limitations and aspirations of his talmidim. They work hard to earn their share in Torah.

Now it is bein hazmanim. Yeshivas have been on vacation since Rosh Chodesh Nisan, and this week the whole country is on vacation from work. Everyone is free. Free to be with family, free to travel this outrageously beautiful Land. But first, we cleaned and planned, purchased and prepared. We made our one, pure Seder.

In the Hagaddah, we said “...He took us out from there in order to bring us to Eretz Yisrael and to give us the land that He promised to our ancestors.” The ultimate purpose for which Hashem took us out of Egypt was to make us a nation, to give us His Torah and to bring us to the Land so that we can serve Him here. He did it in the blink of an eye-after centuries of suffering and yearning.

And miraculously, here we are. Our aliya anniversary lands squarely between Yom Ha’atzmaut, the day commemorating the miracle of the modern state of Israel and Yom Yerushalyim, the day of the miracle of a unified Jerusalem. Since we know that there are no coincidences, we’ve wondered about the message in this juxtaposition.

Jews began coming home en masse just 60 years ago. Untrained farmers and poorly armed fighters, with help from Above, built this country into a world economic power on a foundation of hope. It happened in the blink of an eye- after a long, dark disastrous decade...and Hashem’s promise to our forebears over 3,600 years ago. Then Jerusalem was given into our hands in 1967- in the blink of an eye-after 6 miraculous days and 2000 years of our longing.

Salvation comes in the blink of an eye. I thought of this over Chol haMoed when crowds came to pray at the Kotel at sunrise. While the night sky still hovered, we covered our eyes and said Shema, thousands of Jews together. Suddenly the black peeled away and revealed a sky turned that true Jerusalem blue. The Shema left us with clarity that, G-d who is merciful, is the true Judge, the same One who loves us.

Here we stand again –arab armies and world opinion a wall of ill will surrounding us. The only place to look is up. It may seem that we are alone in the black night, but dawn will soon break and we’ll then see that Hashem’s love and mercy have been surrounding us the whole time.

The great Chassidic rabbi, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk says that in times of trouble we should talk of the miracles that Hashem performed in Egypt, and through this, He will continue to perform great miracles of salvation. At our Seder we talked about how the miracles of Pesach story are the paradigm for the future salvation. Those miracles will be even greater than we can imagine! We also said that even though it is a miracle that we are a distinct nation with the living Torah and our home is Israel, without the Bais haMikdash, the ultimate purpose of our nationhood and Torah are not realized. And so, our Seder here in the Old City of Jerusalem ended just like yours did: “l’shana haba b’Yerushalyim.”

May we merit to see the Almighty’s miracles. May we speak about them throughout the year, and may all of His children-in the blink of an eye- come home soon.

Love,
Renee and David ...

12+1

B”H

June 7, 2007
21 Sivan 5767
Parshat Shelach 5767

Dear Friends and Family,

This coming Shabbat, the Torah portion Shelach that recalls the sin of the spies, is read. These were the 12 men that Moshe sent to scout out the Land of Israel before entering. When they returned, their reports were distorted and negative and caused a 40 year delay before the Children of Israel could enter.

Today despite the challenges that come with living in Israel, we are witness to all that is good and special about living here and it is in our ability to tell our family, friends and neighbors abroad what those things are.

Nefesh B'Nefesh is initiating a simple project this week called "12 to 12". They requested that every Oleh to compose a list of 12 great things you appreciate and love about living in Israel and email our message to 12 (or more) friends abroad.

As the Torah portion recalling the sin of the 12 spies is being read this week, I'm writing to share with you 12 things that are special about living in Israel. And in case any of my previous emails shed a negative light on living here, I include one more reason, just to cover my bases.

-Love, Renee & David



1. The FedEx guy, the mailman, the pharmacist, the checkout girl at the Supersol, the garden shop guy where I went to buy plants for David’s garden, the used bookstore owner, the bus driver, the guard at the restaurant, the mall, the bus station, any office building —every one of them is Jewish, some are even tzaddikkim.

2. This may seem shallow, but the restaurants. Not eating out per se, but feeling like company more than customers. We went to a place called Grill Bar because it had been highly recommended but they were closed for a private party. The guard in his black velvet kippa and long peyot saw my disappointment and graciously invited us to sit next to him at an outside table. We were served by a delightful young woman who taught me some Ivrit (selek is beets) in exchange for my English (bamia is okra). The food was fresh and almost as delicious as the air. By the way, the private party inside was for a group of secular French tourists who danced and sang the night away. The band began with lounge music and quickly, at the groups demand, changed to “Am Yisrael Chai,” “hava negila,” and other USY favorites!

3. They sell everything from drills and nails, to sheets and silicone baking pans, funky ice cube trays, Shabbat accessories and even vodka (right next to the chewing gum at the checkout line) at the local version of Target. The merchandise displays are...let’s say-random, never pretentious.

4. The fruits-especially watermelon- and vegetables-especially tomatoes- taste absolutely wonderful. Olive oil comes from local farmers and the fresh herbs are bug free.

5. Your bag gets checked going into the mall rather than upon leaving.

6. Everyone asks for directions...even men.

7. The buses. With a chofshi-monthly bus pass-I can criss-cross the city for 26 days for only 216NIS. Young girls get up for old women (sadly, I qualified as one for whom a girl relinquished a seat yesterday). If you don’t know where you are going, the bus driver tells you where to get off and the woman behind you tells you which bus would have been better to get you to your destination.

8. The views bring tears to my eyes. I was at the Customs office today in Givat Shaul. The vista of hills upon hills from the wall of windows in the lobby was breathtaking. A couple of weeks ago, we ate lunch at the mall when we went to get the first step of Driving License testing done. The panorama from the food court was actually holy.

9. Apricot trees with bright orange egg shaped bundles of fruit dangling. Bougainvillea.

10. The Old City: walking in the quiet streets to the Kotel for shacharis (sometimes at dawn), running down for mincha through tour groups (including the Weber School on tour led by my childhood friend Rachael Zebrak), David davening maariv in the sweet evening air with hundreds of men including Chaim Neuberger. In the Old City: Gedolim walk through the streets everyday. A woman at the 38 bus stop asked me what it was like to go to sleep every night so close to G-d.

11. The air lends a clarity that is uniquely available to the Jew who seeks it.

12. The sapphire sky reminds us that we walk at the footstool of the Kisey HaKavod, the Throne of Hashem.

13. To have our dream realized. We live in the Land that our doros v’doros (generations) before us prayed for, wrote, sang and spoke lovingly about. It was their dream, too. Today it’s so easy to get on a plane, visit, then return to the comfort of America, that many say they do not yearn to live here, but certainly their neshama does. ...

A Few Days In

B”H

May 15, 2007

Dear friends and family,

In between all the stuff we have get done first in order to stay here, we do the things that are the reason we want to be here. David is learning every day at Yeshiva Rabbi Akiva, a new place started by Rabbi Shalom Gold (of “The Dik-Duk Book”) for men who got a late start in learning. Rabbi Gold decided to begin a night seder when he found out David will not be able to come next week when he starts work. I daven every day at the Kotel, we visit with friends and take walks every night in the sweetest air on the planet.


Yom Rishon
25 Iyar 5767
Sunday, May 13


This week we have to go to government offices to fulfill certain requirements in order to live here and take advantages of services. In Atlanta, I did a lot of organizing for this to ensure we’d have all the documentation in order. I’ve heard how horrible this process is. How long the waits, how uncaring the officials, how inept the system. I was terribly tense. Everyone says go early and we were getting a late start. David wanted to know exactly where we were going and I seemed to have two addresses for everything. He wanted to know what the purpose of each stop was, and I did not understand the meaning of the words: Ministry, Absorption, Muchedet. I had a complete meltdown. I wanted to crawl back into bed and stay there.

So David called Nefesh b’Nefesh. A very friendly woman answered the phone and took him through it all; step by step and address by address, including directions. She told him all the documents we’d need and why we had to go to each place.

We realized we’d waited too late in the day to get anywhere with the Dpt. Of Ministry –they close at noon. So we went to the Post Office to get our applications for health insurance. It seems a lot is done at the Post Office besides mail. Bills are paid, certain checks are cashed and documents are authorized. We arrived at about 12:30. The room was huge, filled with people seated in chairs-stadium style in front of a bank of about 12 windows. Above each window was a flat panel television screen playing nature scenes from something like National Geographic alternating with extreme sports (such as skydiving on skis, and parasailing with kites). On the screen were also two sets of large red numbers: a one digit number for the booth and a three digit number for the last person called. They were on person 163 and we were number 229. We found a seat and settled in.

There was a cross section of Israeli society there. I did not feel we stuck out because everyone looked so different. There was a chassid in a long striped coat who had helped us at the door to get our number. An elderly frum couple looking a little lost and wearing many layers of clothing came in, they must have been suffocating. We sat across from a arab worker with rough hands. Arab women in tight pants and their heads covered with scarves walked by. Two large black nuns came in with packages in a hand truck they pushed. Mostly we saw secular Israelis. About ten minutes later they had called person 164. We nested.

The whole scene: the vivd television screens, the stillness, the unlikely assembly and our lingering jetlag combined to create a sense of surrealism. We felt vulnerable to this system we did not understand. Our collection of warnings and well wishes did not offer comfort. We watched with anxiety as they ticked through the numbers and surprisingly, they made it to 229 within 45 minutes.

Once at the window, it all went rather smoothly. We chose Muchedet insurance because that is what our friends in the Rova unanimously recommend. We got our registration and we went home.

Not too bad for a jetlagged day one.

Yom sheini
26 Iyar 5767
Monday, 14 May 2007

Today we are off to the Ministry of the Interior where we will hopefully receive our Teudat Zehoots (identity cards), banking permission and other documents essential to citizenship. Why-we are often asked- did we decide to become citizens? After all, we have said our choice to be here was because it is, in a word, a mitzvah. However, it is a mitzvah to live in Israel-the Torah does not say anything about becoming a citizen of the medina (modern state of Israel)-as much of miracle its existence is.

Usually one’s decision on whether to accept citizenship or not is primarily one of economics or ideology. Financially for us, the tax perks/disadvantages balanced out no matter what we did. The deciding financial factor for us was health insurance. At our ages the cost of private health insurance was comparable to that in the US—just too much to pay on an Israeli salary.

Ideologically, we are mitzvah oriented, not medina oriented. This is a hot subject, controversial and often divisive among Jews-so what else is new? Many say if 5,000 (some say 10,000) American Jews made Israel their home, it would result in a dynamic cultural/political shift here. Maybe. G-d runs this show, albeit through natural means.
We are here as Jews, true to Torah values and will participate in the government as loyal Jews, true to Torah values. This week’s parsha was about this. We are not a nation like others.

Speaking of this week’s parasha. David was called to the Torah on Shabbat for the Levi aliya. You won’t believe the first line of the aliya: “The land will give its fruit, you will eat your fill and you will dwell securely upon it.”


---Off to become citizens, now.


B”H
The day could not have gone better. We arrived at the Ministry of the Interior office 40 minutes before they opened; it was just a short walk from the Old City and a glorious spring morning. When the doors opened, we followed the crowd up the stairs and into the reception area where we got our number and papers to fill out. Problem #1: the papers were completely in Hebrew. But the good news is we were number 8! So when we were soon called, we told the official-who could not speak English-that we couldn’t do this. She solved the problem in a completely Israeli way. She found a nice young man, with a much higher number, whom she astutely identified as an English/Ivrit speaker to help us. He did, and we were then ushered to the only desk with an English speaking official. Chani was efficient, courteous and wished us well as she presented us with our prizes-his and hers teudat zehoots! It only took 20 minutes. We’d heard such horror stories, people leaving in tears, coming back three times, the office closing before they got their paperwork completed. This was a kiss from Hashem. And now we could open a bank account.

Off we went up Jaffa Road, and Ben Yehuda to King George. There it was, Bank Leumi. We were told to ask for Vivian who speaks English, but she was not there. So we took a number. Taking a number is de rigueur here, have you noticed? Morris who speaks French, not English called our number. David thought it was ridiculous to have someone open our account who could not communicate with us, but I thought it kind of fun. Morris clearly wanted to help and our request to open an account not so unusual; it just took forever and we had to sign our names an inordinate amount of times on forms and stickers. We have no ideas what we promised or agreed upon with all those signatures.

While we were sitting with Morris who speaks French at the bank, Inna who speaks Russian from the Ministry of Absorption called to make an appointment. Olim (immigrants) have to go there after opening a bank account because there is an Absorption Basket-30,000 shekels (about $9,000.00 for a couple w/o dependents) deposited into a oleh’s bank account over the first year. Since we were right around the corner, she waited for us. She was delightful and went over the future deposits, different ulpan options, told us how to get driving licenses. Wow-it only took 10 minutes, and we did not even have to take a number.

Our final destination to become “official” was to the Muchedet. That involved a long walk up Jaffa Road, past Machena Yehuda almost to the bus station. It was getting hot and we were getting tired. The Muchehdet building was well marked and we went in to the information booth where we got a nice "welcome home" from the attendant. (No one has been that friendly, he was probably a volunteer!). We were directed to the waiting room where we-you guessed it-took a number. Within 30 minutes, we were called, processed and back in the sunshine on Jaffa Road.

It was 11:30 a.m. And we were done.

We decided to celebrate the raging success of our morning with a nice lunch. Don't Jews always celebrate with food? I remembered a good café at Tachana Merkazit, (photo credit) the Central Bus Station, that Elise and I once enjoyed. Tachana is a multi story building that houses a mall, complete with shuk style kiosks and internet café. There are, indeed buses. The top level is the Jerusalem station for intra-city buses. We navigated through the crowds and security, up the escalator and enjoyed the best sandwich I have ever had in my life, in the best city in the world.



Come home soon.

Love, Renee & David ...