אוירא דארץ ישראל Avira DEretz Yisroel

Rachamim Schwab, Tel Tzion

Though I am now acclimated to the Israeli system, it was a gradual process. When I first got here as a bochur, I was basically living in a “little America.” I started out in a very American yeshivah (Derech); shiurim I attended were in English, and basically everyone I knew was an English speaker. It was only when I moved on to the Mir Yeshivah (where I was in Rav Asher Arieli’s shiur) that I got to have a bit of an association with some Israelis. Living in Har Nof after getting married, and continuing to commute to learn in the Mir even after moving to Tel Tzion, enabled me to move out of my bubble bit by bit, as gradually more and more of my life was inside the Israeli system.

My real immersion into Israeli culture began when I transferred to a local Tel Tzion kollel, a branch of Rav Yaakov Hillel’s Ahavat Shalom. At its peak, there were about fifty avreichim there, of which about 80% were Sephardi and only 20% Ashkenazi – somewhat reflecting the makeup of Tel Tzion at the time – and almost all Israeli. Most of my day I was speaking Hebrew – although I had never formally learned to speak it – in my clearly discernible accent, which will not go away! I must have sounded funny at times. Knowing my place and knowing how to be myself and holding my own hashkafos, while at the time having the space for everyone else with their different background, culture, mentality and worldview, was something I absolutely needed to learn.

The mahalach halimud (learning style) in that kollel was nothing like the Litvishe mahalach I was used to. I had no real safety net guiding me to learn the way I had been taught; this made me work so much harder and learn that much more on my own. I grew more in my five years in that kollel than in any comparable time period, except maybe when I first got to Mir.

For those whose only way to make it in Eretz Yisroel would be to live in these “out-of-town” type of places where rent is more affordable, I would strongly encourage them to look seriously into these many options, and not to give up on the amazing learning going on in Eretz Yisroel just because they can’t afford to live in a place like Ramat Eshkol. They do need to realize and understand though that they are guests in someone else’s kehillah and culture; in my experience this was actually an opportunity for growth.

My impression is that here in Eretz Yisroel it is easier than it is in America to make do with very little. I have a driver’s license, but I never had a car or related expenses, as managing without a car is still possible here. There are a lot of things like that here.

One thing that makes it easier to make do with a lower level of gashmiyus is that here it’s still considered normal. When we first moved to Tel Tzion, it was a less affluent crowd, and we were the “loaded Americans” who moved in. At the time, I was still an avreich in Mir, and we had basically nothing, but it’s hard to feel bad about it when everyone in the building is looking at you as the “high roller.” B”H we made it for many years like that. Though in the vast majority of families I know here, both spouses work, for my wife it was important to be able to devote herself to our kids, and B”H we were able to manage that as well.

When I started out in kollel about fourteen years ago, a really well-paying kollel would pay $1000 a month, which was then about 4,000 shekels. Those kollelim were very hard to find. 1500 shekels was a normal kollel paycheck, and 2000 shekels was already impressive. My impression is that although every basic need went up in price – i.e. the price for chicken is almost double nowadays, and rent has obviously gone far up – the kollel paychecks stayed the same. With that amount of money, you can no longer do the things you could’ve done once upon a time.

We got to a stage in life where we had to see what we would do in terms of parnassah. We consulted with daas Torah and decided that the best thing for us would be to stay here in Eretz Yisroel and move out of kollel and into working, just to keep things going and make ends meet. On the advice of friends I taught myself programming, developing an expertise in a certain niche. I simultaneously started learning in a college program geared to Chareidim, although that didn’t work out for me at the end.

Like many Americans, we may have had some issues with certain aspects of Israeli chinuch, but we did have the open-mindedness to realize that it’s an entire system here, which includes both pros and cons relative to how things are done in America. Allowing our children to embrace what they were offered in terms of school friends and other such things, enabled us to give them a much healthier experience than if we would have been fighting the system.

From what I have seen, it seems that most of the families who fight to prevent their kids from becoming Israeli fight an uphill battle, end up suffering greatly, and even lose some kids in the process – they are not American enough to be American, and not Israeli enough to be Israeli.

Not fighting the system didn’t mean that we ourselves couldn’t be “American,” or that we had to change our own hashkafos; we were still able to be ourselves, but we accepted the fact that our children might act and conduct themselves differently than if they would have been growing up in America. B”H, my kids are having a great time in the mosdos here.

Working in Eretz Yisroel

At a certain point, as our family grew, it wasn’t just about making it through the month – we wouldn’t be able to cover our obligations to others if we didn’t figure out a way to increase our income. I joked to my wife, “I’m willing to be moiser nefesh for my learning, but I don’t get why the baal dira (landlord) also has to be.” B”H, I had rebbeim who understood my situation and who I was able to talk to for guidance.

I found a computer programming job in Tel Aviv for much of 2018. I had no issues with the chilonim (irreligious), who were generally respectful but very ignorant. And yes, I wore a hat and jacket to work… The only person who would notice if I dropped it was myself, as for the chilonim it was all just different modes of black and white, with the hat or without it… B”H I am now working near home, from a friend’s machsan (storage unit) which I converted into an office, for a foreign-based company.

I understand that a lot of people think that here in Eretz Yisroel, an avreich who leaves kollel for work is going to get it over the head; he’ll have problems with the mosdos and is going to be looked at as weird. My own experience has not been like that; I have had absolutely nonegative social experiences from it. I’m not sure if that may be a product of where I live or who I am. At least where I live, there is a realization that people need some kind of a parnassah, and need to somehow make it and not burden themselves on the tzibbur.

We moved from Lakewood, New Jersey to Karmiel eleven years ago. Of course, we wanted to live in Yerushalayim, but my sister-in-law who was living in Karmiel suggested we would have a “softer landing” in a small community, and an easier time integrating. At the time our oldest daughter and son were in the ninth and eighth grades. B”H, we all acclimated very nicely.

The first six months, though, were very difficult for the kids. Back in Lakewood they had been very popular in school, and here, not really knowing any Hebrew, they couldn’t understand what was going on. My 11-year-old son was especially upset. One day he threw a tantrum and was literally on the floor, complaining “Why did you bring us here?” and screaming so loudly that the neighbor called the police! It was a very embarrassing scene. If you’d meet him today, you’d never imagine; he’s totally Israeli, and is learning in Beis Mattisyahu, a respected Israeli yeshivah in Bnei Brak. The younger kids also became Israeli, though the ones older than him remained more American.

Like my kids, most of the Anglos here in Karmiel came without really knowing Hebrew. They did come with an open mind, though, trying to learn the language and otherwise integrate. This is very important here, so that one would be able to communicate properly where necessary, such as with the rebbeim and teachers of the children, and with the local rabbonim. It’s not like some other places in the country where a large percentage of the population knows English and you can get by without Hebrew.

So what does attract frum Anglos to Karmiel? As the only Anglo real-estate agent in Karmiel’s frum community, I can tell you from my perspective, and from what I heard from others who have come here or considered doing so.

Housing is much cheaper here than in Yerushalayim or Beit Shemesh. For 2.5 to 3 million shekels, you can get a beautiful private villa with a piece of land and possibly even a pool. For those looking for something really affordable, there are also decent three-bedroom apartments suitable for young or small families going for about 750 to 800-thousand shekels. The Dromit neighborhood – one of the two primary areas where members of the frum community live, and where the mosdos chinuch are located – has many styles of housing at different levels of affordability, all within a small area. This is conducive to the growth of the community, as it allows families at various socioeconomic levels to be a part of the community.

People also come here because they want to be a part of something. Living in a small community far out from the center, each and every family matters. People help each other out and are there for each other. In general, the kehillah, numbering over 200 families, is community-oriented, and the 30-40 Anglo families even more so. We try to do shabbatonim for the Anglo families maybe once or twice a year, to get to know the new families.

It is a small, diverse but cohesive kehillah, all under the leadership of Rav Avraham Tzvi Margalit, shlita, who works specifically to maintain the unity and to otherwise make things happen here. Our shul, headed by Rav Kaniel, shlita, includes avreichim as well as people working in various fields, including health, law and accounting. The more yeshivish and the less yeshivish all get along, forming one kehillah even while sending their children to different schools.

All the mosdos chinuch are under the auspices of Rav Margalit. Although there already was a standard Chareidi cheider here, the rav opened another one to cater to the needs of those who wanted a higher level of limudei chol alongside a serious limudei kodesh program. Aside from some of the Israeli Chareidi families, this included some of the Anglo families, as well as some of the local families who had become baalei teshuvah through kiruv outreach but were not really a match for a classic Israeli cheider. This cheider also has very good rebbeim. There are English speakers among the staff of the various mosdos, which is a big help with integration.

As for boys’ high school, there is a local yeshivah ketanah which is very Israeli and very Chareidi. There are no limudei chol and it is not at all American style. I sent my kids there and I was very happy with it. There is also the recently-established Ziv Ohr high school, a branch of Nehora, which has a limudei chol curriculum but a lower level of limudei kodesh.

I think the success of my children has to do also with our “we are here now” attitude as parents. We were not complaining about or trying to change the system. Even within most Israeli yeshivos there are all sorts of people, and if you come with an open mind you will find others like you. If you can’t or are not willing to mend yourself to fit into one system where you might have to let go of some of your American expectations, look for another one where you can find your way within.

Although Karmiel is a planned city with all the conveniences including malls, supermarkets and a train station, there aren’t too many frum shopping options. From a materialistic point of view, I would say that for frum Jews, Karmiel is twenty years behind. In my opinion, this is a good thing. Even my teenage daughter doesn’t go shopping for clothing more than maybe twice a year, as this involves a trip to the Chareidi population centers. Instead, she spends time with friends by going for walks and other simple activities. Kids grow up more mature and less spoiled or pampered. There are, though, parks all around, places to ride bikes, and the physical space that provides menuchas hanefesh.

Putting Things in Perspective

Reminiscing about our move from Lakewood to Karmiel, my daughter mentioned an interesting aspect of her culture shock.

When we were living in Lakewood, she had attended an upper-class school where there were girls from well-to-do families that would come to school with designer items. Though we were living comfortably, my daughter didn’t have these things, and she felt like she was sort of second class.

Among her friends in Karmiel were those who had to earn their own money by babysitting and the like to buy their own clothing! This was something she had never seen before, and it helped her put her own challenges and hardships into perspective.

R’ Avraham Tzvi Schwartz, Har Yona, Nof HaGalil

The very-affordable rent was what originally brought us to the newly-constructed neighborhood of Har Yona two years ago. We had previously been renting in Chaifa for a short while, but being the population center that it is, the rent prices were too high for us. B”H, we are very happy with our neighborhood, and were even able to recently purchase our own apartment here.

We had several different living experiences here in Eretz Yisroel. After getting married, we first lived in the Beis Yisroel neighborhood in Yerushalayim for a few years. I had been learning in Ohr Somayach, then moved on to Yeshivas Torah Ore of Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg ztz”l, and afterwards learned for a while in Yeshivas Mir as well. We then moved to the kehillah of Rav Nachman Bulman ztz”l in the northern city of Migdal HaEmek, where we lived for about three years. Afterwards, we moved to Kiryat Sefer, where we lived for thirty years.

Over the span of our time in Kiryat Sefer, we were witness to its development into a major Chareidi population center. Public transportation, heavily used by the Chareidi population in Eretz Yisroel in general, got much better, with frequent buses connecting Kiryat Sefer to the other Chareidi population centers throughout the country. There were also some buses to cities with smaller Chareidi concentrations, especially on erev Shabbos. Improvements that came with time weren’t only in the physical realm; there were also upgrades to shemiras halachah on a city-wide scale. For example, a new large-capacity water tower was built, which would be filled before Shabbos with the entire water supply necessary for the whole city for the entire Shabbos. This would obviate the need for pumping in new water during Shabbos, which may have entailed some halachically problematic functions.

While in Kiryat Sefer, I had the opportunity to teach Torah in English as part of a special kollel framework for retirees. Some of the participants had moved to Kiryat Sefer to be close to their married children and grandchildren, a common phenomenon especially among those with several – or even all – of their children living there. Being that it is difficult at an advanced age to adapt to learning in a “new” language, this kollel helped them pursue Torah growth in their native language.

For five years I had been teaching Torah in South Africa, regularly commuting to and from Kiryat Sefer. After all our children were B”H married and had left the house, we left too. We lived in South Africa for about six years, until moving back to Eretz Yisroel. We first moved to Chaifa, where one of our children lived, and then finally moved here to Har Yona. All in all, living in Eretz Yisroel has been a beneficial experience for our family, in each of the various areas of the country in which we lived.

Har Yona is a very young community with nice, quality bnei Torah. It doesn’t bother me that the median age here is several decades less than my own – most heads-of-household here are in their 20’s or early 30’s – as I am quite young in my character. In fact, being surrounded by all of these young people may actually help me stay that way.

People here are serious about their Yiddishkeit, with a high standard of bein adam lachaveiro. They are easy-going and easy to live with, friendly and community-conscious. As is common in Eretz Yisroel, many young families often travel to their parents for Shabbos, and they make their vacant apartments available to their neighbors for hosting relatives, or for hosting those interested in checking out the community. People seeking apartments for hosting, or any other help, use the phone-based or online community WhatsApp groups. There is much chessed happening here, such as the organized help extended to women after birth. The community atmosphere is very special and everyone helps each other.

In addition to the constant stream of families coming to join the community as construction progresses, there is a lot of natural growth as the young families grow larger. There are local Talmudei Torah, a girls school, and kollelim as well.

The mountainous scenery here in the Lower Galilee is beautiful. The weather here is comfortable all year round. In the winter it is not as cold as in Yerushalayim, and in the summer it is very pleasant even without air-conditioning.

Though there are several people in the community who are children of American immigrants, there is not much of an infrastructure for English speakers here yet; for anyone interested in joining, it would be important that they be able to communicate with the local Hebrew speakers at least at some level.

Our future is here in Eretz Yisroel. Simply living here is already a contribution to yishuv Eretz Yisroel; even just being a part makes the community stronger. From my own experience, I believe this is true for all of Eretz Yisroel.

Providing a Home in Eretz Yisroel

Years ago, while my parents lived in South Africa, they also owned an apartment here in Eretz Yisroel. When I first came to Eretz Yisroel to learn, I was able to utilize the apartment. This definitely helped me settle here.

My father passed away a few years ago. Now, in our own home in Eretz Yisroel, my mother lives with us. We are grateful to be able to fulfill the great mitzva of kibbud horim, and in a small way return all that was done for us…