אוירא דארץ ישראל Avira DEretz Yisroel

The plane tickets for our move from Monroe, New York to Eretz Yisroel were booked well in advance, on Chanukah of 5780 (2019), before anyone thought about corona. The original date for our flight was July 1, 2020, but it was pushed off time after time due to coronavirus regulations. For two months we were living out of our packed boxes. It happened more than once that my kids would ask me in the morning if we were leaving that day, and only later in the day would I have an answer for them: the flight had been postponed once again.

We finally left for the airport after the sixth time our flight was rescheduled. When we finished with check-in and were finally ready to go to the gate, we saw a sign that the gate was a thirty-minute walk away. The problem was that the flight was in only forty minutes, and the doors usually close fifteen to twenty minutes before take-off. We started walking quickly, and five minutes later we heard an announcement on the loudspeaker, “Delta airlines paging a group of nine.” That was us. They announced that if we didn’t board soon, they would take off our luggage. After all these weeks of anticipation, would we be let down once again, and at the last minute? I cannot begin to describe the feeling.

In those last fifteen minutes before we did B”H make it to the gate and board the plane, we felt as if maybe Eretz Yisroel was rejecting us. We were thinking, why doesn’t Eretz Yisroel want us? It just didn’t make any sense to us. I now realize that these hurdles were actually gifts from HaShem, granted to us so that we will appreciate Eretz Yisroel even more, and be thankful to HaShem for helping us overcome them. This appreciation and thankfulness led us to designate the day of our arrival as a new family Yom Tov, to celebrate our “yetzi’as America.”

It all started over twelve years ago, with a 10-day visit to Eretz Yisroel. It helped me see that a real and physical Eretz Yisroel exists “al pi p’shat,” and its existence is not to be understood only on some deeper, mystical level, just as with other mitzvos. For example, the daled minim may allude to different things, i.e. the vital organs, the different types of people etc., but this does not negate the literal aspect of them being four physical objects which HaShem’s will is that we should take on Sukkos. The mystical aspect of tzitzis does not minimize the “simple” act of wearing it to literally perform HaShem’s mitzvah, and we can be happy about that, too. I felt the same way about Eretz Yisroel; not perceiving it as also a tangible reality – HaShem’s Chosen physical piece of Land, where He wants us to be – is really to be missing out.

For the past twelve years, at every Shabbos table, the subject was Eretz Yisroel. When we would get to the end of the Pesach seder, I would explain “l’shana haba’ah b’Yerushalayim” in a most literal sense. During this period, I took my family four times to Eretz Yisroel for a few weeks. Each time, we left with such a longing and broken hearts that we weren’t staying. Every time we did renovations in our house, we felt sorry that it wasn’t in a house of our own in Eretz Yisroel.

I began to appreciate the challenge of Avraham Avinu. At first I thought, what’s the big deal? How is “lech lecha” a nisayon? Anyone who would get a directive from HaShem to go somewhere would surely do so. I then realized that it very well may be that HaShem did direct people to go, but it was only Avraham that actually took the next step and went. “Vayelech Avram,” that’s the chiddush here. Though nowhere near the magnitude of Avraham’s challenge, I felt many times that I couldn’t get to that next step, until HaShem gave me the strength to come and be part of history, to be a part of this Geulah process. I believe that we got here only in the zechus of the countless tefillos of our ancestors over the past two thousand years.

As a business consultant, I tell people that if they want to be successful, they should speak to successful people. If you want to be a good plumber, speak to a successful plumber. If you want to be successful in real-estate, speak to someone successful in real-estate, not to a plumber.

I understood that this concept applies to aliyah as well. Hearing ten reasons why aliyah cannot be successful from people who didn’t succeed, would not help us succeed in making aliyah. We understood that we didn’t need or want support groups comprised of people who may be interested in aliyah but have not succeeded as of yet. Certainly, asking people point blank in shul (who are still in chutz laAretz) what they think about aliyah was not going to foster success. What was important was to create our own support network comprised of the people who did succeed.

As author of an Amazon bestseller, “Escape from the Prison of Comfort & Create the Life of Your Dreams,” I’ll let you in on another tip. People may be stuck in their status quo, prevented from changing jobs or relocating, including to Eretz Yisroel. They think they need a clear picture of the future, with a plan they’re able to follow through to the letter, without which they will not proceed. To move forward though, you might just have to jump in. Of course, you must be responsible and address whatever needs to be addressed, but must not forget to trust in HaShem and that He created you as well as everything you need to succeed.

Responsibility

Before making the move to Eretz Yisroel, I went to consult with a chashuve rav in Monsey. He told me why such a move cannot work; the school system is different, the culture is different, and there are so many other challenges. I countered that I did not come to take his advice on whether to make the move; that has already been decided.

He then literally jumped off his chair, and said to me. “Wow! I am so jealous of you! How can I help you?”

I then realized that people really do want to help. It’s just that they cannot take the responsibilities that people want to throw off of themselves. These kinds of decisions have to come from you; it’s you that has to decide that the reward of living in Eretz Yisroel is worth you taking on the challenges. Once you do that, people will be glad to help.

Yechezkel Toporowitz, Shmuel HaNavi, Yerushalayim

I have my roots in Eretz Yisroel. My grandfather had come to Eretz Yisroel in the 1930’s already as a bochur, as he felt that it was getting dangerous to stay in Europe. He eventually went to Chaifa, with the encouragement of the Chazon Ish ztz”l, settling in the then-completely irreligious neighborhood of Neve Sha’anan. He was one of the only Chareidi people who were raising their family in the area. He dreamed of building a yeshivah there which would be a positive influence on the whole area, and he and his sons were eventually instrumental in the founding and upkeep of the prestigious Yeshivas Nachlas HaLeviim in Neve Sha’anan. Despite financial difficulties and ruchniyus challenges, my grandparents were moser nefesh for yishuv Eretz Yisroel and for spreading the light of Torah.

I was born in London, where my father had come as a bochur and married my mother. When I was eight years old, we moved to Eretz Yisroel – my father’s home country. Our family was here for about ten years, and then left for the U.S. As I was in yeshivah at the time, I stayed behind, considering myself still a resident of Eretz Yisroel. Two years later I married my wife, who grew up in Bnei Brak. We subsequently moved to Monsey, where I was a magid shiur and mashgiach in a yeshivah for Israeli baalei teshuvah.

I was actually quite successful at my job, and happy to be disconnected from the social pressure I felt when we were in Eretz Yisroel (maybe because as a foreigner in the U.S., I didn’t feel a need to fit in; this might be true in the converse – for an American immigrating to Eretz Yisroel). I will even admit that there were some ma’alos I attained during this period that I would possibly not have achieved in Eretz Yisroel. At the time, I wasn’t aware of the importance of yishuv Eretz Yisroel, for which my grandparents had been moser nefesh. We viewed our grandfather as a Torah pioneer, with no difference to us had his activities taken place in chutz laAretz or in Eretz Yisroel. He was actually involved with the opening of two Novardok yeshivos when he was still a bochur back in Europe.

Three years later we decided we were done with our stint in Monsey, and we headed back to Eretz Yisroel. Our move was purely technical, with nothing at all to do with the ideal of yishuv Eretz Yisroel. When we came back to Yerushalayim, I experienced a huge culture shock – I think even more than a total foreigner would have. As someone whose formative years were spent in Eretz Yisroel who then experienced a disconnect from the so-called “harsh” Israeli culture, it was all suddenly back “in my face.” I am embarrassed to say that there were days when I would think to myself, “what am I doing here?”

After a short while, I went to visit my father in Monsey. I chanced upon a nice house available to rent there, and we found ourselves pulled back to the quiet atmosphere there. That’s how we ended up back in Monsey, and we could have ended up staying there for many more years if not for the substantial change of mind that we went through. I found myself constantly trying to justifying my stay in chutz laAretz through all sorts of ideologies that I adopted (for this purpose…).

One day, a friend suggested that I learn with him a masechta from Seder Zera’im. We started learning – I don’t recall which masechta it was, maybe Shevi’is or Pe’ah – and after a short while, maybe a week or two, I started getting strong feelings for Eretz HaKodesh. I have no way of explaining this as a natural phenomenon. Everything was going for us in Monsey: We had a nice house (albeit rented), two cars (albeit a bit old), the kids were learning in good mosdos, and we were thriving with the quiet and serenity of Monsey. HaKadosh Baruch Hu just put a powerful idea in my head and I began feeling passionate about Eretz Yisroel – the Land which HaShem always has His Eyes focused on.

I found myself wondering, “What am I doing here? I have a house in Eretz HaKodesh, I have the possibility of living there – it’s not just a random place where people live because it’s comfortable to live there.” Similar thoughts continued to flutter through my mind, until one day I told my wife, “We’ve had enough of this romance with the serenity of chutz laAretz!”

We were headed back to Eretz Yisroel, but this time it wasn’t because it was technically better or would work out better to live there. This time we were going for the sake of it being Eretz Yisroel, even if it would be difficult. Our Gedolim throughout the generations strongly desired to come here; some of them had to overcome serious difficulties and literally be moser nefesh. Like them, this time we would return with a desire to connect with Eretz Yisroel itself.

We moved again to Eretz Yisroel, but this time we were emotionally prepared to deal with the difficulties. The knowledge that what we were doing was for the sake of yishuv Eretz Yisroel gave us the strength to overcome the challenges. Since then, our emotions towards Eretz Yisroel have grown stronger – we feel strongly connected. It’s a whole other world, entirely different from our earlier experiences of living in Eretz Yisroel.

In conclusion, I would say that each person who comes here or stays here in Eretz Yisroel, in spite of any challenges and at any level of mesirus nefesh, is taking an active part in rectifying the sin of the Meraglim. May we merit to see the world through the lens of Torah and Geulah, and may we be zoche to the Geulah Sheleimah!

Deepening our Zechus – A Mitzvah with a Neshamah

Even those of us who are zoche to live here in Eretz Yisroel should ask ourselves: Are we here in Eretz Yisroel just to live here, or to really settle here? Even if we’re here to settle, is it just for technical reasons – even if those technical reasons are ruchniyus-related, such as having a better place to learn – or for the mitzvah of yishuv Eretz Yisroel? Even if it’s for the mitzvah, is it just for the actual mitzvah, that, as with any mitzvah, can also be performed without a neshamah – or is it with a desire to connect to the inner dimension of Eretz Yisroel and its kedushah, and to appreciate each and every moment that we are zoche to live here?

In our day and age – when the process of kibutz galuyos and the Geulah is continuing to unfold before our eyes – we may be able to add: Is it just a private and personal thing to be here, or do we feel we are a part of HaShem’s pekidah (consideration) of Eretz Yisroel and Am Yisroel, on the way to His zechirah (remembrance) and ultimate geulah?

When I first came as a young bochur to Eretz Yisroel, I thought, no chance I would stay to live here. I was in a typical state of denial, convincing myself that back in “my” home country everything is better; there’s nothing like America. I had two married brothers learning in Eretz Yisroel at the time, and I just came here to grow in learning in a different setting.

From mid-high school in my hometown of Baltimore, I skipped to a post-high school Israeli yeshivah gedolah – Yeshivas Kol Torah in the Yerushalayim neighborhood of Bayit Vegan. It took a little bit of time to acclimate to the people, language, and culture, and to being away from home. There were a lot of ups and downs, but B”H I was able to push past the hard parts and make it through yeshivah.

During this time, as I got a bit out of being defensive for my “home country,” I advanced to “I’m too young now; I’m not going to think about living here now.” It was only later, a year and a half before I got married, that I thought about it again and realized that I didn’t have much more anywhere else. My friends were here, I had some family here as well, and my rebbeim were here. I sort of just realized that I’m here, too – it’s Eretz Yisroel that is my real home country. Of course, I had some family back in the U.S., but I was sure they would also love to come to Eretz Yisroel, so why shouldn’t I stay?

It wasn’t that I was only here out of default; there were positive things I appreciated about living here. There is a high level of Torah and yiras Shomayim, and of course the ma’alah and kedushah of Eretz Yisroel that I wouldn’t have back in America.

I started shidduchim here in Eretz Yisroel, and got married to someone from an American-Israeli family that we knew from Beitar. Her two brothers learned with me in Kol Torah, and my parents were acquainted with her parents. This made things a lot easier.

After getting married in Eretz Yisroel, we moved into a really small apartment (called here yechidat diur, lit. housing unit) in the Geulah neighborhood of Yerushalayim. It is very common here for young couples to start out for a short time in a yechidat diur – they are often too small for even just the first baby! I then started learning in Yeshivas Brisk of R’ Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik shlita, and my wife worked in the neighborhood of Har Nof. The bus ride to Har Nof every morning, going through all of Geulah traffic, could take a full hour.

We moved several months ago to the Chareidi yishuv of Ma’aleh Amos. Although some might have a feeling that it’s a bit “out-of-the center,” it actually takes my wife less time to get to work in Har Nof than when she had to go through all of Geulah traffic! Some friends were wary of moving to Ma’aleh Amos, as it is supposedly in an Arab area. We do drive through some Arab areas a bit, but I don’t find it to be a real issue; in some ways it is actually better than in Yerushalayim.

As for me, since moving I switched to a kollel in Yerushalayim, joining another three avreichim from the yishuv attending the same kollel. Traveling by car, it is a short commute – I get a ride every day with someone from the yishuv who works in Yerushalayim.

When we had started our search for more affordable housing, we were concerned we would have to leave our family and friends behind and venture into unfamiliar territory. Most of the financially realistic options for us were a long commute away to the north or south, where Yerushalayim could no longer realistically remain the center of life. We were relieved to find that Ma’aleh Amos would allow us to enjoy affordable housing while maintaining our connection with Yerushalayim. In a sense, I feel as if we never really left Yerushalayim.

The atmosphere here in Ma’aleh Amos is relaxing, and there is beautiful achdus among the residents. It’s a small place where people are helpful and friendly while not being intruding and judging. People are accepted for who they are, avreichim and working people alike. People mostly know each other. Everyone helps in their own way, such as arranging meals for families after birth, etc. Local drivers stop by the yishuv gate to offer people rides. All in all, we’ve been very happy here.

In general, people here are from yeshivah backgrounds, though a Chassidish community is starting, as the Biala Rebbe is sending his Chassidim to live here. They opened a shul here in addition to the central Litvish shul. In this small place, it’s nice to have another minyan with additional times for Shacharis, Mincha and Maariv.

Aside from myself and my wife, there are several Americans and children of American immigrants who are English speakers from home living here. For anyone who would want to live here but is not yet integrated into the Israeli community, I’m sure we’d all be happy to help.

On HaShem’s Schedule

There were recently several new developments here in Ma’aleh Amos which make it even easier to live here.

A new shuttle service between Ma’aleh Amos and Beitar means more commuting options; to Yerushalayim, there are a few buses a day. A popular countrywide once-a-week “neighborhood goods sale” opened a local branch, where we order supplies and groceries to be delivered to the yishuv. A major supermarket from a nearby city started offering home delivery for our yishuv, albeit for a small fee. We are no longer dependent on the small local makolet (grocery), which isn’t open all day.

All of these developments happened about the time we moved to the yishuv, half a year after we were originally scheduled to move. While waiting, we were a bit frustrated about the delay, but afterwards realized how HaShem cared for us – making sure we’d come only when it would be even easier for us here.