גמר חתימב טובה

Shavua Tov, we just got back from the L’vaya andקבורה burying of David Srulowitz ע"ה

I’ll get to that soon, we hope Sandi Srulowitz has a safe trip back to the US he is at the airport as I write this.

Rosh Hashana was very nice, even though I usually daven at Aish Kodesh, last year I decided to daven Yammin Noraim across the street at our neighbor Montals shul. This way Elkie and the kids can easily pop in and out of shul whenever they want. This year the Seminary that was next to us Tifert just finished building a brand new building about 2 minutes from us down the block and asked the Montal minyan to join them in the Seminary so they will have a Minyan.

When we came last summer we heard they are going to build a building at the end of the block. At that time there was nothing there but and empty mountain. We figured based on how yeshivas go up in America we can expect to see this building in 5-7 years. As the months progressed we watched truck after truck come in and lots of our Arab cousins working on the building. 1^st bulldozers, then a retaining wall, then the foundation, then one floor then another, by Pesach they already had 5 floors up, then came siding windows, racing though the summer, the day the girls came to seminary they finished the brick walkway in front of the building. Pretty Amazing! It’s a beautiful building great job Arabs and Jewish Architects and engineers.

Elkie and the kids came to shul. Yosef sat next to me and was reading along the Haf-Torah for Shmuel Alef. Since he learned Shmuel Alef last year, he knew the whole thing and could have even layned it. When I was in 3rd grade I didn't even know what Shmuel Alef was. We are very proud of him and so are his grandparents. I came back after the 2^nd day and blew shofar for the ladies on the block who missed it, including Rebitzen Habor and her pregnant daughter-in-law. Lot’s of the men in the neighborhood went to Uman. So we ate Shabbos day with 2 neighbors whos husbands were there. We ate in our car port which is right on the Street level, so we got to see everyone walking by.

I have contemplated going to Uman since I do study and appreciate the teaching of Rebbi Nachmon of Breslav. He was very special and unique, his teaching are certainly worth looking into. My friend Rav Lazer Brody told me to invite Moshe Feiglin and he will guarantee him success this year. When I went with Moshe to Har Habaiyit before Tisha B’av I gave him Rav Brody’s invitation, Moshe smiled and replied that he thinks that if Rebbi Nachman were alive today he would prefer that he stay in Israel for Rosh Hashana. I think he may be right.

During the week our outdoor sprinklers had a leak by the main connections, so I fixed it. Then the next connection stared leaking so I fixed that, then the next… I basically had to reconnect ALL the joints since when one was fixed the water pressure found the next weak spot. I got the things I need from the hardware store in Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet or just ב The fellows there are very nice and helpful, even though I LOVE home depot, it’s nice for a change to get help from a chareidy guy wearing black pants and a white shirt of course instead of Frank with a Home Depot apron. The stores are getting all ready for Sukkot, so they left a bunch of Schach out in the middle of the street on the island divider. I guess they trust that no one will steel schach for their Sukkah.

I was parked by the יש supermarket the other day. When I came out a charedi (Chasidish) fellow asked if this was my car, I told him yes. He then showed me on the other side how his wagon went into the car and made a small dent. He offered to pay for it and asked how much money do I need to fix it, I told him to forget about it שיהיא כפרה He asked if I’m Mochel him, I said yes. Some people like to make fun of people in ב I think most of them are decent honest people.

Elkie and I were at the pharmacy and saw this thing called צום קל (easy fast) apparently you drink one in the morning and one before the fast or take the pill, and you fast easier. I asked how much it was. 20NIS I told the woman well that’s cheaper then a Shawarma. We’ll let you know if it works. They change the clock in Israel tonight so that the fast ends 1 hour early. Another benefit of a Jewish state.

We went to Benzi and Yonina Thee in Efrat for Shabbat. It was very nice, They have a beautiful family and nice house. Their baby Yishai is Yosefs age and that makes 2 very active 3 year olds. It's very cute to see them play and talk in Hebrew. Shabbat day we ate by Yehoshua and Chaykie Basan next door. Yehoshua is an 8^th generation Yerushalmi, his great… grandfather was one of the Vilna Gaon’s students who came on Aliya in the early 1800’s. So in 200 years from now perhaps our grandkids can say something similar ב"ה.

Benzi now has Roni and Avivas dog "Guri". It’s a white golden retriever. He is very fine looking, graceful, and the kids loved him. He’s a real family dog. Even if you are not a dog fan, you have to love this one. Shira has a bunch of freinds in Efrat that she met in camp Arad this past summer. She Facebooked them and called them and they all got together Shabbat afternoon. Motzash, Yehuda cut his finger on a tape measure and was gushing blood, but we calmed him down stopped the bleeding and he'll survive.

Finally! We went home, dropped of the kids put them to bed, and went to the Erez Hachaim Cemetery. Uncle David Srulowoitz my father uncle passed away Fri at the age of 92. He lived in Monsey for Many years. 2 of his children Sandi and Charney & Jeff Rabinowitz flew to Israel to bury him. It was called for 10:30PM. We walked in right on time, there were about 20 people there. They brought out the body right away, Sandi spoke, he said two main points.

1. His father NEVER got angry, he always kept his cool even if something got in the way, he would just say "ok lets move on".

2. He NEVER spoke Lashon Hara. He had plenty of things he could have said, but would not say a bad word about anyone.

Thinking back about times I spent with Uncle Davy, that seems to be a very accurate description of him.

The speech was short and to the point. We then went outside brought the body to a van, we followed the van all the way to the end of the cemetery, and buried him. It's in a new section for the Young Israel. He was the 2nd person in that area. Sandi had a cab waiting and was running straight to the airport to catch a flight back to the US, I gave him a quick hug and said Hamokom. Charney went back to the chapel, and sat for a few minutes outside. The Schwarts family from Community Synagogue in Monsey is here for Sukkot, they got an email and came, as well as Nechemiah, Yaakov Moshe, Tzivi Hoch and Ari Walfish from Yerushalayim.

We spoke with Charney quite a bit, shiva will be over tomorrow. Apparently Sid very recently was talking about where they would be buried and even though all their lives they thought it would be in NY they decided the future of the Jewish people is in Israel and they want to be buried there. Kol Hakavod to Aunt Sid and Uncle Davy א"ה for having that clarity and foresight. We should only here of Simchas, and we should not only be buried in Israel but LIVE here as well.

We say in Birchat Hamazon;

הרחמן, הוא ישבור עלנו מעל צוארנו, והוא יוליכנו קוממיות לארצנו

קוממיות means upright (Alive)

I've been trying very hard to meditate on that passage for the last few years.

The Chevra Kadisha at Erez Chaim is 2nd to NONE. Unfortunately this is the 3rd person I helped bury there this past year. They are very respectful an helpful, they even ask the מת for mechila when they are done just in case they showed him any dishonor. I remember going to someones burial in the US, when we got to the cemetery the workers were on a lunch break, the מת and the entire family had to wait half an hour till they were done with their lunch. I remember being very upset at the whole scene we are all waiting to bury a loved one and the workers were taking their time finishing lunch. I understand they need to eat, but they could have taken care of us then eaten lunch, or with 3 workers they could have taken turns. When Esav tried to hold up Yaakov burial, Yaakov's grandson chopped Esav's head off. This would NEVER happen in Israel. If someone reading this remembers who's burial that was please let me know using Post a Comment

To the entire Srulowitz and Rabinowitz families

המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים

Have an easy fast and a גמר חתימב טובה

Post a Comment

Shana Tova

Shana Tova שנה טובה

When writing a blog it's possible to write/say things that people may not want to hear or that that can even hurt people. I try hard not to do so while still keeping this blog honest fun and interesting. It's not always so easy. So just in case you were hurt by anything I wrote or even offended in any way I truly as for Mechila מחילה and hope anyone who reads this blog would give me feedback for any reason at all if they feel it necessary.

I'll tell you about my NEW job in a moment but fist one of the benefits of being around the home is I get to pick up Yehuda from gan quite often. It's really nice to see him playing with other kids and communicating with them in Hebrew. It's very cute, and there is always a project or something going on there. Plus it’s very nice to just walk there and back without having to get in the car. It’s only about a 3 minute walk from the house.

Now The Job! Ok I took the bus in to Jerusalem Sun. morning and got there about 9AM there was a list of people whose membership either expired or were about to expire. I had notes written down how much it would cost to renew, and a basic idea of the special deal I can offer them for TODAY only, so I start making some calls. Apparently there was a salesman at the same desk who used the same list about a month or so earlier. He made some notes on the list by hand in Hebrew of course. One of the columns on the list was for the amount of times a person came during the year. So if someone came 75 times it would be easier to convince them to renew then someone coming 3 times. I started making some calls in Hebrew, and realized that the guy before me did a pretty decent job, he called the people who with the highest attendance and had notes next to most of them. Some of them renewed some said they would, some were not interested. So I was repeating a job mostly done. If I would be getting paid well to repeat someone’s work I wouldn’t really care, but over here the idea was that I make a commission of each renewal. I called people on the list who did not show up often and almost NON of them wanted to renew some even asked if they can have an extension since they paid for the year in full and did not use it, one guy never came ever.

I am used to giving someone a product or service and then getting paid for it. Over here there seemed to be lots of people who thought they would come, paid for it, but never took advantage. I understand this is how they make money but I don’t really like that concept. When I sell something I need to believe in it. When the boss finally showed up, I explained to her that this was an old list and pretty useless, she said she’ll print up a new one soon. But non of the hand written notes on my list were ever entered into their database. I wanted to work off a computer using their database so I can log calls and if someone is not interested it should be on the record. She didn’t seem to really care about this, her attitude was just keep calling (even if they don’t want us to) Despite all this I actually got 2 people who agreed to renew one (I think an Arab) wanted a better price since a friend of his was going to a different club. I asked her if I can lower it and she gave a certain price for 13 months. I called this guy back, he was leaving on vacation in 8 months and did not need a 13 moth deal and offered to pay for 12 months at the same price per month. Seemed completely fair to me I basically told him that should be fine, we have his credit card on file if there is a problem I’ll let him know.

In sales you want to make the deal and not go back and forth. A person can change his mind. I went back to her and she said now way! only a 13 month commitment. This makes no sense to me at all, they offer 1, 3, 6 and 12 moth plans, I can tell this guy was serious it was either 12 moths or he is going somewhere else. She is not budging and basically trying to squeeze the last shekel out of the guy. Even though he is an Arab he is still a paying customer and should be treated decently with good customer service. So basically this deal is gone and so is my commission on it. A bunch of other things were rubbing me the wrong way as well. 3PM came and I did not get any new list, my boss had no time to talk to me, I can’t make any deals this is not looking to good.

I get on the bus back to RBS and get my confirmation and reminder that I don’t like busses. What can I say I’ve been driving for 23 years and am not a good passenger. I came to the conclusion on the bus ride that I will not be making that bus ride on a daily basis to work under those circumstances. Well it lasted 1 day. We always tell the kids you don’t have to like something but have to try it once. I tried this with an open mind. I called the owner who is an Anglo I never met him, and explained my perspective on his business. He seems like a nice guy, but is not doing a lot of things that I think should be done. He did agree with me on a lot of topics, like getting every ones email address emailing updates and specials and have a system of tracking people referring other people so they can be rewarded. Plus they are right across from the Tachana Merkazit which has thousands of people there every day. I think they should have a few poster ads there directing people to the club across the street for a free 2 week trial. If they were to offer me a real salary and listen to me, I could probably double their membership in 6 months. Well it’s there loss. They are not thinking like successful Americans.

There is no question that Israel is behind America when it comes to customer service and free market thinking, although they are catching up. Bezek the phone company used to be a nightmare to deal with, as soon as they opened the phone lines up to competition lots of people left and all of a sudden Bezek changed their entire infrastructure and policies. Now they are much better getting to be more like Verizon. The two key components for change are COMPETITION and Anglos coming here with an understanding of how good customer service RULES! and will always bring in more customers. My good friend Lorin Spigleman always says the cure to Israel is Americans coming here. So keep that in mind when thinking of Aliya. Americans CAN and DO change this place for the better one person at at time. We need you, and we ALL need Israel.

Talk to you next year until then שנה טובה ומתוקה

Jump & Roll

Ok what's Jump and Roll? is this a fire drill? not exactly I just needed a catchy title that has to do with this post, besides in a fire you get down and roll.

OK 1st Roll. That would be a sushi Roll! In case you don't know Israel has amazing fruits and vegetables that grow here, including avocado, one of the main ingredients in sushi. (the rolls we like). But avocado season was over about a month or 2 ago, so we have been making some mango sushi (ok) but missing out on the avocado. Now avocado is back. Last week it was 35NIS a kilo. No thanks I'm not that desperate, but we just went to the shuk and got them now for 8NIS a kilo. big difference. Fresh sushi grade fish is available here in RBS I usually get it from "Dubi Dagim". They always have fresh Norwegian salmon which is great. However, I like the California rolls which have white imitation crab in it. It's made off a fish called Pollack which they make into surimi, which is available with a Hechsher. "The Talmud teaches us that for every non-Kosher food, there exists an equal and opposite Kosher version (Chullin 109b) So if it's kosher, and I like it, and I can afford it, I’m eating it. The problem is they don't sell surimi in Israel. I have asked a number of people to bring some back, it's available at most Kosher supermarkets in NY, and did not succeed for a FULL year, till NOW! B"H our very nice neighbor, Michal Reit who loves my sushi brought back 2 packs of frozen surimi rolls. WOW thanks Michal you’re the best you made my year. If your coming here don't forget to bring surimi. (Picture of sushi made with surimi by yours truly)

Life in Israel story: Ok so while Elkie and I are in the Beit Shemesh Shuk, we were walking around checking out the produce, most vendors let you taste a bit to see if you like it. After buying from one sefardic looking guy we ask where the cucumbers are from, he tells us a local Moshav. He than asks where we are from we tell him NY. He then says ok so stop by the Moshav sometime to visit us, pretty cool! no one in Costco or Stop and Shop ever invited us to their homes.

Ok now for Jump: Aish Orchestras in NY unfortunately is not as busy as it once was, and we still have bills to pay. I do some fundraising with Manhigut Yehudit but it's a bit slow right now, so I have been looking for a Job. Josh Factor just made Aliya from Monsey he buys and sells businesses we met he can use me to find business for sale. I am trying to do it I need to make calls American hours. It seems to have potential, but pays by commission and may take some time to build up a pipeline of clients. If you know of ANYONE even thinking of selling a business please let me know.

Since we need some money now I was looking for something to do during the day. I sent a resume to a bunch of places even met one company for 2&1/2 hours I knew both owners and probably could have helped them they seemed very interested in me even had an idea what I could do for them, but never ended up calling back. I recently saw a post for a salesperson for a fitness club מרכז בריאות וכושר called “Jump” in Jerusalem. So I emailed them my resume with a letter and got a call the next day asking if I can come over at 4PM. Well I was working the American hour job and asked if we can meet tomorrow thur. She said fine 1:45PM. The Gym is located in Binyame Hauma right at the entrance of Jerusalem across from the central Bus station. I was debating if I should where my tzizit out or not and decided I would, if they don’t hire me because of that too bad on them. So I took the 12:30 bus from RBS got there, walk in and see 4 woman waiting, uhh oooh, I sit down and wait, then 2 more people come in. Apparently we are ALL candidates. Since they were blabbing in Hebrew 1000 miles an hour much better than I could, I did not think I had much of a chance in SALES where you have to talk to people. Well I was going to give it my best shot. One person finished the interview and left and the woman interviewing came out and said ok I'll do short interviews 5 min each she quickly figured out an order then said you and you then the Bachur (that’s me). Ok my turn comes I walk in she asked what I do what I did, I told her I'm a musician and singer she was a bit confused and said what does that have to do with sales, I told her I own a band for over 20 year and sell bands, etc... after a few minutes she seems to really like me and basically tells me I get the job! ok but she need to confirm it and will call me tonight or tomorrow or I should call her. She called later that night, and says ok you got it. She said they had a lot of good candidates but I got it because I was Religious and an American. Go figure in America you can get a Job BECAUSE you are black, over here you can get a job BECAUSE you are religious, pretty funny! I guess the tzizit paid off. The Salary is !@#$%^&*() Ha Ha Ha!!! what a joke, but she said if I can prove myself we can talk about more in 3 months. I said that’s way too long, so she said ok for you a month. See I can be a tough Israeli too.

They want me to sell club memberships to people who come in and call their lists, sell to Yeshiva Bochrim and Seminaries. She wanted me to start working Sunday but would not be there in the morning so asked if I could come in Fri. for briefing. I decide to take Shira with me and we would go to Machane Yehuda when we were done. This time I drove. Basically she was over an hour late, Shira and I went to the Tachana Markazit to hang out a bit, came back, then we met, she was surprised I had an 14 year old daughter. She briefed me, Shira got some exercise on the mountain climber, and I start tomorrow morning 9AM we’ll see how it goes.

Chaim Heinaman from Monsey came for Shabbos with 2 other boys from “BEIS” that’s Beis Yisrael in Nevei Yaakov. Chaim is very sweet and very with it. He is welcome here any time. Shabbos morning I saw one of my neighbors waiting for a new neighbor a recent Oleh from LA, Avraham Bell they were debating what shul to go to, I told to come with me to Aish Kodesh so they both came along. Avraham Yehuda Ben Avraham was born a non jewish colorful man in the USA, he decided to become Jewish and now decided to make Aliya. In Israel we have tons of Ethiopians and are used to seeing Jews in all colors, I'm sure they will feel very welcome here.

So he once WAS an “African American” and now IS an “Israeli Jew”.

I told my neighbor Mendy Newman the Gabbai we have a new oleh, he got an Aliya and everyone sang Vishavu Banim, that warms you up every time. We really do get the best people here in the holy land.

And Finally: Our Orange tree is growing nicely B"H. Orlah (3 years) was over last Shavuos and is now in the neta Revai stage which is the 4th year, from what I understand after Rosh Hashana the year is over, so perhaps we can eat our oranges after R"H. I need to find out for sure.

Gota run to Slichos then catch an early bus to Jerusalem tomorrow morning till next time.

Schools In

Ok School started. Yosef started 2 weeks ago, the girls and Yehuda this week.

Yosef has a busy year ahead of him. Last year he finished All of Sh'mos and Va'yikra as well as Shmuel Alef and Bet. This year he will learn Ba'midbor and D'vorim and other Neveim. B"H he is doing very well. He like his new Rebbi and his school Toras Moshe Got some new Prefab rooms and plopped them down next to the Gan Campus. So now all the classes and office are in one location. Eventually they will need a bigger building. But Liat Liat the school is growing.

Ariella is no longer taking the bus to Orot in Beit Shemesh which she loved to do (right!!!) now her class is in Gila the same place Shira goes to. It's here in RBS so she can walk and it's a nice new building.

Yehuda started a new Gan. Last year was great but was privately owned and run, this one is public school gan. Run by the Iriaya. The teachers Gannenets are both Religious and teach the kids brachot and Torah etc... They even have 2 mini Toras in the Aaron one Ashkenazi one sefardy it's very cute see pic. Since we are olim we get a 1/2 discount so we pay 75NIS a month. That's about $18. Yes if you have kids this is a major reason to make Aliya. It's in a nice building just for the gan and another gan for older kids next door, there is a small Shul on top of the Gan that runs on Shabbat. Jay Blumenreich (My brotherinlaw's) other Brotherinlaw, is the Rabbi of that Shul.

Simachot:

Ok so we has a double simcha day on Sunday. Our neighbor Dovid Montal got married to Shira Abraham both made Aliya from Elizabeth a number of years ago. So they grew up together and both family are good freinds. It is very special and nice, both great kids. The wedding was at the Great synagogue in Jerusalem. The Bat Mitzva was for Roni and Aviva Baruchin/Thee's daughter in the Givat Ram Campus of Hebrew University. So we had to juggle both. As someone who has been to about 2000 Simchas I had an idea how to pull it off. B"H they were about 10 minutes from each other. We went to the Shmorg of the wedding called for 6:45PM schmoozed and ate a bit, stayed for the Chuppah which started about 740PM at about 8:10PM we got in the car and went to the Bat Mitzvah, got a bit lost but made it by 8:30PM. Danced a bit, schmoozed a bit ate some more, I met and smoozed a bit with Mayer Lupoliyansky the former Mayer of Jerusalem, we said Mazal Tov and headed back to the Wedding to catch the 1st dance set and made it in the middle Hwooooooo!

At the Chuppah they announced the Misader Kidushim is Rav Harashi..., I was waiting for some Yeshiva or Yishuv, then they said, Rav Harashi... LYisrael Rav Yona Mertzger. That's the cheif Rabbi of Israel!

Pretty cool! I guess if you are looking for a top name Rabbi it's hard to beat that. So we bumped into The former Mayer of Jerusalem the Chief Rabbi of Israel in one night, saw lots of Knesset Members including Natan Sharansky, Eli Yishai I(Shas) at the Nefesh B'nefesh landing, go to the Har Habayit with Moshe Feiglin, it's easy to meet popular leaders in everyday life here.

The wedding was nice we went home, We had a busy week, B"H lots of new olim on the block, one of them from England is eating by us tonight. OK gotta run to shul

Shabbat Shalom.

P.S. Shavua Tov!

Ok it's after Shabbat I have some time to spell check now and add a thing or two.

We had the new British Neighbors Morer for Fri night meal, very nice people from London. He, Julian left a very good High Tec job because he decided he want to be in Israel. Most of his friends think he is nuts to leave such a great job. He told them all Hashem is the one who got him that job and can get him a job in Israel too. Apparently this is a shocking concept to most British Jews. She is due after Sukkot perhaps she will be Elikes 1st customer as post pardom dula. Another new oleh on the block is Wagshal, they made Aliya from Baltimore he is a day traitor and is working the American hours from here, also very nice people. Everyone coming here has a great story of how they got here, and are all amzaing people. We all become like family and help each other out right away since we all know what it's like and can understand what Olim are going through.

The girls Shira & Ariella had a Melava Malka at their School Ulpanat Gila. I walked with Ariella and her friend Rachel from Beit Shemesh who is sleeping over by us tonight. Across the street from the school is Beis Teffilla a very large Anglo shul that has a big kollel and lots of learning programs going on all the time. The Rav is Rav Malinowitz from Monsey, a popular Rav who has a great sence of humor. Rav Zev Leff was coming to speak, so I went to hear him. The place was packed. For those of you unfamiliar with Rav Leff. 35 years ago he was giving a shiur in Miami on Yishuv Haartez, when someone raised his hand and said, "Rabbi in Living in Israel is so important why are you there?" With that he picked up and made Aliya. He is the Rav of Moshav Matisyahu, and one of the foremost Halachic authorities. He has taught in many Yishivos and Seminaries including Elkie in Sharfmans 18 years ago. He has a great website where people post wild questions on ANY topic and has his answer in a recording of his voice. It is very informative and entertaining. check it out at http://www.rabbileff.net B"H we get great Rabbis coming to speak and give shiurim in RBS all the time like, Rav Leff, Rabbi Breezak was here last week, Rav Lazer Brody, Rav Pinchos Winston, HaRav Dovid Bar Haim and many more. Rav Natan Silifkin will give a shiur and presentation on the different kinds of Shofars Mon night. Torah and Shiurim in Israel is the best.

She'll be comin round the mountain.

OK finally, I had a meeting in Jerusalem last Tue. If one in Chutz Laaretz would be offered to be borough to Yerushalyim in 1 hour, most people would jump at the opportunity. However when you live here and B"H go pretty often, sometimes if you have a busy week and don't have a lot of spare time you can find yourself saying Ohhh MAN... I gotta go to Jerusalem today!!! Then you catch yourself and say Hey wait a minute, Jews waited 2000 years to do that. So even if it can be a schlep sometimes, like taking and hour trip to Manhattan, it is never the same thing. The meeting was at the Larome hotel, nice place, when I was done I stopped off at a Hall in Bayit Vagan to check it out. Someone called me to do a Bar Mitzva there and apparently there are polls in the middle of the room, so I went to see the best place to set up the music there. When I was done I was starving so I found a Shamarma place on the block. I still remember checking out halls like Anthony's Peir 9 and others, if I was hungry when I was done I would have to settle for a bag of potato chips a chocolate bar or some snacks at a local 711 or gas station mmm. You really feel like a normal person in a country when you can just pop in just about anywhere you are, and eat fresh tasty Kosher food.

Bayit Vagan is on the western side of Jerusalem so I decided to take a new scenic route back to RBS. The main 2 ways of going to Jerusalem from Beit Shemesh are route 38 north to route 1 that's the Main entrance to Jerusalem, or the back roads 375 to 60 which passes Beitar then goes though the tunnels to Gilo in southern Jerusalem. If we are going to the southern part of Jerusalem like the Malacha Mall, Talpiyot or even to the eastern center like the Old city/Kotel we take the back road which usually takes about 30 min. If we are going to the norther part of Jerusalem, Givat Shaul, Maalot Dafna where Frimmi & Yitzchok used to live, Rechavya or the center of town we usually take the Main entrance route 1. Since Beit Shemesh is West of Jerusalem there are actually two other roads one can take. 386 and 395.

If this is confusing. See the Map Here

I already took the 386 route one time just to check it out. You pick it up Ein Kerem, that's where the Huge Hadasa En Kerem Hospital is. Both routes go though the Jerusalem forest and are very windy roads. 386 passes Nes Harim which is a Kibutz that is famous for it's water park. 395 is a more northern route which is closer to route 1. It passes Ramat Raziel and some other small towns. You are literally driving though the forest of mountains right on the edge going down and up. It's a very beautiful trip but you have to be VERY careful and drive slow. It is probably more enjoyable for someone not driving. At one point the road is so narrow that only one car can go at a time. There were some interesting things to see along the way and I really wonder who lives in these secluded small towns, but for now I think I'll stay with the main 2 routes. Apparently one of the Heinamen boys hiked though the entire forest to Beit Shemesh, that's a full day hike. When you guys visit B"H we can take it just for fun.

Until next time Shavua Tov. and Happy Labor day in the USA

Happy ALIYA 1 year Anniversary!

Happy ALIYA 1 year Anniversary!

WOW! I can't believe it's a year. B"H we made it.
Looking back at the blog I see we stopped posting half way though the year. It's not that there weren't things to write about. Every week something cool happens, we just got busy with life here and did not spend the time it takes to continue posting. We can try to start up again there are always things to share. Please do leave comments so we can get some feedback what you like or don't like etc...

I owe a big post about getting the car, it will have to wait till I have the time. I just want to clarify to all those who read the License to drive post, although I am sharing some real practical live situations that happen here in Israel on a day to day basis, even when is may seem frustrating, it is always amazing and sometime even entertaining. It says in chazal ארץ ישראל נקנית באיסורין "Israel is acquired with trials and tribulations" while that is true, to put things in perspective it is a million time less difficult than say 50 years ago and much easier then even 10 years ago. 50 years ago some of the חלוצים "Pioneers" came here got malaria and died. Today you may not be able to get kosher imitation crap for sushi. Tough one!!! But with voice over IP phone and skype you can see and speak to the US all the time, and can get just about anything here. Somethings may cost more so we still use ebay and either have them ship here or have the Moms get it to someone coming. Plus whatever comes your way there are many times when you say WOW it is so worth it to be here, and we do feel it is a tremendous Zechut (honor) through thick and thin. If you tell a pregnant woman there is no pain that is not true, however when a woman has a baby and sees the benefit, she will usually be willing to endure more pain for the honor and privilege of another child.

Anniversary Day

We wanted to make a Seudat Hadaya, but were not sure what date to use. We though of perhaps the Jewish Anniversary date, but as we got closer we realized it was a few days ago and didn't seem like the right day. Then came Shabbat we were thinking of a Kiddush but there were plenty others going on. We had already made redervations online to welcome the New Olim on the Aug 18th/19th flight with nefesh bnefesh. So on the morning of the 19th we all got up 5:30AM (yes even me) to make it to to the air port by 6:50AM. Israel built a new state of the art beautiful airport so for those of you who remember the old one it is not used very much. NbN uses the old airport to greet the Olim and kind of took it over for this purpose, this way it is private and Only for the Olim and people greeting them which is a few hundreds people. They have tons of large pictures all over the place of Olim arriving and hugging etc.

B"H things went well we got there by 7AM and the plane was a bit delayed so we got to hang out meet people have breakfast there with Barekas, Cup cakes, Cappachinos, Iced coffie etc. NbN knows how to make a party in style. We found out from friends there that Ilan and Rachel Yaish from Woodmere (Camp Dora Golding) were going to be on that flight as well as a new neighbor of ours moving to our block. We were excited to greet people we know. There was a lot of energy in the room. There were many big screens showing the runway. When the place landed we saw it taxing in on the big screen, everyone was screaming and clapping. It was a very different experience being on the other side this time. We hope to do it many more times and to greet more family and friends. When the plane arrived they opened the doors to the runway and everyone went running outside. There was a band playing and we got to wait behind a barricade for the Olim to come on the busses. You could not see the actual plane from there but we did see it on the video live and all knew it was near by.

Then the 1st bus arrived. Soldiers were lined up on each side of the barricades with Israeli flags, there were lots of Big flags everywhere. People were singing dancing hugging crying blowing Shofars you name it. A few people came with Sifre Torah. It's an Amazaing experience. Everyone there knows that this is much bigger then just them or the people they are greeting, it's the witnessing and being part of Kibbutz Galutenu, something Jews have been praying for for 2000 years. I took some pictures and met Jacob Richman there. He posts tons on things on his website including ALL Aliya flights, all terror victims anything to do with Israel. I told him I'll send him some more pictures. You can see them at: http://www.jr.co.il/pictures/israel/history/usa-aliyah.htm

When the last bus came everyone went inside sat down, heard some speeches Then we left. It was awesome

Party

On the way back we decided to just make the seuda that afternoon 2:00PM we'll make a barbecue and invite whomever is home. We were going to a concert in Netanya that night so this would fit right in. It really did feel like our anniversary. It was the same day as last year Aug 19th and about a week or so before school started. We started calling all our friends and neighbors from the car and managed to get a few yeses. When we got home Elkie went to her course, I went shopping for chicken franks etc. with the boys the girls went back to zzz. We felt that if we make if a Fleshig BBQ in the afternoon it would be special and like a seuda or chag. And so it was we worked fast put it all together and at 2:00PM people were already coming. We said only in Israel can you decide to make a party in 4 hours and actually pull it off. Hopefully next year we can plan a bit more in advance and perhps have more people join us.

Next day we went to Wadi Kelt (A river hike), on the way to the dead sea. I saw on the map it was a bit east of Pisgat Zev, so decided to call Boruch Thee and ask where is the best place to go there. He knew the place cold and gave us the best advice we went to Ein Prat then another spot. You drive down these VERY curvy roads and then walk in the water and you can jump in too. It was lots of fun. Ok that it for now till next time.

Shlomo

Eye on Zion 1

Eye on Zion 1

Shared via AddThis

Licence to DRIVE! (part 1)

The wheels on our car go round and round,

round and round, round and round,

The wheels on our car go round and round, all over Israel!

(Just to get a license, registration and plates!) I'll get the car soon but 1st.

For those of you who don't know by now,

We found a cute orphan baby puppy in the Merkaz (Shopping Center) we couldn't resist it so decided to take it home. Elkie did not want him in the house but named her "Shoko" (Chocolate Milk). The kids all loved it and wanted to keep it. We tried to keep it by some neighbors and let the kids play with it after school.

But after a few days the kids saw that they could not take proper care of it, so we gave it away to the family who was caring for it. Since they live down the block the kids can still visit and walk it.

At least they got the need for a puppy out of their system and learned how big a responsibility it is to care for one.

Wed. night I had a Bat Mitzvah Gig and Shulchan Dovid that's on הר ציון Mount Zion, where the name Zionism comes from. It's right outside of the Old city in Jerusalem. I hired a Drummer by the name Shlomo Deshet who works with a band Esta and people like Gad Elbaz. The last time he worked with Aish was in NY about 12 years ago, before he returned to Israel. I am very picky with Drummers and Shlomo can follow whatever style I play and synchronize with all the little embellishments lines and groves I create. It was nice to work with him again. B"H the gig went great, most of the guests were from the 5 towns NY. (Woodmere) When it was over I decided to go to the Kotel. It was only a 5 min. drive there with NO traffic at all. At about 12:30AM I pulled into Shaar Yaffo. The parking lot at the top is for residence of the Old city, but the Guard was very nice and let me park for an hour free. I caught a late Maariv, then headed back to RBS. In NY I used to go to Duncan Donuts after gigs. Going to the Kotel for Maariv instead is a nice change.

Ok now the car. I waited to write about the car until everything was done to avoid Ayin Harah. To get a drivers license and a Car registered in Israel is a MAJOR task. B"H it is now done after about 3 months of working on it. If I wrote about all the details I could probably right a book about it. But instead I'll give you a summary of the experience. Maybe print this and read it on Shabbos.

Ok here we go. 1st the Divers License:

We decided to Ship our 1998 Chevy Astro from NY. Nefesh B'nefesh does not recommend shipping most cars, but we felt in our case it made sense since it is a large strong minivan (8 passengers) in good shape that we like, plus it’s the least expensive option for us. Now that everything is all done I think it was worth it, although not for everyone it depends on your needs and finances. In order to release the car from the port you need an ISRAELI driver’s license. Unless you are a tourist or diplomat, then you can import a car temporarily. To get the license you 1st go to a registered location to have you picture taken and get a “Green From” (Tofes Yarok). Most people we spoke to from Beit Shemesh do this in the Jerusalem Mall. Since we did have the car it's a bit of a schlep to get there. I looked at the Nefesh B'nefesh (NBN) website and they did not have and locations for Beit Shemesh. Being the son of Shirley Walfish I decided to call them Just to make sure. As it happened Zev from NBN checked the ISRAELI government website and found a location in Beit Shemesh called "Optica Speed" GREAT! so he gives me the number but sorry NO ADRESS listed on the website. I call the number and there is a machine stating the times they take pictures for licenses GREAT! but NOT stating their address, I try finding them in directories to no avail. I ask around no one knows of this place. We just know it's in the Merkaz Mischary (Shopping center) of old Beit Shemesh. Fine we jump on a bus head to Old beit Shemesh about 30 min later were there looking around town for the store. Low and behold we find "Optica Speed" GREAT! and their open! there is a bit of a line so Elkie waits there and I head over to "Bituach Leumi" (National Insurance) to straighten out something. Government offices close early like 12:00PM or 1:00PM I call Elkie to tell her to tell the woman I am almost done and to wait till 12:00PM the official closing time. I am done 11:53AM and RUN!!! to "Optica Speed" with great “Speed” I get ther 11:58AM 2 minutes before closing time GREAT! think again, the woman had to pick up her daughter from Gan so sorry. Well at least Elkie got her Green form. I had to come back the next day and got it then. Back on the bus to RBS.

Next Morning I take the bus to Beit Shemesh. They take a picture and check your eyes, in the same place! In the Jerusalem Mall you need to do that in 2 separate stores. Ok, Now we have to go the physician who has to fill out this holy green form to say that we are physically fit to drive. Like our NY Drivers license is not good enough or the upcoming road test for that matter. OK we get to a doctor back in RBS he fills out our Green forms, GREAT! But wait there’s a problem my Green form has the wrong address on it. It’s the address of my friend that I must have given 5 years ago when I became on Oleh. I don’t want the wrong address on my license. So I go back to Beit Shemesh to “Optica Speed” she tells me go to Misrad Hapmin “The Interior Ministry” and have them correct my address, then everything will be updated. B”H Misrad Hapmin is across the street. I show them my Teudat Zehut they tell me Shlomo Walfish doesn’t exist. I said that’s nice well please tell me who am I??? They say come back in 10 min. 10min later I come back they are on the phone trying to straighten it all out. Apparently my records are all messed up, I guess they missed me for 5 years. 10 min later they print up a new address paper for my Teudat Zehut and everything is now fixed and correct. GREAT! Now we can go to the Misrad Harishoy (License Office) or DMV.

So far everyone is pretty nice. That’s about to end. Let’s call the woman there “Miss Nasty”, think of her like a big black nasty Shvartzas at DMV in NY. We show her our licence and Green form, she says do you have a photocopy of your license? I said NO! She said well get me one. I said don't you have a photocopy machine??? she said NO! go to Office Max by the shopping center (a 7 minute walk X's 2 ways) This is the country that invented Intel and about a million other things and they don't have a photocopy machine in the DMV which apparently need one everyday! I walked into Supersol next door and asked them if they had a copy machine and could they please make a copy at 1st they said yes then when they saw was for the Misrad Harishoy they said NO! I offered to pay them they said we told them to get their own machine and people should stop bothering us. Shimmy said if Supersol had any brains they would install a pay copy machine in the store and make a mint. So I run to office Max make copies then run back. Miss Nasty screams at me that I went to Supersol, apparently they came in and yelled at her to get a machine and stop having people come to them. I feel like we are in 1st grade here. Miss Nasty looks at my Green form then my teudat Oleh and tells me I am not an Oleh since I became and Oleh when we bought the house in 2003. You have 3 years to convert to an Israeli license and have them recognize a foreign one, otherwise you are like an Israeli teenager who has to take a written test 23 lessons, $$$$$, time, pain in the NECK, yada yada. Well as far as I know I was only in Israel for 10 days in 2003 then came back to the US for 5 years so basically my Oleh rights Froze and I have a Teudat Oleh reinstating my Oleh rights to prove this. The Absorption ministry (משרד קליטה) recognized this. Miss Nasty couldn't care less she just yelled a bunch of stuff in Hebrew and said next. Well Elkie had it and yelled at her that we are Olim and she can try to be helpful instead of being a "RASHA" boy that got here attention. She made a face and said (אני לא עזרת) "I am not a personal helper or assistant", Elkie said thats right (את לא עזרת) "You are not helping us" then some nice guy explained she can't do anything. This is NOT good, no Israeli license NO car, I did not have time for this. The car is in my name to I need so release it. I call Zev at NBN he says he will speak to a top guy at Misrad Harishoy in 2 days. I cross my fingers and pray. I started looking for info on this written test called “Mivchan Teoria” (Theory Test) and find out they just changed it and even though you can take it in English there is no book to study for it. NOT good! I speak to a woman in Beit Shemesh she tried to read the book in Hebrew but failed the test 7 times NOT good! More praying!

After 2 days I speak to Zev, NO good his contact to Misrad Harishoy can't change this technicality so I have to take the written test. The main rule in Israel is NEVER give up. In either case you need to take 1 driving lesson before the road test. So I post a message looking for a good road instructor. I get a bunch of names and the same name from 3 people and older guy David in Talpiyot Jerusalem. Sounds like an honest guy who doesn't want you taking 10 lessons with him. Ok I call him and tell him my problem. He tells me to go to the "S'gan Menahel" (assistant supervisor) in the Misrad Harishoy in Talpitot and tell him my problem. At this point I'll try anything, even the Ari's Mikva. (Brrrrrr) I find the location and even number for the main Misrad Harishoy office and call to make SURE they are open and that this Guy Michael is in. The woman puts me on hold checks it out gets back yes Michael is in today. Some guy Matt shipped stuff with us and came to pick it up from Jerusalem. So I get a ride with him there to catch the 2 evening hours on Wed. Ok off to Jerusalem I get there on time get to the office look around for him, guess what??? he is gone to the day. Great! They told me come in the Morning Ahhhhhhh, thanks for telling me this Miss Secretary on the phone. Back to RBS by Bus.

The next morning I had the Levi bris in Jerusalem, B"H I found a ride there. When it was over Uncle Ali Thee drove me to Talpiyot, since they close at 12:30PM I didn't want to take ANY chances of being late and got these 10:50AM GREAT! Right?

NOT!!! There is a sign on the door today we are closed at 10:30AM. This is not happening. It's like landing in Chelm or a bad dream. Could you imagine the DMV in NY closing their door with a note, we are closed at 10:30AM today we just worked too much. Back to RBS on the Bus.

I post a message looking for a ride to Jerusalem tomorrow, no concrete answers. So next day I go to the back exit of RBS and Hitch a ride to Talpiyot, GREAT! the woman driving is going straight there. I get there real early, walk in find Michael's room it's open a crack, I knock and walk in he looks at me, I ask if he is Michal's he nods. I told him my instructor David sent me to him, then tell him my problem that my car is at the port and I need an Israeli licensee to get it out and they want me to take the written test and I don't have the time for it, yada yada. He said you need to speak with a "Pkida" (clerk). So he walks with me to the main waiting room with clerks, cuts the long line, and briefly explains it to a clerk, then he tells me she will tell you what you need to do. I think oh nooooo he is just passing the buck to her now. She was Russian and understood the situation she asked for proof that I was only in Israel 10 days not 5 years. I showed her my Stamped American passports. So she said the clerk in Beit Shemesh didn't know that you don't need the written test. Good going Miss Nasty. She then said she will erase what the Miss Nasty wrote on the Holy Green form and correct it. Home Run! She fixed it all, and stamped it. I thanked her and told her she was a BIG help and made my Chag Sukkot. I am Now officially off the hook for the written test and have clearance for the road test GREAT!

My instructor gets me a test set up next week right before Shukkot. The road test is called מבחן שליטה literally translated (control test) In Israel if you want to drive a Manual you need to take a test on one, then they indicate it on your license. Since I can drive Manual, I want the test on one. The instructor recommends 2 lessons then the test to get used to the Manual. OK... considering he got me out of the written test I'll do whatever he says. I meet him next week give him the Holy Green form, he writes some stuff on it. I start driving around Talpiyot. Talpiyot is VERY hilly and has lots of curves and turns, this is not where you want to be taking a road test, but this is where it is for me. He is a good instructor and tells me what to do to pass the test like keeping the car in Gear even when costing downhill, instead of my habit of putting it in neutral. Ok 1&1/2 later he thinks I'm ready for the test. We go to the Post Office to pay about 60NIS (Shekel) for registering for the test and then wait a bit. In Israel you pay for just about every Gov. fee at the Post office. They should start selling Bagles and coffee there.

We now go and meet the Tester. He gets in and says Shalom, doesn't crack a smile and said "Sa!" (Drive!). OK I'm diving so far so good. Right, Left, up down. This guy is looking for something. Go straight, all of a sudden BAM the car stops, he jammed on the brake since the lane I was in just became a left tuning lane. There were no signs indicading this so there was no way for me to know. He yells "Asur Lehiyot Po." You are not allowed to be here. Although there is nothing illegal about being in a left turning lane, you just have to make a left turn, which I could have done. Ok I move to the right lane and continue straight, I even stop by a crosswalk to let a woman cross even though Her foot was on the curb so I still had the right of way. Everything else was perfect, it was about 10 min. of driving and almost over. I was turning back into the testing lot parking, we were at a Red light going uphill, I was the 3rd car things are looking pretty good, the light turned Green 1 car went straight the next cab made a right turn into the Licensing parking lot which is where I was going, then I moved up BAM!!! he jammed on the break, and yelled “follow the light not the cab.” The light had just changed. It happened real fast only 2 cars went so it must have been a very short light. I did not run the light I was in Gear moving uphill in a stick shift. He did not even give me a chance to stop. I said I was pulling up, I would have stopped at the light. He said tell that to me next time. NO Good! at 5PM the instructor called me with the results. "NECSHAL" Failed!. I am diving 23 years I drove pretty darn well in curvy hilly Talpiyot, but not good enough for this guy. I had to pay 600NIS for the lessons and test anyway.

B"H the car was not here yet since there was a strike at the port, so I still had some time left to get my Drivers licence. Over the Chagim there is no testing, the next test available was for 2 weeks later. On the day of my 2nd test my instructor wanted me to take another lesson, OK... if I fail this one, I have to take the WRITTEN test! PRESSURE!!! PRESSURE!!! I go to the Back road in RBS hitch a ride to Talpiyot, take another lesson. OK my instructor thinks I'm ready. We pick up a young frum woman I go in the Back and She takes a lesson, 45min later we pick up a young Kollel/Yeshiva guy and he takes a 45min lesson. The 1st test I was wearing dress clothing, now I decided to wear Jeans and a T-shirt. You never know what matters! All 3 of us are taking the test together. The tester gets in She is a Woman this time. She smiled and said Shalom. The Young frum woman was up 1st. The Tester wished her good luck. She was VERY nervous, at one point did not switch gears smoothly and the car was jumping. Then she went down a hill was in the left lane and stalled. No Good! we knew she failed. She pulled over and the tester said ok who wants to go next? I volunteered I just want to get it over with. I got in and boy was Hashem with me I drove Perfect! smooth turns no stalling, GREAT! very short test maybe 3 minutes. The next guy got in and also did pretty well. I paid another 600NIS At 5PM the instructor called I PASSED! and it only cost about 1600NIS that’s about $400. Back on on the bus to RBS. Next day I went to the Misrad Harishoy in Beit Shemesh and had Miss Nasty print up my temporary license (Zmani) the permanent one comes in the mail (Kavuah). At least Miss Nasty is good for something. The next day I get a call from my Shipper Avi your car has arrived in Israel did you get a license yet? I said of COURSE! :)

Stay tuned for Part 2. How I got the car registered.