Adjusting to Life in Ramat Beit Shemesh - Written 27 October, 2009
My dear friends and family…
Life here is good, although the assimilation is slower than I prefer. I finally started my ulpan this last week. I was originally placed in kita gimmel (3rd level) because I can speak Hebrew to some degree. However, understanding Hebrew is much harder for me, so I requested to be “demoted” to kita bet (2nd level) It is very hard to practice Hebrew here in Ramat Beit Shemesh, being that well over half the population of this area are native English speakers! But it is GREAT to get out of the house for a half-day every day for the class. I was spending my days on the computer listening to Shlomo Carlebach and fighting with the various government agencies… So now I only do that for one half of the time!
We joined a shul last week. Small and English speaking. With an outlook not that different from Kesser’s. Perhaps more male involvement and less women involved, but that is very typical in Israel… (Probably east coast US as well.) Although not stated in so many words, their hashgafah (philosophy) could be summarized as “The Orthodox shul for ALL Jews….” Hey, haven’t I heard that somewhere before? And yes, I’m still the slowest davener in the shul!
On Friday night, about 40 minutes before sunset, we hear two sounds. The first is somebody driving around with a loudspeaker on their roof playing some kind of “Welcome Shabbos” music. I think it is Sepharadic, but it could be anything! About 40 minutes prior to sunset, a siren goes off. The first time I heard this, I thought we were under attack! But no, this was simply an artificial shofar telling us to turn off the music, the computers, etc. and get with it… Shabbos is coming!! Actually, the siren goes off, announcing that it is candle-lighting time in Yerushalayim. Some hold that since we are a suburb of Yerushalayim, we should keep time as if we are there. But very quickly, silence descends on the city.
Last week, I had an amazing experience, convincing me that I am in a very special place. (like I needed convincing?)
Chava and I were coming back in the evening from the train station after spending Shabbos in the north. We didn’t have a car, so we were taking the bus home. A few stops after we left the train station, the bus stopped and a couple got on. Actually, it appeared that a man was getting on and “helping” a woman get on with him. It wasn’t clear if the woman was ill or had one-too-many, but he got her on, got her into a seat, paid the driver and stood by her. Whatever her situation, I was impressed that he seemed to be taking care of her. A couple of stops later however, the man jumped off the bus leaving the woman! As we pulled away from the stop, we started to hear her sob…
Suddenly, three young girls, maybe 15-16 years old jumped up and ran to the woman, a perfect stranger. One put her arm around the woman and the others offered words of comfort. The woman continued to sob, but allowed the girls to console her. A few stops later, the woman got off of the bus accompanied by two of the girls.
I’m not saying that Good Samaritans don’t exist outside of Israel, but somehow here, this seems totally in character.
My friends, you should definitely come for an extended visit to this country. Get a feel for it… This is an amazing place to be!
With brochos from Yisroel!
My dear friends and family…
Life here is good, although the assimilation is slower than I prefer. I finally started my ulpan this last week. I was originally placed in kita gimmel (3rd level) because I can speak Hebrew to some degree. However, understanding Hebrew is much harder for me, so I requested to be “demoted” to kita bet (2nd level) It is very hard to practice Hebrew here in Ramat Beit Shemesh, being that well over half the population of this area are native English speakers! But it is GREAT to get out of the house for a half-day every day for the class. I was spending my days on the computer listening to Shlomo Carlebach and fighting with the various government agencies… So now I only do that for one half of the time!
We joined a shul last week. Small and English speaking. With an outlook not that different from Kesser’s. Perhaps more male involvement and less women involved, but that is very typical in Israel… (Probably east coast US as well.) Although not stated in so many words, their hashgafah (philosophy) could be summarized as “The Orthodox shul for ALL Jews….” Hey, haven’t I heard that somewhere before? And yes, I’m still the slowest davener in the shul!
On Friday night, about 40 minutes before sunset, we hear two sounds. The first is somebody driving around with a loudspeaker on their roof playing some kind of “Welcome Shabbos” music. I think it is Sepharadic, but it could be anything! About 40 minutes prior to sunset, a siren goes off. The first time I heard this, I thought we were under attack! But no, this was simply an artificial shofar telling us to turn off the music, the computers, etc. and get with it… Shabbos is coming!! Actually, the siren goes off, announcing that it is candle-lighting time in Yerushalayim. Some hold that since we are a suburb of Yerushalayim, we should keep time as if we are there. But very quickly, silence descends on the city.
Last week, I had an amazing experience, convincing me that I am in a very special place. (like I needed convincing?)
Chava and I were coming back in the evening from the train station after spending Shabbos in the north. We didn’t have a car, so we were taking the bus home. A few stops after we left the train station, the bus stopped and a couple got on. Actually, it appeared that a man was getting on and “helping” a woman get on with him. It wasn’t clear if the woman was ill or had one-too-many, but he got her on, got her into a seat, paid the driver and stood by her. Whatever her situation, I was impressed that he seemed to be taking care of her. A couple of stops later however, the man jumped off the bus leaving the woman! As we pulled away from the stop, we started to hear her sob…
Suddenly, three young girls, maybe 15-16 years old jumped up and ran to the woman, a perfect stranger. One put her arm around the woman and the others offered words of comfort. The woman continued to sob, but allowed the girls to console her. A few stops later, the woman got off of the bus accompanied by two of the girls.
I’m not saying that Good Samaritans don’t exist outside of Israel, but somehow here, this seems totally in character.
My friends, you should definitely come for an extended visit to this country. Get a feel for it… This is an amazing place to be!
With brochos from Yisroel!
posted by Shaul Gedalyah | 4:13 PM
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