Just Remember: Obama Doesn't Rule The World

A Strained Relationship
The U.S. and Israel's current strained relationship is causing much concern globally, both in the Jewish world and within conservative circles.  The U.S. has publicly delivered rebuke to Israel multiple times this year, most recently earlier this month.  On March 12th, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for planning to build new Jewish housing in east Jerusalem, calling it "a deeply negative signal" for ties with the U.S..

Rav Druckman's Perspective

Rabbi Chaim Druckman, a former MK and currently the head of the Bnei Akiva movement, made an important statement earlier this week, which I believe is the proper Jewish perspective for reacting to current events such as U.S. rebuke if Israel.  

Rabbi Druckman, at a ceremony honoring personnel of Bnei Akiva’s yeshivot, said:

”Obama thinks he holds the wheel in his hands and that he leads the world, but the People of Israel deal with the Almighty, Who leads the world. He holds the true steering wheel in His hands, while Obama holds a fake wheel." (Source: Arutz Sheva)

Our Work for Pesach
It is important for everyone to keep Rav Druckman's message in mind - the Ribbono Shel Olam controls the world and decides the future of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.  Therefore, we must pray to Him and do mitzvot to gain favor in His eyes in order to secure a peaceful and stable future for Israel.  This is especially pertinent to remember as we approach Passover.  Passover is a time of great inspiration.  We recall the past geula from Egypt and the fact that there will be a future geula.  With this great inspiration, it's possible to reach great heights in the service of the Creator and it's an ideal time to look for ways to improve one's divine service

8 Ways To Improve Your Hebrew

Learning Hebrew is an important aspect to making a successful aliyah.  In a comment left to one of my previous blog posts, Batya Medad wrote:  "We've been in Israel since 1970 and can't imagine living any place else. Hebrew is the key." Also Nefesh B'Nefesh lists Hebrew as the #1 most important thing for finding employment in Israel.

The following are 8 Hebrew language resources that I have found helpful.  Please note that I already have a basic grasp of Hebrew (i.e. how to read Hebrew text, basic vocabulary, etc).  These resources have helped me to build upon those basic Hebrew language skills. 

1.  Index cards.
Most of us have not used index cards since high school.  I don't know of any better way to reviewing Hebrew vocabulary and phrases than index cards.  They are easily carried around for spontaneous review and can be sorted.

2. Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone is a popular software program that "uses a combination of images, text, and sound, with difficulty levels increasing as the student progresses, in order to teach various vocabulary terms and grammatical functions intuitively, without drills or translation" (Wikipedia).  Rosetta is used to train U.S. Army and State Department personnel before deployment to foreign countries.

I take notes while I go through each lesson and later transpose them to index cards for review.  Rosetta is great for expanding and reinforcing vocabulary and for learning grammar essentials.

3. Pimsleur
The Pimsleur method is a series of audio CDs to help build conversational Hebrew skills.  Instead of teaching pure vocabulary and grammar like Rosetta, Pimsleur teaches you how to have conversations.  For example, Rosetta teaches you how to say "I prefer the red dress over the blue dress" while Pimsleur teaches you "Here is 5 shekels for the beer."  In my mind, both Rosetta and Pimsleur are necessary.  Each teaches the student a different skill.

Both Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur comes in 3 levels and can be bought through Amazon's website.

4. Reshet Bet and the Israel Radio Toolbar
A big challenge to being functional in Hebrew is learning how to understand native Israelis when they speak.  Listening to Israeli radio, such as Reshet Bet's "Hayom Haze," is a great way to attune your ear to the native Israeli's Hebrew. Hayom Haze, recorded twice daily, can be listened to on demand over the internet (see links to Hayom Haze on Tsvi Sadan's website).

The "Israel Radio Toolbar" for Internet Explorer is an excellent tool for listening to Reshet Bet and other Israeli radio stations.  You can also watch Israeli TV and the Knesset live using the toolbar. 

5. Arutz Sheva
Arutz Sheva is an Israeli media network affiliated with the Religious Zionist movement.  However, even if you don't associate yourself with Religous Zionism, Arutz Sheva's podcasts in Hebrew are great for downloading and listening to radio programs on the go.  For example, I listen to a show by Yehudit Fogel on advice for families. I listen to the show in the car and it has helped me tremendously to understand native Hebrew. 

I do not know of any other source of downloadable podcasts in Hebrew.  Please let me know if you know of other sites with downloadable content.

6.  Lo Lifnei Hayeladim
"Lo Lifnei Hayeladim" is an Israeli sitcom similar to Saturday Night Live.  It is shown on Israeli TV at "Arutz 10" and is fantastic because it displays Hebrew subtitles underneath.  The subtitles help me follow what the characters are saying when I don't understand them orally.  Since the show is comprised of short skits, I have learned vocabulary specific to various types of situations, such as vocabulary for job interviews.  Every episode ever aired is available online.  The downside of this show is that the skits are not always clean.

7.  Hamatchil
Hamatchil is a weekly newspaper with articles relating to world news, Israel news, and Jewish holidays.  It is designed for non-native speakers and is written in easy Hebrew with nekudot and definitions after hard words.  Reading this newspaper is excellent for building vocabulary, especially vocabulary relating to contemporary issues. 

8.  Rav Chaim Sabato books.
Rav Chaim Sabato is a Cairo-born Israeli rabbi who studied in Mercaz Harav and founded the Hesder yeshiva in Maale Adumim. He has four popular novels in Hebrew that are easy to read, several of which have been translated into English.

I am currently reading his second novel, Tiyum Kavanot, which is a moving account of his experiences as a soldier in the Yom Kippur War. It is a great book and I highly recommend that you read it.  It has been translated into English by Toby Press and is titled Adjusting Sights.

For links to other Hebrew learning resources, see Jacob Richman's "Learn Hebrew Sites" and Nefesh B'Nefesh's "Ulpan and Hebrew Learning Resources Online."

Rav Aharon X2

Must the walls that separate our communities and our institutions soar quite so high, the interposing moat plunge quite so deep? Shall we never sled again?"

A CALM VIEW OF RAGING ISSUES

Rav Aharon Feldman and Rav Aharon Lichtenstein are two rosh hayeshivas, Rav Feldman of Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, and Rav Lichtentenstein of Har Eztion in the Gush, Israel.  Both are engaged in a subtle discussion that started with Rav Feldman's recently published book titled The Eye of The Storm: A Calm View of Raging Issues. The book is a compilation of previously published articles by Rav Feldman that deal with contemporary issues, such as homosexuality, feminism, and Chabad moshichism. 

While it's refreshing to read a charedi rav's perspective on these controversial issues (rather than the traditional approach of simply ignoring that issues exist), I still had serious issues with certain parts of the book.  But this is what I expected for a book that promises to deal with controversial issues.  For example, one of Rabbi Feldman's goals in writing the book was "to expose the vacuity of the Zionist ideology" (p. 3) while also demonstrating how the "religious community is a viable, flourishing society...filled with concern for one another" (p.14).  In reading these two statements, I felt Rav Feldman was implying that being religious and Zionistic are not compatible.

A CALM RESPONSE TO A CALM VIEW

In response to Rav Feldman's book, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, wrote an article in this month's Jewish Action.  The article is titled "Hands Across the Ocean: A Review of Rabbi Aharon Feldman’s The Eye of the Storm."

It turns out that the two rabbis have much in common.  Both studied in the same Baltimore yeshiva (in which Rav Lichtenstein fondly remembers "the chilling warmth of joint sledding in Druid Hill Park on Sunday afternoons") and both learned under Rav Yitzchak Hunter at Yeshivat Chaim Berlin.

THE PLEA FROM RAV LICHTENSTEIN
Despite a shared past, Rav Lichtenstein's prupose for writing the article was to bring to attention certain diffucltuies that he found in the book.  Rav Lichtenstein is a leader in the religious Zionist world while Rav Feldman is a top charedi rov in the U.S., and their points of dissention could have been predicted.  Rav Lichtenstein critique of the section of the book titled Zionsim is that he wonders:  "...is it indeed desirable...to engage in a foray of utter denial of Jewish worth to what the Zionist enterprise...hath wrought?"   And in dealing with a contemporary feminist issue, Rav Lichtenstein bring sources to dispute Rav Feldman's statement that "“that the classic authorities agree unanimously that women are forbidden to wear tefillin.”

The conclusion of the article struck the deepest chord with me.  As I mentioned above, Rav Lichtenstein remembers sledding with Rav Feldman as a youth.   Rav Lichtenstein concludes by writing:

"That pair of juvenile prattling sledders is now well past seventy-five. It stands to reason and is, presumably, mandated by joint mission, that our worlds meet and attain mutual fruition. As we both painfully know, however, this occurs all too rarely. Must the walls that separate our communities and our institutions soar quite so high, the interposing moat plunge quite so deep? Shall we never sled again?"

WHAT'S NEXT
I currently live in Baltimore and have heard reports that Rav Lichtenstein's article has circulated throughout the Ner Israel beis medarsh.  Rav Feldman is purported to have drafted a response to Rav Aharon Lichtenstein's article, which will be published in the next Jewish Action.  I look forward to reading it.

Negative Feelings Towards Aliyah

"What are we seeing here? Jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs." - Rachel Berger, NBN

NEGATIVITY TOWARDS THE IDEA OF MOVING TO ISRAEL
The amount of people who have reacted negatively to my decision to make aliyah is overwhelming.

Take Susan S., who has lived in Israel for over 20 years. In response to a post that I wrote on a yahoo listserve, she stated: "I guess you're religious. I can't see why anyone would otherwise want to make Aliya these days. The situation here is pretty terrible from all points of view, and the only good thing is the weather in the winter." Her response was typical. Others responses wondered why I would move to a country that "Amenijad has in his sights" and they believed that "Israel has too many Americans anyways and besides, there are no jobs here." Similarly, one of my former rebbeim from yeshiva happened to be in town last week. He lives in Telstone, Israel and he called me mushugana, mentioning that many of his neighbors are unemployed.

In America, I have received similar luke-warm to outright pessimistic comments. An owner of a local kosher restaurant overheard my wife speaking about our decision to make aliyah. He interrupted her mid-sentence to tell her that he once made aliyah in the early 80s. He shouted - "In Israel, employers won't even give you enough money to cover basic needs!" He was appreciative that his aliyah failed so that his kids wouldn't have to go to the army.

ARE THERE REALLY NO JOBS IN ISRAEL?
The message I received on my pilot trip was drastically different. If my pilot trip was a novel, its theme would be similar to Jacob Richman's CJI webpage: "Reason #843,008 to make aliyah: There are jobs in Israel!." I met with Rachel Berger from Nefesh B'Nefesh's employment division in its large headquarters in Jerusalem. She went through various websites with job listings (such as Linked-In groups). As she went through each source of employment information, she would repeat the mantra: "What are we seeing here? Jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs."

By the way, the official NBN statistic is that 97% of NBN's olim find a job within their first year of living in Israel.

I also met with successful olim, like Goel Jasper, Paul Shindman, and Paula Stern, who immigrated to Israel years before and were successful in their careers. The official reason for meeting these olim was to spend 20 minutes to find out general information about particular careers in Israel. However, each meeting ended up being an intense session that took several hours. We discussed how they started in Israel, what their Israel experience has been like, and about how there are definitely jobs for Olim in Israel!

Most importantly, I met with a friend, David C., who made aliyah several years ago. David is my hero and in my mind, the epitome of the successful oleh. He could be the NBN poster child. He has worked diligently to make a name for himself in Israel in the field of internet marketing -- and he has been extremely successful. With David as an example, I see that it is possible to make it in Israel.

YOU HAVE TO TRY

Recently, Rabbi Gottlieb of Baltimore's Shomrei Emunah Congregation announced that he will be making aliyah to Israel. In a recent Shabbos drasha, he explained his reasons for making aliyah. He started by giving profuse thanks to the congregation for allowing him to be his Rav. He then proceeded to say that one might wonder why he would give up so much in chutz l'aretz to take such a risk for an uncertain future in Israel. His reply was he concluded - "It's Israel, we have to try...It's our home, we have to try."

I guess my reasons to moving to Israel are similar. Ostensibly, it is totally crazy that I am moving. I have a very decent job, my wife and I are both slated to receive promotions in the near future, etc. However, something inside both of us is screaming that we belong in Israel. Yes, it is risky. However, my wife and I both feel that we have to try to make it in Israel.

Hilarious! 10 Ways to Know Your Aliyah Is Successful.

This list comes from Ilene Rosenblum and was written in the spirit of Purim.  It's very funny.   Ilene is an olah and an incredibly talented freelance writer and digital media developer.   She has a very interesting blog, Aliyah L'Torah, which is worth following.    Thanks, Ilene.

10 Ways to Know Your Aliyah Is Successful

Israeli culture can be difficult to adjust to, but it gets easier with time. Here are some signs that you are blending in well:

#10. You met your 70-year-old Shabbat host when she shoved you aside in order to get on the empty bus.

#9. Your chain-smoking sherut driver doesn’t stay in the lane, but, Baruch Hashem, he says Tehillim.

#8. All of your 5 sons carry a gun. And so does your rabbi.

#7. Your morning commute involves hitchiking.

#6. Your Russian is coming along nicely.

#5. You wear a winter coat and hat when it is 18 degrees C outside. Sandals, however, are appropriate in any weather, or during any lifecycle event.

#4. You were set up on a shidduch during a job interview.

#3. You have no problem using a storage closet as a dressing room even though it doesn’t have a mirror, or a door. The cab driver idling by the storefront will tell you if the clothes are mat’im.

#2. You have eaten schnitzel for breakfast.

#1. You really begin your grocery shopping once you’ve put your cart in the checkout line.

A commenter to Ilene's blog added another one:

"The men mending the roof opposite, when they heard me ‘kvetch’ about the rain “Gveret, zarich le’hagid Baruch Hashem le’kol ha’geshem” – and I’m not even sure they were Jewish !!"