In my professional practice of mind-body healing, I often tell people that difficulties can be looked at as stones. It is up to them to decide if they view these stones as stumbling blocks or as steppingstones. Aside from the “sunny side” of living in Eretz Yisrael, my own experiences here included such challenges – stumbling blocks that were really steppingstones – as well.
My
husband is Israeli, but we met in America and settled in Lakewood. Although I
was never exposed to life in Eretz Yisrael, nor did any of my own close family
members live there, I knew I wanted to live there. As a Jew, being drawn to
Eretz Yisrael was just an integral part of my neshama (soul). When we
already had four children, I told my husband that if we didn’t make the move
now, we would never. So, on Zos Chanukah 1970, we moved to Bnei Brak.
We
lived there with our four little children in a third-floor apartment with no
elevator. There was no home delivery back then, so there was a lot of shlepping
to do. In the winter, the apartment could get really cold. I had my fifth child
when my oldest was all of seven years old, with none of my family around to
help.
As
followers of the Chazon Ish, we did not use the locally-generated electricity
on Shabbos or the water pumped on Shabbos into our pipelines. We used kerosene
lamps which would sometimes blow out before the end of Shabbos, leaving us in
the dark until motza’ei Shabbos. We didn’t have our own water
tank on the roof like some others had, so I would fill the bathtub with water
before Shabbos and make sure the bathroom door was locked to keep the kids out!
I
remember having to manage our first Shemitta year in 1972. There was almost no
produce. A truck would come, and people shared a sack of potatoes, some onions,
and some carrots. We had to manage with whatever we got.
There
were difficulties and challenges. There were things I had to adjust to. There
were changes I had to make. Though, in spite of it all, I still always just wanted
to stay and live here, where aveira d’Eretz Yisrael machkim – the air
(atmosphere) of Eretz Yisrael makes one wise. I believe this atmosphere greatly
influenced our family’s spiritual growth. We were close to many gedolei Yisrael of the Litvish world living in Bnei Brak; my husband
was a ben bayis (like a member of the family) by some of them. We
were upstairs neighbors of Rav Chaim Greineman, zt”l, a nephew and
adherent of the Chazon Ish, zt”l. I very often discussed issues, such as
child rearing and cooking, with his wife Rabbanit Chana, z”l. My
children gained tremendously in their spiritual lives from growing up friends
with their children.
A
bit after the Yom Kippur War (1973), we ended up leaving Eretz Yisrael to
England, and shortly thereafter to Monsey, where we lived for the next few
years. We were destined to undergo quite a bit of moving, with all the
challenges that entailed. We did return to Eretz Yisrael in 1980 and remained
for 10 years. Then we did another 10-year stint in Monsey.
Finally,
in 1999, when we had our sights on moving back to Eretz Yisrael, we decided it
wasn’t going to be to Bnei Brak. We were looking for a place that was quieter
and with more space. We moved to the chareidi
kehilla in Zichron Yaakov, on the northwest coast of Eretz Yisrael,
where we built our own house. Like Monsey, it was in a pastoral setting, with
small private houses and a lot of greenery. We were very happy with the calm
and quiet atmosphere.
When
we came, we didn’t know anyone living there. Over time, I got to know the local
Americans and felt comfortable with them, and I eventually gave shiurei
Torah in both Hebrew and English. Although there may be political or hashkafic “stress” anytime and anywhere,
among the women, I didn’t feel it at all.
There
was a yeshiva gedola down the street from our house where two
sons-in-law of Rav Chaim Greineman were roshei yeshiva. Though many mosdos
were local, the Bais Yaakov high school girls had to travel about half an hour
to the nearby town of Chadera. My boys went to the local yeshiva gedola,
though one did go to learn in Bnei Brak.
Living
far from the center of Eretz Yisrael had its own set of challenges. I would
rarely go to a wedding in Yerushalayim, as public transportation could take an
hour and a half each way. Friends coming from America would never get out to
Zichron (as Zichron Yaakov is called in short). I would travel once a week to
Bnei Brak, where I operated a clinic for many years, and more recently to Ramat
Beit Shemesh. It was a two-and-a-half-hour commute by train and bus, and I
would stay over for one night. B”H,
my therapy sessions and “Joy and Vitality” evening workshops in Beit Shemesh,
Bnei Brak, and Zichron were very popular. I worked to create awareness of the
connection between mind and body. I wanted to make people healthy by positive
thinking, talking, and emotions, utilizing the various modalities of mind-body healing.
It
is our choice in what we do – physically, emotionally and spiritually – with
the situation Hashem gives us. We can go shlepping and complaining through hard
times, or we can learn to cope and become so much stronger. Being spoiled will
just lead to our detriment. This applies to everything in life, including the
challenges of living in Eretz Yisrael – the place where we all belong.
Sparks
of Radiance
My daughter, her husband,
and three little children were on the Egged #2 bus bombing 17 years ago; my three-year-old
granddaughter was killed, Hy”d, and all others were injured. There were
a lot of interviews in the media. I remember saying to one reporter, “People
are afraid there’s no peace here in Israel, but it’s we who have to make peace.
Peace will come when we make peace with each other.”
It doesn’t matter where
you live, for you are not necessarily safe in any place on earth. The recent
Covid-19 virus proves this. Therefore, I believe that lack of safety is not a
valid reason for not living here. No one can escape what Hashem plans for him.
Let us realize that we all belong here and make the best of it. With a positive
mindset we can turn our greatest stumbling blocks into powerful steppingstones
of elevation.
This article is
part of the Eretz Chemdah series featuring Anglo-Chareidim living in, settling,
and building up Eretz Yisroel. A project of Avira D'Eretz Yisroel, coordinated
by Yoel Berman: info@aviraderetzyisroel.org.
