Ma’aleh Amos
When I first came as a young bachur to Eretz Yisrael, 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 was better; there’s nothing like America. I had two married brothers learning in Eretz Yisrael 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 yeshiva gedola – Yeshivas Kol
Torah in the Yerushalayim neighborhood of Bayit Vegan. It took a little 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 yeshiva.
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, and
my rebbeim were here as well. I sort of just realized that I’m here, too
– it’s Eretz Yisrael; this 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 Yisrael,
so why shouldn’t I stay?
It wasn’t that I stayed here by default; there were
positive things I appreciated about living here. There is a high level of Torah
and yiras Shamayim, and of course the ma’ala and kedusha
of Eretz Yisrael that I wouldn’t have back in America.
I started shidduchim here in Eretz Yisrael and
got married to someone from an American-Israeli family 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 Yisrael, we moved into
a really small apartment (called here yechidat diur, a 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 the first baby! I then started learning in Yeshivas Brisk of
R’ Avrohom Yehoshua Soloveitchik, shlita, and my wife worked in the Har
Nof neighborhood. 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 the 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 safer
than in Yerushalayim.
As for me, since moving I switched to a kollel
in Yerushalayim, joining another three avreichim (kollel learners) 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 (unity) 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 his or her 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 yeshiva backgrounds, though a chasidish community is starting, as the
Biala Rebbe is sending his chasidim
to live here. They opened a shul 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 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.
There are a few buses a day to Yerushalayim, and a new
shuttle service between Ma’aleh Amos and Beitar affords more commuting options.
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.
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.
