Page 86 - issue
P. 86
Journey to Nachlaot
when speaking to the most annoyed person, there’s no space
for someone to treat you rudely if you are really owning who
you are and being authentic,” she says.
Reflecting on her internal growth, Shaindel remembers how,
when working in high-end hair salons in Baltimore, she
encountered all kinds of celebrities and was quick to judge
who was walking into the salon based upon externals. “I would
make a story in my mind how I would respond to them accord-
ing to who they were,” she recounts. “Of course, this was pret-
ty subconscious. I learned to take the responsibility away from
the other person and put it back onto myself. It’s the attitude
of – I can be who I am, and that is more than perfect.”
Another lesson Shaindel learned from her aliyah was how
to stand up for her needs. While working for her last boss,
she was tired of the long hours and having no life beyond
work. In the past, her boss had brushed off her requests for
time off, until one day, Shaindel approached him again and
said straight out that she needed two mornings off per week.
His response was a curious, “Why?” Shaindel recalls, “I was
embarrassed to say this to him but I said, ‘Because I want to
learn Torah.’ He stopped what he was doing and said, ‘You
want to learn Torah?! Why didn’t you tell me this before? Of
course you can come and go when you want to learn Torah.’
He even joked, ‘Maybe I’ll come with you!’” It was a moment
of truth for Shaindel as she realized that her needs are valid
and cannot be compromised.
Shaindel believes that an advantage to making aliyah
while single was that she had no other responsibilities tying
her down. Even so, she shares her outlook about Eretz
Yisrael. “All the other ways of functioning we have learned
elsewhere are not the way here. Eretz Yisrael is run only on
emuna (faith). It’s about letting go and learning how to
believe.”
Her favorite piece of Torah on this topic is from Rav
Nachman of Breslov. “When the Spies came to look at the
Land and called it, ‘eretz ocheles yoshveha – a land that con-
sumes its inhabitants,’ Rav Nachman has a completely differ-
ent peirush on it,” shares Shaindel. “Eretz Yisrael is the
bechina (test) of emuna, and the Land will eat away at you
until all you are is emuna. You will keep encountering situa-
tions that peel away your layers of false beliefs – such as
needing the right job or a certain amount of money in your
bank account bank to live here. This will happen until you
are able to be a complete vessel of emuna. I think the way to
do this is to tap into your bitachon and recall the last time
you needed something, and it completely worked out.”
Shaindel concludes with the thought that since Eretz
Yisrael was given to all of Am Yisrael, it can’t be that a Jew
“won’t make it here.” Although it’s important to be flexible
with employment and to find the best community for you,
ultimately, if someone’s desire is deep enough, they will
remain here and, b’ezrat Hashem, be matzliach
(successful).◆
78 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
when speaking to the most annoyed person, there’s no space
for someone to treat you rudely if you are really owning who
you are and being authentic,” she says.
Reflecting on her internal growth, Shaindel remembers how,
when working in high-end hair salons in Baltimore, she
encountered all kinds of celebrities and was quick to judge
who was walking into the salon based upon externals. “I would
make a story in my mind how I would respond to them accord-
ing to who they were,” she recounts. “Of course, this was pret-
ty subconscious. I learned to take the responsibility away from
the other person and put it back onto myself. It’s the attitude
of – I can be who I am, and that is more than perfect.”
Another lesson Shaindel learned from her aliyah was how
to stand up for her needs. While working for her last boss,
she was tired of the long hours and having no life beyond
work. In the past, her boss had brushed off her requests for
time off, until one day, Shaindel approached him again and
said straight out that she needed two mornings off per week.
His response was a curious, “Why?” Shaindel recalls, “I was
embarrassed to say this to him but I said, ‘Because I want to
learn Torah.’ He stopped what he was doing and said, ‘You
want to learn Torah?! Why didn’t you tell me this before? Of
course you can come and go when you want to learn Torah.’
He even joked, ‘Maybe I’ll come with you!’” It was a moment
of truth for Shaindel as she realized that her needs are valid
and cannot be compromised.
Shaindel believes that an advantage to making aliyah
while single was that she had no other responsibilities tying
her down. Even so, she shares her outlook about Eretz
Yisrael. “All the other ways of functioning we have learned
elsewhere are not the way here. Eretz Yisrael is run only on
emuna (faith). It’s about letting go and learning how to
believe.”
Her favorite piece of Torah on this topic is from Rav
Nachman of Breslov. “When the Spies came to look at the
Land and called it, ‘eretz ocheles yoshveha – a land that con-
sumes its inhabitants,’ Rav Nachman has a completely differ-
ent peirush on it,” shares Shaindel. “Eretz Yisrael is the
bechina (test) of emuna, and the Land will eat away at you
until all you are is emuna. You will keep encountering situa-
tions that peel away your layers of false beliefs – such as
needing the right job or a certain amount of money in your
bank account bank to live here. This will happen until you
are able to be a complete vessel of emuna. I think the way to
do this is to tap into your bitachon and recall the last time
you needed something, and it completely worked out.”
Shaindel concludes with the thought that since Eretz
Yisrael was given to all of Am Yisrael, it can’t be that a Jew
“won’t make it here.” Although it’s important to be flexible
with employment and to find the best community for you,
ultimately, if someone’s desire is deep enough, they will
remain here and, b’ezrat Hashem, be matzliach
(successful).◆
78 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
