Page 44 - issue
P. 44
Journey to Bat Ayin
a spring, and there are some ma’ayanot (springs) in the area.
Additionally, they thought that the pasuk in Tehilim, “…Sham-
raini ke’ishon bat ayin…,” asking Hashem to guard us like the
pupil or apple of His eye, was especially apropos for their yishuv.
“We wanted to create a yishuv to unite the spiritual and the
physical, and to bring down into the keilim (the physicality)
the high ideals of chasidut,” Rebbetzin Batya explained. “Part
of that idea was to create a place where baalei teshuva would
feel comfortable and form a culture within the frum culture.
Everyone who comes here is on a spiritual search, and there’s a
lot of ahavat Yisrael and caring to do avodat Hashem.” She told
me that many people who do teshuva and try to integrate into
the chareidi society have a hard time fitting into the educational
system and culture. “Because the chareidi society is structured
in a very specific way,” Rebbetzin Batya explained, “if you didn’t
grown up in it, you might have a hard time becoming part of it
and feeling at home.”
One of the policies that Rav Ginzberg enacted in the yishuv’s
beginning was to only use organic pesticides, since they are an
agricultural community. Another policy – one that other yishu-
vim have since incorporated – was that no Arabs are allowed into
the yishuv. Rebbetzin Batya explains that this is meant both to
establish the Torah’s principle that it is a mitzva to hire Jewish
laborers and also to ensure security for the yishuv families.
One incident that took place in the yishuv’s early days un-
derscores the need to have enacted such security measures. A
couple of men noticed an old Arab shepherd trying to get closer
and closer to the edge of their caravan encampment, together
with his sheep. At first, the men asked him to leave, but he just
smiled and came closer each day, until the men took stronger
measures. He was never seen around the camp again, and the
settlers discovered that he wasn’t as innocent as he appeared.
This shepherd was sent to spy out the area for terrorist infil-
tration. “Our yishuv had a very bad name with the Arabs,” says
Rebbetzin Batya. “They called us “the crazy ones” and we were
very happy about that.”
Rebbetzin Batya also explains that Arab workers often create
problems at building sites, “because they hate us.” From per-
sonal experience, when they were living in Har Nof prior to their
move to Bat Ayin, the Kohens had plumbing problems because
the Arab workers had put stones in the pipes. Rebbetzin Batya
bemoans the situation: “They hire Arab builders and then have
to hire a security guard to watch them build!”
Security in the Gush has tightened since the abduction and
murder of the three teenage boys in 2014. At Tzomet HaGush,
the major junction leading to Alon Shvut, soldiers in full gear
stand on duty behind cement blockades with their rifles drawn
at every moment. In Bat Ayin itself, many men carry guns, and
there is a security guard at the yishuv’s entrance. For years, the
settlers had protested putting up a security fence because of
their strong belief that Eretz Yisrael was given to Am Yisrael and
one should live without fear. However, after two tragic attacks in
36 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
a spring, and there are some ma’ayanot (springs) in the area.
Additionally, they thought that the pasuk in Tehilim, “…Sham-
raini ke’ishon bat ayin…,” asking Hashem to guard us like the
pupil or apple of His eye, was especially apropos for their yishuv.
“We wanted to create a yishuv to unite the spiritual and the
physical, and to bring down into the keilim (the physicality)
the high ideals of chasidut,” Rebbetzin Batya explained. “Part
of that idea was to create a place where baalei teshuva would
feel comfortable and form a culture within the frum culture.
Everyone who comes here is on a spiritual search, and there’s a
lot of ahavat Yisrael and caring to do avodat Hashem.” She told
me that many people who do teshuva and try to integrate into
the chareidi society have a hard time fitting into the educational
system and culture. “Because the chareidi society is structured
in a very specific way,” Rebbetzin Batya explained, “if you didn’t
grown up in it, you might have a hard time becoming part of it
and feeling at home.”
One of the policies that Rav Ginzberg enacted in the yishuv’s
beginning was to only use organic pesticides, since they are an
agricultural community. Another policy – one that other yishu-
vim have since incorporated – was that no Arabs are allowed into
the yishuv. Rebbetzin Batya explains that this is meant both to
establish the Torah’s principle that it is a mitzva to hire Jewish
laborers and also to ensure security for the yishuv families.
One incident that took place in the yishuv’s early days un-
derscores the need to have enacted such security measures. A
couple of men noticed an old Arab shepherd trying to get closer
and closer to the edge of their caravan encampment, together
with his sheep. At first, the men asked him to leave, but he just
smiled and came closer each day, until the men took stronger
measures. He was never seen around the camp again, and the
settlers discovered that he wasn’t as innocent as he appeared.
This shepherd was sent to spy out the area for terrorist infil-
tration. “Our yishuv had a very bad name with the Arabs,” says
Rebbetzin Batya. “They called us “the crazy ones” and we were
very happy about that.”
Rebbetzin Batya also explains that Arab workers often create
problems at building sites, “because they hate us.” From per-
sonal experience, when they were living in Har Nof prior to their
move to Bat Ayin, the Kohens had plumbing problems because
the Arab workers had put stones in the pipes. Rebbetzin Batya
bemoans the situation: “They hire Arab builders and then have
to hire a security guard to watch them build!”
Security in the Gush has tightened since the abduction and
murder of the three teenage boys in 2014. At Tzomet HaGush,
the major junction leading to Alon Shvut, soldiers in full gear
stand on duty behind cement blockades with their rifles drawn
at every moment. In Bat Ayin itself, many men carry guns, and
there is a security guard at the yishuv’s entrance. For years, the
settlers had protested putting up a security fence because of
their strong belief that Eretz Yisrael was given to Am Yisrael and
one should live without fear. However, after two tragic attacks in
36 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
