בנשמה

It has been a while since updating this blog. Usually that's a good sign. Life is busy. Kids in school. We moved from Beit Shemesh to Efrat. Started new lives. Meeting new people. Welcomed the Jewish new year. Pitched up our sukkah. And boom.  Life turned upside down.  We have been through some army operations in Israel but never war. October 7, 2023 was utter confusion and chaos. In the morning, we woke up around 8 am. Father and son went out to services and from the living room, 3 sounds of large booms. Strange. The first thought was, "what did we do, who did we kill to suddenly have rockets out of no where..." Sirens. More booms. Men called up for war. The county's borders were infiltrated. Over 1,400 Israeli civilians murdered. Horror stories that are unacceptable for the 21st century.  The airforce gets into action. Hoards of them. Loud. Every door on the Sabbath and holiday of Simchat torah, a sign of another man driving to the North or South going to fight back...

In total, 28 places interviewed at till finding the place that Goldy Locks would say is "just right." There are a variety of work spaces in Israel. Some shared rooms with 4 people packed into it. Others completely remote and from home, but no benefits. The list was pretty specific.  1) Keren Hishtalmut 2) Pension 3) Increased vacation days 4) Sick days paid from the first day 5) Private office (a plus) 6) 10 bis 7) Laptop and cell phone 8) Flexible hours 9) Not 8.5 hour workdays 10) One or more days a week from home 11) Respectful salary 12) Amazing people and honorable place  Luckily, and a blessing, all the above was checked off.

Finally thought we had things together. Bought an apartment, employed in Israel, kids in school. What could possibly rock the boat? Well, these days loyalty and job retention isn't easy - - perhaps even a generational shift that's gotten out of hand. But that's a conversation for another time.  Today we will discuss the unemployment process in Israel and the very fascinating experience that it is.  First, your employer by law must call you in for a shimua. You have every right to hire a lawyer and ask for a document of all the claims. Just understand that a lawyer isn't a magic wand that'll keep you the job. In most cases there's some type of management problem or toxic work environment - - or maybe you simply were not the right fit. Know that you will receive and invoice. The shimua in Israel is supposed to be a fair hearing where the employee can listen to feedback from their employer and then go about to improve themselves. Unfortunately this isn't always...

A review not related to Israel but a neighboring country. We decided to take a little breather from Israel and flew to Cyprus for Channukah. And we were reminded of the challenges flying with 4 children. But we managed. Somehow.  We stayed at the Blue Lagoon, a hotel resort that featured an outdoor and indoor pool, spa, jacuzzi, kosher food, synagogue, playroom, Beit midrash, two bedroom suites (capacity for 7 people), and right on the beach - - that didn't really have waves or your typical Tel Aviv beach scene.  We'd rate the resort with 3.5 stars given the kid friendly comfort level. The food was ok (for us it's nice to have any hotel with fresh kosher food but you could tell in regards to scale, that there are places much better in Israel). I guess in that sense we haven't yet experienced true luxury but for the kids if really was comfortable. There wasn't any cable TV so the kids got bored quickly (they didn't learn any Greek, even though we trie...

So you will be the Tamar living in Tamar? A lifelong dream of the husband to live in the Gush, and a hesitant wife who as a teenager once looked at this hilltop with caravans and said in her head, "one day, I will live there." Go figure. Dreams do come true. The unfortunate reality of buying now in Israel is that the prices jumped significantly within a year and a half. Prices in central areas of Israel that used to be in the 2.5 to 3 million shekel range, skyrocketed to 4 million plus. For example, about a year and a half ago, we put in an offer on a side-by-side house in the Dagan neighborhood of Efrat. Both parties received the contract, and then the sellers backed out. At the time, the cost for 180 square meters was about 3.1. This was considered still high at the time.  In September of 2022, we saw repeated ads for a new, modern, clean, 4-bedroom apartment in the Tamar community, on a central street asking 3.3 million. We negotiated with the desperate sellers and made de...

Probably mentioned this before, but every summer Israel pretty much shuts down camps and smaller children programs,  making vacation a must. For those who don't get out, day trips often happen instead. If not that, then camp Saba and Savta or the older kids take care of the younger ones. Luckily, in Beit Shemesh, we have a camp that goes till almost the last week of August. Israelis claim it is rather a costly camp,  but we still have not sprung out of the dollar to shekel translations in our head. We probably should. Anyhow, this year we booked a vacation right after Pessach (if you don't do this early, things book up solid) with friends visiting from Fairlawn Nj. We decided to stay at Tzipori Village, a tzimmer in the Galil. Tzipori is a very cute area. Loads of trees. Grass. The village cottages for guests was built 30 years ago by an Oleh from Brooklyn. His dog Robert is cute. The cottages are two floors. The main floor has one bedroom,  powder...

Our 10-year-old son claimed one Shabbat day: When I get married, I will buy land in Even Shmuel and build a huge house there. Drive around in my Tesla and live the dream.  This yishuv, comprised of 250 families, is sometimes found on the oleh list. Its Ulpana for girls is one that is sought out in the country. There are approximately 45 Anglo families with the rest of the yishuv being Taimani or Sephardi. Indeed, the houses are beautiful there, ranging in different sizes. Some even have inground pools and others above ground. The yishuv also has a library and pizza store -- think heard falafel as well, but unclear. Other than that, as we sat outside in the yard, we realized the difference between cities that offer amenities and living in such a remote area. One couple that we met over the recent Shabbat stay shared that when they made aliyah 7 years ago, they landed in Ramat Beit Shemesh -- it was unclear if they first rented in Dolev, Shiloh and bought a house in Ganei Ha'Elah. Th...