Ariel Aliyah

It’s time to lay down the “law”.

I have seen too many missed opportunities. People want to rent something but don’t seem to know how to go about things. They look at a place or two, hope to find something “better”, and then end-up regretting having foregone the first place. In the meantime, people don’t realize that they’re driving the realtors a bit crazy (admittedly - not always a long trip). The problem is not only for the family or individual looking to rent, nor for the realtor, but for other individuals and families that intend to rent/buy in the future.

I’ve developed a healthy relationship with the realtors in Ariel, as well as with quite a number of landlords. It’s very important that I maintain those healthy relationships, so that we can assure all of our future olim the opportunity to rent (and ultimately buy) the sort of homes that they’re looking for here. Unfortunately, up to this point there have been”issues” that have arisen with most of the local realtors over the course of their dealings with families that I’ve sent their way.

There may be a number of factors involved, but it seems clear that the primary factor is a lack of familiarity with the unwritten rules of how to deal with realtors in Israel. So - in order to ensure that everyone lands a solid deal, as well as to ensure the continued success of the Ariel Aliyah program, I’ve drafted a list of 10 tips (5 do’s, 5 don’ts) on how to deal with realtors in Israel:

1. BE CLEAR. Know what you’re looking for. That will help the realtor know that you’re serious. If he has something to offer you then you guys will get along great. If not - switch realtors.

2. If the market is competitive where you’re looking (like in 95% of Israel) be ready to sign a contract on the spot.

3. Use the fact that you’re an oleh to your advantage - dedicated to life in israel, you’ll take good care of the place, if you’re not working yet you’ll still be able to pay the bills from your personal savings.

4. PRIORITIZE!!!! We all want a beautiful place, in a particular location, a particular size, a certain floor (not too high, not too low) , some extras (maybe a garden, a balcony), a certain amount of furniture (either none, lots or some), a place that’s well kept, a great landlord, wonderful neighbors, some (to alot) of storage space, a particular date of availability, enough time to decide if we really want the place or if perhaps we can get  a better deal elsewhere, oh- and of course a great price. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD! Decide on 1 to 2 (maybe 3) guiding factors on the basis of which you are ready to sign a contract.

5. Make it clear to the realtor that he/she is a tremendous help in making your aliyah a (continued) reality and that you GENUINELY appreciate their assistance and all of the work they’ve put in - especially when they do things for you after office hours.

6. Never negotiate before making your thanks and appreciation of the realtor’s efforts abundantly clear.

7. Don’t try to negotiate everything - if there are 3 issues that you want to address (problems with the place, concerns of the wording in the contract, the price)  then mention each of the issues independantly.

8. Do not negotiate with the owner - only with the agent.

9. Do not show-up late.

10. Don’t be afraid to ask. If the place you see looks like it’s falling apart ask: “did you notice that the walls are full of mold?” or “how long will it take the landlord to fix up this place before he allows someone to move in?” Even if the answer to your question is in the form of stuttering or a blank look - you didn’t want to move there anyway. Now the realtor will take you somewhere that you want to see.

These tips are not an exhaustive list, but they should help you along their way. Remember - each of these guidelines was written in the wake of often repeated mistakes. I hope they help people keep on track.   

The Ariel Aliyah program is blessed to have a couple of volunteers who are also involved in other community work throughout the city as well. Amongst them are Jerry and Sylvia Dortz, who are regular volunteers at the well-known Ariel Development Fund. Here’s the inside scoop about some of what the Ariel Development Fund does for the city:

We (jerry and Sylvia) interviewed Dina Shalit, the Executive Director of The Ariel Development Fund (ADF), who made aliyah from Montreal, Canada in 1983 with her husband and three children.  

The Ariel Development Fund serves multiple purposes for the city of Ariel. It is first and foremost the fund-raising arm of the City of Ariel, which makes the organization aware of community needs and humanitarian projects.  ADF then finds financial support for these projects from abroad.  The organization focuses a great deal on immigrant absorption programs since the population of Ariel is 54%   immigrants.

Ariel is a growing city of 18,000.  Along with its sister organization, American Friends of Ariel located in Florida, ADF has been very successful in its efforts.  That stems from the fact that since its inception the Fund has developed personal relationships with people who care about Israel and focus on the City of Ariel. 

The organization acts as a major force for the city.  ADF staff receive tour groups and private individuals and encourage and receive support from both Christian and Jewish Zionists.   The visitors enjoy performances by the senior citizens choir, youth and Russian dance and singing groups.   The tours include visits to educational institutions from pre-school to Ariel University including some very important projects at the Research and Development Center.   The groups also visit some of the cultural venues that have been so important in the development of the community life of our citizens and they also partake in vine planting in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.  Visitors also tour the IDF base adjacent to Ariel.  The Holocaust Museum, located in the center of Ariel, is another important stop for our guests.  On occasion they are taken on tours of the area including such important historical and Biblical sites as Shilo, Mt. Moriah, etc.

 The Ariel Development Fund works for the advancement and the well-being of the citizens of our beautiful, vibrant city.

 If you are coming to Israel on a tour, we would love to show you our beautiful city so ask your guide to arrange a visit to Ariel by contacting the office of The Ariel Development Fund at 03-936-4406.

Addendum:

I just wanted to add a little something of my own. Not everyone realizes the steps that have been taken to bring Ariel’s Anglo aliyah program as far as its come. It requires time, effort, coordination, motivation and - you guessed it -money. The ADF has been generous in each of those respects, including preparing and funding recruiting trips to America and Canada, absorption housing for new olim and various other expenses and needs that have arisen over time.

So when you meet Dina Shalit (and if you move here I’m sure you will) don’t forget to thank her for making Ariel, and Israel, a better place.

Our Ariel Aliyah members and fans really pitched in for this one. Last week I recieved the following letter from a family that’s considering aliyah:

no word… I am on the verge of a crash too much… going on… my wife made a list yesterday.. basically minimal living in this country is 14,500 shekels per month schools… the killer is the car… what insurance and reg. are sick… she is freaking out big time……mix the cost with ulpan … sure disaster… G-d help us…. i will keep you posted……. she is really worried

I asked the family for permission to post their letter on our facebook group , and they gave me the go ahead.

Some people responded with words of encouragement, others with practical advice. Some spoke of teamwork and communication between spouses and others of faith in G-d. [To see the discussion group and the responses click here].

Several things seemed to stand out:

1. People really wanted to help this family in whatever way they could.

2. The letter seemed to hit a vaguely cord in the hearts of olim, drawing on their personal experiences and evoking genuine responses.  

3. The resounding chorus seemed to be that as long as both parents are committed to aliyah they will manage to make it into a reality.

In my mind the letter written was a microcosmic representation of the “pro-aliyah but not quite there yet” aspect of Diaspora Judaism. The responses were, on the other hand, a microcosmic representation of the spirit and dedication of successful Aliyah-Judaism.

“Pro-aliyah-but-not-quite-there-yet Diaspora Judaism” is in a tight spot. It wants to see Israel as a place to live, but finds the practical side of things either daunting or difficult to fathom.

“Successful Aliyah-Judaism” has been there, seen it, done it, lived through it and is ready to tell its story. Noone said it was easy, and yet noone said that it couldn’t be done. Each person, with his own tools, his personal commitments and his belief system managed to make it - and continues to do so.

The pre-aliyah narrative is, at least in some way, about concerns, fears and stress. The post-aliyah narrative is about commitment. Decide to make it happen, and it will.

As many of our readers know, we recently opened a new “yahoogroup” discussion board (conveniently titled Ariel Aliyah http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arielaliyah/). The discussion group is just another way of helping our olim and Anglo “veteran” families receive up-to-date relevant information.

Mostly, I post things on the group and I have no idea what happens afterward. People aren’t so into follow-up. Sure - sometines people will respond to a post. Other times people will send a “thank you” or “I appreciate the posting”, but more often than not it’s hard to know how things work out. Yesterday, only a couple of weeks after we  started the group, I had the opportunity to get a real feel for how the system actually works.

A couple, who had seen one of the posts about an apartment for rent, followed up. We made an apointment for them to see the apartment in the evening. The couple asked me to come along to check out the place and make sure the deal went through smoothly. I showed up a few minutes before the tenant arrived to open the place, so the couple asked if I wouldn’t mind checking out another rental sign that they saw down the road in the meantime. I obliged.   

While I was walking  a few feet down the street 2 women started calling my name. This, you might imagine, is an unusual occurance - at least for me. To be quite honest, I was totally and completely confused, assuming that there was another Avi walking right next to me. When I didn’t notice any such person I reasoned that perhaps they were calling me.

I then recognized the women - one from my shul and the other whom I had met only a few weeks ago. They immediately explained: “we were just talking about you” (not that this was much of an explanation - I barely knew these people, had no idea that they even knew my name, and wasn’t quite sure how they recognized me fom down the street). “How did you know that I was looking for tutoring lessons?”

Okay - all I wanted to do was to check out another rental sign. I’m still trying to figure out if these people have me confused with someone else, but  the probablity that I myself am losing it became increaingly more likely.

After another  2 minutes of “explanations” I finally figured it out. I posted that a woman was looking for an english tutor on the yahoogroup (based on a post that I found on Ariel’s Hebrew site) earlier yesterday morning. As I was walking down the street these two women were emerging from an initial meeting where they agreed on a tutoring schedule between the the two of them - tutor and tutoree.

It was great - one family signing a contract, another woman getting a tutoring job and another keeping her job with the assistance of her new tutor. I actually felt the Divine hand motioning to me - “keep the posts coming. I’ll take it from there”.  

We’ve been talking alot about the diverse and well-integrated communities in Ariel. All of that talk might seem like some superficial sort of motto, or a lack of appreciation of the challenge involved in creating such a community. All the same, time and time again I’m amazed to see just how true it is.

This past Shabbat we had four Anglo families visiting Ariel. Each came from different backgrounds, and each for different reasons.  The families hailed from New York, Montreal, Jerusalem and Gush Etzion. From Teimanim to Ahskenazim, couples without children to families with kids in a variety of age-groups, from different religious orientations and very different professions. These “externals” don’t really begin to describe how different these families were from each other. The best way of putting things is that a “community referral organization” (wouldn’t it be great if something like that existed!) would send each of the families to different - perhaps even very different - places. That is- if the organization wouldn’t know about Ariel.

My wife and I only noticed this once everyone went home. We were mulling over our Shabbat experiences, and it seemed like everyone had a great time. That’s not new to us (obviously). But, I think that it hit us that the families were easily distinguished from one another- yet each of them really felt comfortable amongst the various members of the community. Almost like Ariel is “one-size-fits-all”.

I actually don’t believe in a “one-size-fits-all” community or society. Differentiation is important - everyone has something to add to life in this country- and there are many ways of going about that. On the other hand, sometimes people want to add in a unique way - in a place where they can feel comfortable to be both an integral part of the community and an individual at the same time.  They want to know that their paricipation is meaningful and that the world is a better place because they’re around. Maybe that’s why Ariel helps people tap in to their positive energy and personal motivation so naturally.

As Jews we know that each and every person is a world in and of himself. And yet, if every person is a complete world then how can we expect everyone to inhabit the same planet?!?! IMHO - Ariel is the answer. I know it sounds like an avertisement, but I’ll say it anyway - the community here is where so many different worlds enjoy living together.

I saw quite a bit today, on my Yom Hazikaron travels. Today, Israel’s Memorial Day for it’s fallen soldiers and terror vicitms, has been very meaningful for me.

After Shacharit (my morning prayers) at the Netzarim Yeshiva here in Ariel they recited a special “E-l Maleh Rachamim” (prayer in memory of people who passed away) for the martyrs of the Netzarim community, when it was in Gush Katif - including both Netzarim residents and fallen soldiers. My day opened with a genuine sense that every person who fell defending the State of Israel had not only a name and a family but also a purpose.

Later this morning i was in Petach Tikva for some time. On my way back home to Ariel I passed several Yom Hazikaron ceremonies being organized. The siren wailed while I was on the road - each of the cars pulled aside and each of the drivers stood aside in silent memory and honor. It was a powerful and meaningful moment, though not a suprising one. Only upon my return to Ariel did I see something that made me do a double-take.

After I dropped off the soldier that hitched a ride with me (whom I was pretty sure shed a tear while we were listening to the Har Herzl memorial ceremony over the radio) something rather unique caught my eye. On the opposite side of the road was an elderly man, wearing a sport jacket with civilian clothing - decorated with more medals and badges than I’d ever seen at one time before. Had I not been familiar with Ariel’s Russian war veteran’s museum I would have had no clue as to what was going on. It was, however, clear to me that this man was donning the medals that he recieved over many years of service in The Red Army. But in Israel?, on Yom Hazikaron?

It turns out that I missed the main event. There were many Yom Hazikaron ceremonies throughout Ariel, but one of the more original and interesting ones was in Ariel’s primary commercial center. There, the deputy mayor, along with city residents, paid tribute to Israel’s fallen soldiers. Some of the decorated war veterans from World War II were present. They were, and are Jews, who served in the Red Army in the fight against Hitler and the Germans.

It’s still somewhat surprising to me - the Red Army and Israel’s Memorial Day. Intellectually the correlation between the two seems to be a stretch, at best. And yet, for the war veteran’s there was a natural and necessary connection between the two. As though they were basically stating “we fought as Jews the best way a Jew could fight”. Their affinity to the Israeli Defense Forces is something they carry with them with every one of their medals.

I guess what struck me most about the whole thing was the seam between different stages of Jewish history. These men and their families lived and fought through one of the most profound shifts in the history of our People  - from the depths of the exile to the beginning of the Redemption. 

It’s absolutely amazing to me. As Jews, something deep down inside tells us that everything we are-  our personal experiences, our collective history - it all becomes meaningful when we build our lives in Israel. Sometime along the process of experiencing our Aliyah it finally becomes clear: everything we’ve been through is the basis of everything that we will be.  

Who is the BEST of the four sons? Which of the sons is the one we’re meant to emulate? One of the people looking for information on aliyah to Ariel introduced himself to me via email as “the simple son”. It seemed to me that he did so in an attempt to downplay the significance of his straight-forward questions. Well, I must say - of the four sons “the simple son” is by far my favorite.

Sure- the wise son is wise. He’s got a head on his shoulders. When it comes time to ask the fancy question that his parents paid a heavy tuition for him to come up with he’s ready to go.

The wicked son - well that’s easy. He’s removed himself from the Jewish people. Anyone who is detached from his people is not worth emulating - especially when his people is The Jewish People.

What about the son who doesn’t know how to ask? Is it his fault? No one ever taught him to really ask questions. He was trained to think like the rest of society, to do what everyone else is doing - to go with the flow. Well - I’m afraid I can’t pull together all that much respect for someone who lives his life according to the accepted norm.

Well - what’s so great about the simple son? True - he’s not refined. True - he doesn’t necessarily conform to the accepted standards of scholarship. And yet - and yet in his “simplicity” he is not afraid to challenge - he is not afraid to ask. His question is clear and straightforward: “Mah Zot?” - literally translated as “What’s this?”. In today’s vernacular we would translate his question as “What in the world is going on here?”.

Is there any better question? Is there anything more REAL? “What’s going on?”" Everyone is sitting around the seder table, talking about redemption.

“What’s going on?” What are you sitting around for? What redemption are you waiting for?

“What’s going on?” Didn’t you hear about airplanes? Didn’t you hear about the Ministry of Absorption?

“What’s going on?” Why don’t we drink from the 5th cup - the cup of “Vehayvayti” (”And I shall bring you to the land”). Is that because we refuse to comply?  

“What’s going on?” What’s all this lip service about? What’s this “next year in Jerusalem” talk all about? Are we going out of our way to limit the purpose of the Exodus? Are we trying to ignore the engathering of the exiles?

My friends- the question of the simple son is the most powerful of all. It holds within it the audacity to challenge the lives that we’ve built for ourselves. It does not limit itself to the borders - to the “Meyzarim”/”Mitzrayim”/Egypt that we’ve built for ourselves. It challenges us to break out of our self imposed bondage - to realize the true meaning of Redemption.

The “simple” son is only one translation of the term “Tam”. The other definitions include “genuine”, “perfect” and “complete’.  

May we be blessed with the strength to be genuine, complete and simple. May we continue to challenge ourselves, ask the basic questions, and succeed in making our lives worthwhile.

During my recent recruiting trip to America I spent Shabbat in a large Jewish community of international renown. After discussing Israel and aliyah with a number of the people in the community I turned to my host and said “my experience in shul this morning was very upsetting”.

I explained what I meant:
It would have been comforting if everyone in shul was talking during the davenning. Then I could have said “Oh, those Jews in America- all they do is talk in shul”.

It would have been comforting if the davenning was rushed. Then I could have said “Oh, those Jews in America- they don’t even know how to daven with proper kavannah (intent)”.

It would have been comforting if people would have ignored me and wouldn’t have said “hello”, “goot shabbos” and “where are you from”. Then I could have said “Oh, those Jews in America- they’re so rude”.

But that’s not what happened.

The davenning was quiet. The shul was imbued with a sense of respect and intent. Almost everyone - young and old, was kind, friendly and warm. That, I explained, is very discomforting. Sure - it’s great that there are Jews conducting themselves in accordance with the principles of common courtesy and Jewish law. The problem isn’t what they’re doing - it’s where they’re doing it.

We need Jews - all Jews - in our Home-Land. The more the Jews know how to act as Jews, the more we need them. The Jews of America have built an amazing culture, society and community. The problem is that they built those things in the wrong place.

It’s not the first time this happened. We’re about to celebrate the the Exodus of the Jewish People from Egypt. Egypt was the first example of many - the world’s superpowers, designed, developed and enhanced by the Jews living in their lands. Yoseph made Egypt the world’s superpower at that time, only to find his descendants enslaved by the country that he created. There were the Babylonians, the Spanish, the Germans and many more - each of whom prospered through the work and commitment of the Jews in their midst. Today it is America: with 40% of World Jewry amongst them the United States of America continue to prosper.

I am not discussing the ultimate demise of America, nor the ultimate need for Jews to leave their temporary place of dwelling - those, though forthcoming, are of no interest to the motivated and committed Jew.

Instead, I am addressing the logic of the American Jew, to his internal sense of purpose and to his need to make his life worthwhile. The question is all too obvious. While everyone seems busy building a beautiful Christian society for the people of America, who is building a society for the Jews? Who is cultivating our Land, our People and our Torah? If the Jewish People are so talented, moral and refined shouldn’t they be investing their traits and G-d-given gifts towards their own development - towards their own survival?

We need the Jews- all of the Jews - to invest themselves in building our Home. When we all Return to the Land, when we join together, we will see what it means to live as the Jewish People, in the Jewish Land. As for the other nations- don’t worry about them. Once we begin tofunction as a developed society they will learn from our example.

Join our forces, and make the world a better place.

We often wonder what the world would be like “if”…

We wonder about things because we think big.
We wonder about the world because we know that it can be a better place.
We wonder about life because we strive to realize the potential that’s inherent to who we are.

During my travels through the United States of America I spoke with a number of people regarding a number of issues. Of course, all topics and all conversations tended to focus on Israel and on aliyah. Over the course of a conversation with a long-standing Rabbi of a significant conversation I made mention the importance of North American aliyah to Israel, to the Jewish people as a whole and to the entire world. It is my impression that the Rabbi felt somewhat uncomfortable about what I was saying, as do many Jews that reside in America - particularly those who are committed to Judaism.

The Rabbi’s response to my comments was very interesting. He said “Sometimes I wonder what would happen if all the Jews were to move to Israel.” Out of respect for the Rabbi I did not respond, but I did think to myself: “Sometimes I wonder what would happen if they don’t”.