My drivers license

I first off want to apologize for not posting in a while. We were in the U.S. for the summer and figured blogging was not so necessary for keeping in touch. None the less, we are now back in Israel and hope to once again start to post on a somewhat regular basis.

Shortly after our return we started our second year as the Ave and Em Bayit (dorm parents) at Yeshivat Shvilei Hatorah. This year we have 33 students, including Shana Bet (students from last year who returned for a second year). I do not know if it is because we have less students so there is less to keep track of, or if it is because this is our second year so we are used to how things roll, but so far this year has seemed much less overwhelming then last year. We feel as if we know how to connect to the guys better and we feel like we have a better grasp of what we should and should not do, both in terms of policy and in terms of what works and what does not. I guess the other perk to this year's start-off would be that we did not have to move (that is a first in the 2.5 years we have been married) upon our arrival, so our personal life was not so insane upon the start of the new year.

Even though the Yeshiva's school year has begun, Hebrew University's has not; we start October 18th. So, instead, I have been spending my time helping out at the Yeshiva, working for my "normal" job (Secretary in Israel), and finishing up some paper assignments from last semester that are due this month.

I also have taken the time to pursue my Israeli drivers license which is a much longer process (and much more expensive process) then getting an American Drivers license. I so far have picked up all my paper work and paid for it, had my eye doctors appointment, and had my physical. I next need to go to the Misrad Harishuei (basically the equivalent of the DMV, car registration and emissions testing place ) and hand in what I have so far to get the next round of paperwork. Then I will need to have one driving lesson and take my driving test. In total I will have to pay about 1200 Nis (close to $300) to complete this process. You may be wondering why this process is so important to complete, after all I know how to drive, have an American license, and can rent a car in Israel on my American license? Well it is simple: because if I don't do it now then the process will only be longer and more expensive later on.

Here is the deal: after making aliyah a person has 1 year that they are allowed to legally drive on their foreign drivers license in Israel (and therefore be covered by insurance). After this year is up, new Israeli citizens (that is us) have two more years to apply for a transfer of their license. This transfer includes taking only one driving lesson and taking the Israeli driving part of the drivers test; as apposed to the 20 something classes you need to take (and therefore pay for), and all the tests required of people without licenses, if you wait beyond the two years.

The way Nate and I look at it is this: We don't get our drivers license now, and in however many years when we return to Israel, please G-d, with a house full of children, we will be in much more trouble. We will, then, not be able to legally drive until we find the time to take all the 20 something lessons required and take all of the tests (written and driving). I don't think this sounds like a very pretty picture to have a bunch of kids, hopefully schools for them all to attend, and jobs for us to get to, and no way for us to drive to take care of all these things.

Anyway, so far the process, though long and more complicated then in the U.S., has been going pretty smoothly, with none to little lines and minimal confusion. I see this as a good sign, and hope that I have not just jinxed myself!

Anyway, in case we do not get a chance to write before this coming weekend, Shana Tova to all! May this year bring only happy occasions and celebratory times, and may Nate and I get to see you all soon in Jerusalem!

We love you and miss you!

Obama's Cairo Speech

I've waited a while to discuss this topic, mostly to not get overly excited and let that cloud my judgment, but as it's been a week and a half now, I think I can talk about it a little bit. Here's the text and video.

Here in Israel people are mostly upset. Most of the critiquing comes from Obama's "settlement freeze" demand. Israelis can't seem to read the rest of the speech after they hear that or alternatively that's the only part of the speech that matters to them. Many point to the fact that the President was in Cairo, a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Jerusalem and didn't stop by, though this is his 2nd visit to Saudi Arabia since inauguration. Though he did go to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp after the speech, it's not the same.

Here's my view:

It's important to recognize who he was talking to and where. It's also important to remember that he's the President of the United States not the King of the World. He made some very important statements regarding the US and Islam "America is not - and never will be - at war with Islam" - Islam isn't what the US is fighting against, it's terrorist and extremists. And that's something that should be said more times and in more Arab capitals until they believe him. I, however, reject the notion that settlements are the inhibitor to Israeli-Palestinian peace and therefore the sole prevention to world peace - it's just stupid, so can we stop suggesting it? Okay. I also don't think peace is the most important problem facing Israel right now: we need to decide who we are and what kind of country we want. We have social problems that are much more important that peace, since we'll have peace when we are given peace and even if we do make a deal with the PA and Hamas, there are tons of other groups excluded that wont agree to it. Anyway, back to Obama...

Regardless of the brilliance of parts of the speech, he made some serious blunders in the speech regarding Israel.

America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.

Even if, as I do, believe that President Obama was talking about the destruction of the Temple and not only the Holocaust; the problem here is that he doesn't get it. Our connection to Israel is not based upon a tragic history, it's based upon Judaism itself. The Reform movement in its heyday (late 1800's and early 1900's) tried to remove Israel from "Judaism itself" and it failed miserably, hence why it is now becoming one of the most Zionistic groups found in Judaism (and I commend them greatly for that). Yes there is a tragic history, but that is not why we are here. Yes, it is very much a part of what goes on here (one has only to go to the Kotel or really anywhere in this country to see part of that history), but there's a reason why all that tragedy happened here.

It wasn't just stam (it didn't just happen), this land is our homeland, it is the land to which Abraham walked, it is the land where King David built two capital cities, which Solomon built a Temple. It is the land upon which the Prophets lived and the Spies sinned, and to which Moses died looking at, but could not enter. It is the land to which we were dispersed from and desired to return to. None of that is due to tragedy, we are here because this land is part of Judaism itself, you cannot remove Israel from the Jew.

The connection between the Holocaust and the suffering of the Palestinians was morally wrong. Yes they suffered and continued to suffer, but annihilation is not what they are experiencing.

The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.

As Clinton has since made clear, Obama meant to include all construction - including "natural growth". This I find to be the most ridiculous part of the speech vis-a-vis Israel. I'm not against giving up land, I can't say that I'm totally for it either, but his demand to halt all construction is unjust and unnecessary. There is no reason whatsoever that building in Beitar Ilit and Maale Adumim is problematic. Everyone, and I mean everyone, agrees that the final settlement will definitely include these places.

Here's what Charles Krauthammer says (and I don't usually like him):

What's the issue? No "natural growth" means strangling to death the thriving towns close to the 1949 armistice line, many of them suburbs of Jerusalem, that every negotiation over the past decade has envisioned Israel retaining. It means no increase in population. Which means no babies. Or if you have babies, no housing for them -- not even within the existing town boundaries. Which means for every child born, someone has to move out. No community can survive like that. The obvious objective is to undermine and destroy these towns -- even before negotiations.

This is our land, it is more Jewish than Tel Aviv. In fact, Tel Aviv is built on the ruins of at least six Arab villages, yet no body is demanding that. Yet for Jews to live the the areas specifically mentioned as Jewish land in the Bible - oh no, that's the single issue that's preventing world peace? Right.

Most of my feelings about Obama's speech can be summed up this way, expressed eloquently by Daniel Gordis:

Too many analyses of the speech have ignored the fact that it was addressed primarily to the Muslim world, and was delivered in Egypt. And in that setting, Obama insisted that the US-Israel relationship could not be upended. He mentioned the Holocaust, (implicitly) berated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his Holocaust denial, quoted the Talmud and called on Hamas to recognize Israel and abandon violence.

Not bad.

To be sure, it was not the speech that many Israelis would have written. Obama’s articulated position on Iranian nuclear power is unacceptable, just as an absolute freeze on natural growth in “settlements,” even in places where settlements are essentially cities, is both unfair and thoroughly unrealistic. And linking Israel’s right to exist to the Holocaust is a significant intellectual and moral mistake.

That Goridis agrees with my initial feelings is nice, but not important. It's where he goes to from there that is the important part for me. Obama wants us to be honest, wants us to get ready for a potential peace deal. But what are we willing to do?

Are we ever willing to give up the West Bank? For a moment, let’s set aside the obvious security issue and the devastating consequences if Kassam rockets start flying from the West Bank as well. Let’s assume for a minute (a wild assumption, I admit) that the Palestinians decide that it really is time to move on, to abandon terror and accept a division of the land. Are we willing?

I believe that we don’t know anymore. Our unwillingness to state our position is not a reflection of dishonesty or of hiding. It’s simply a result of the fact that we have for so long seen no possibility of progress on the Palestinian front that we’ve stopped asking ourselves what we would do if we could.

So let’s be honest: What would we do?

He wants us to have a public debate regarding what we are actually capable of doing. Are we really willing to give up parts of the West Bank that have more importance than Tel Aviv (e.g., Shilo)? I don't know and what's scarier is that Israel has no idea and we need to figure that out. So, if the world will force this peace down our throats when it's not what we need to be focusing on now, fine. I'll bite, but before we do we need to know what we're willing to live without. So let's figure it out.

The Yeshiva Year has come to an End

This week we celebrated the end of the Yeshivat Shvilei Hatorah school year. The "goodbye" festivities began with Shabbat, programing provided by yours truly!

We had a cookoff for both dessert and Cholent. It was amazing, not only was the food great, not only did it run very smoothly, but we connected with guys that we had been having trouble connecting with all year (only shame is it is the end of the year). From 8am to just after shabbat started on Friday, we had boys coming and going to and from our apartment. We had boys cooking in our apartment, coming to take pictures, and coming to just hang out. It was quite exhausting to prepare for this cookoff- having to run all over town for all the supplies they requested, but as Shabbat came along, we saw how worth it all of the hassle truly was. Friday night was the dessert competition, and for the first time all year, 95% of the guys came to the Friday night tish- dessert and singing (it was where the taste testing would be and the awards distributed). It was amazing to have so many guys giving Divrei Torah, singing, and just enjoying their time, all together. The room got a bit hot, but no one seemed to complain!

Shabbat day, at lunch was the cholent cookoff, and the guys seemed to enjoy it so much. All but three guys came for lunch, (usually we only have about 1/3 of the yeshiva) and they all were rooting on their cholent or their friends cholents. After the competition was over we played a parshah game, distributing candy as the prizes, and everyone participated!

In the afternoon, after the competition was over there was an "Ask the Rabbi" session with some of the Yeshivas Rabbis. A lot of the guys came and there was active participation the entire time. Some of the questions the guys were asking made us realize how far they had come this year, and how much influence we had truly had on them.

Sunday and Monday included the staff vs. boys basketball game and the Goodbye Luncheon. The STAFF of course won the game (and even Nate played), and I say of course since they have won every year so far. The luncheon, I heard, was very nice, included sushi and a distribution of Awards to students who were deserving. It ended with a touching tone when the guys took a bus to the kotel for the last time as a group, to say goodbye. A lot of the guys got emotional, finally realizing the year had come to an end.

For the past few days we have been collecting cell phones, blankets, linens, and other assorted lent out items of the year. The boys where packing, so as they realized there was only so much they could take in their suitcases, Nate and I collected a lot of toiletries, books, and other fun stuff. The bulk of what the guys were leaving was donated to a local shelter, but we still got a few things here and there (Nate got speakers for his ipod).

Last night was the first night we slept in an empty building, and despite all the frustrations of the year, we were truly sad it was over. We can not wait for a new group of boys for next year, and after this weekend, we have some really great ideas on how to connect with them earlier in the year!

See you all in a few weeks, as we will be in the US starting June 24th.

Our Emotional Rollercoaster is Finally Over!

As it may have come to the attention of many of you, every time something very exciting happens, lately, something very stressful is soon to follow. Well the past two weeks were no exception. Our last post was concerning the excitement of Nate's acceptance to YU, but not more then 12 hours later our lives went for another twist.

The following morning, after we received the call from YU, Nate was asked by the Business Manager at the Yeshiva if two people could come by to the apartment. We had been waiting for someone to come and fix a window for us for some time so just assumed that he was referring to the workmen. About an hour later the Rosh Yeshiva, the director of the school we work for, pulled Nate aside and asked if the couple that was coming could come look at our apartment in about an hour. He of course said yes, but came immediately home in shock! Why was another couple coming to look at our apartment? Were we moving? Were we losing our jobs? After a short discussion Nate and I decided we needed to get a clear answer and as soon as the meeting with the couple was over we went to the Rosh Yeshivas office and asked if we could have a moment of his time. This by the way was the week of, in fact the day before, Yom Yerushalayim, and very big celebratory day in Jerusalem. We looked at him, and got straight to the point, "Is there a chance we will not have this job next year?" The Rosh Yeshiva looked back at us with shock himself, but not that we would ask such a question, but rather because he could not understand how we were not aware of this. What it came down to was, the Business Director had been instructed a month ago to inform us that the Yeshiva was in need of making some cuts due to finances and that we may be included in those cuts. The Rosh Yeshiva was shocked an appalled that we had not been told, especially since he knew, just like us, that we were leaving for the states in just 5 short weeks and may need to find an apartment and move out before then.

The first step the Rosh Yeshiva took was calling the Business Director in, even though he had taken the day off to spend with his family. The Business Director sat us down and said, two weeks ago (not a month ago) he had explained how the yeshiva needed to cut some salaries and how even he was taking a salary cut, and had asked if we understood. This conversation had taken place, but Nate had walked away from it thinking, okay we will have a pay cut for our job next year, NOT a job cut! The business director apologized for not being more clear, but then suggested that we start looking for a new job and new place to live, but of course as a back up only!

We walked out of the office totally confused. How could this happen! Life was finally starting to piece together. We immediately called our parents and all started brain storming what to do. Of course our fall back was just move back the U.S. now and Nate would not defer YU, but this would mean that I had to drop out of grad school. We started contacting everyone we knew in Israel to see if they had heard of job openings that Nate could apply for. Nate applied for a number of jobs within 48 hours, and we started researching apartments online, where we actually found two we had planned to look at this coming week.

After a week and a half of reaching out to every possible avenue, in hopes to come up with some plan before we leave for the states Nate got a call to come and have a meeting with the Rosh Yeshiva, the Business Director, and the Mashgiach Ruchanit (spiritual advisor to the boys at the Yeshiva, or Nate's direct supervisor). They sat down with him and listed all the things they were looking for in the new Av Bayit position. The new position would include all the tasks being completed now, but would have a "few" additions, including he would now be in charge of the other counselors, he would teach a class every night of the week, in addition to the classes he is already teaching, and he would be expected to attend all trips and assist with the logistics of organizing the trips. He also would play a major role in programming for the Yeshiva and organization of in-yeshiva events. There would be twice the amount of work. One problem with Nate taking on this job was that his Hebrew was not to the level necessary, so Nate suggested that he sign up for classes to improve his Hebrew. After an hour of going back and forth with the staff as to whether Nate could do this job, he was told to go home and talk with me about whether he felt he really could handle it. He was to come back with an answer right after the weekend.

They were not kidding, when they said right after the weekend. At 9:30am this morning Nate was called into the office to report what our decision was. After a lot of debating among ourselves as to whether Nate could really handle additional work, and could I handle it as well, since Nate would be home a lot less, and further, as the work load increases for him, it does so for me as well, we decided that this could be a great opportunity for him. SO after discussing the pay (which is not much different then his pay now) and other details, Nate accepted the job offer, and the Yeshiva turned down the other applicants. Nate and I now have a place to live next year, we each have jobs, we have a plan for me to finish my MA, we have a plan to move back to the U.S., and Nate has a plan for graduate school and smicha that seems to look as if it will be a reality.

So here is to all those who say, "Man plans and G-d laughs"- YOU ARE RIGHT!

YU finally called

The moment Nate and I have been waiting for, for a while now, Yeshiva University, Azrieli School of Education called to congratulate Nate on his acceptance to their school. It is very exciting and I and the rest of our family are very proud of him. As you all know already, Nate will be attending Azrieli to do a two years masters in Education, starting fall of 2010 (he deferred for a year).

Next step... getting into YU Rabinical school (which the dean of YU Azrielli school said he doubted Nate would have a problem doing).

In addition to the Army Stress

Last week was quite the emotional week. As Nate mentioned we spent the entire week waiting to hear about the army (although he did not mention how each day we would get an answer but they were each different answers, which only confused us more), I had a lot of highs.

It all started off when on Monday I was speaking with a professor of mine concerning a research paper I am doing, which I hope to title "New Jewish Philanthropy: is the Social Media Market the new tool for making an impact and raising funds for Jewish organizations?" The professor is very excited I am researching and writing about this topic, as am I (I hope to turn it into my master thesis one day), and because of his excitement has decided when I am done to submit it to a pretty famous Jewish philanthropy journal to be published. In order to add credibility to it, he will submit it (with my name on it of course), which will further my chances. This means, I could be a published writer by next year.

Then, later that day, I left school, taking the bus home as usual, and about four stops away from school, about 3 miles away from home, traffic came to a standstill. As many of you may know, last week we had the "pleasure" of having the Pope come and visit us here in Israel. This had quite the impact on me, and my days, since he was staying on my University campus, and therefore every day was quite the hassle to figure out how to get onto campus and how to avoid the traffic to do so. Well, Monday night was my first hassle to face. I finish classes at 6pm, it was 6:30 when I found myself stuck in traffic, and I had exactly 1.5 hours to get home, cook dinner, eat dinner, and start working for my Secretary in Israel client. SO, I decided to walk. Yep, that's right, I walked the entire way home. Oh, yes, and I should mention, last week began our first heat wave of the year.

On my walk home I was stopped by a police officer (I was about half way home at this point) who told me to freeze and started guarding me so I could not move. My first thought was, "Oh crap, he must have seen me J-walking back at the last corner and is giving me a ticket. That stinks!" After about a minute of him just staring at me and listening to his ear piece, I said (in hebrew of course), "Um, excuse me officer, can I help you? Do you need something from me?" He replied, "Yes, I need you to just not move." Okay this was very weird, and very annoying, I really had to get home. After standing still for about 5 minutes (I even tried to put my bag down and was told to stop moving) I heard sirens. As I looked to the direction from where they were coming I saw, guess who? The Pope! He and his entourage were coming down the street, and I was not allowed to move, in order to ensure their security.

As soon as they passed by, I was told I could go on my way, but I had to walk in the opposite direction to where the Pope was headed. Not a problem, that is only 15 more minutes out of my way.

As I continued to walk, my phone rang, and it was my boss from Secretary in Israel. All I could think was, oh, no I am late. Nope, she was calling to ask me if I would do her a favor and let someone doing some research on outsourcing to call me and interview me. Sure, why not, afterall I am not so busy (I am only doing full-time grad school, intensive hebrew classes daily, and working 25 hours a week for one company, and another 10 for another). Well it turned out this interview was with Israel's channel 2 TV station (equivilent to CBS in the U.S.) and they wanted to come to my house and video me working for my clients in the US (I am being outsourced, right here in Israel) and ask me a few questions. After a long struggle of figuring out when to do it, since the community we live in was celebrating their 60th anniversary last week, and there were lots of parties going on, we finally found a quiet hour on Wednesday evening. Here it is!

Then on Wednesday night, I received a phone call from someone in the office of the One Family Fund in NJ. She called to inform me that I had been selected as the summer fundraising intern, and my job would be to create a new fundraising program for the organization. This was awsome, I would get school credit, great experience, in the state Nate and I would be moving to in about a year, and some extra cash.

So between the army, school, the pope, and me becoming a TV star, and finalizing my summer plans, this was quite the week. Oh yeah, I also had two midterms to take during all of it!

My Army Experience (long)

I've been meaning to write this post for a while - almost a month - but I didn't want to do so until I had a definite answer. Reading this post will hopefully not only take you through what I've gone through recently, but also an insight into the Israeli bureaucracy.

As most of you know, the Sunday after Passover, April 19th I was scheduled to have my tzav rishon (first notice) and appear at the lishkat giyus (recruitment office) in Jerusalem. It's actually located near the tachana merkazit (Central Bus Station) but if you didn't know where it was you'd never run across it. My appointment was at 7:30am, and I arrived a few minutes early so I waited outside while all the soldiers who man the lishka showed up for morning roll call (this is the army after all) and with a few other guys (my age, looking American too) showed up all waiting, not only to go in, but apparently also for that elusive "moment of truth" - would we really be going into the army?

As I headed in, I met the receptionist who took my teudat zehut (ID card) and handed me a plastic swipe card and told me to head up to the blue computer upstairs. Thankfully my friend Avi went through this six-months before so I knew what to expect, though it didn't really prepare me. On the third floor was a hallway with people sitting on benches, and two computer terminals. At each of these terminals, you swipe your card which puts you into that area's system in the order that you swipe. Only this one didn't work. So after 10 minutes of waiting with the number of people in the hallway building (everyone looking older than 17, making them immigrants of some sort - not just Americans), the soldiers (all female in this particular office) come out asking for our ID's. The find our file inside then ask us one-by-one to come inside for our interview.

The room felt like a scene from a generic movie with an office - think the Daily Planet in Superman or The Office - lots of cubicles next to each other. I found my spot and the soldier began asking me questions; my history, family background, etc. Normal stuff, except they wanted to know random info: "what Elementary School did you go to"?. A friend of mine came in after me, and within 30 minutes left. Still I answered questions. All the while the soldier was asking her peers what to do. Great a newbie. Then came the psych eval; "do you feel the need to hurt people"? Well that depends, does a 30 minute interview take 3 hours or not? Finally I finished, with them requesting that I fax them a copy of my University diploma - strange, but whatever.

From there I moved onto the medical exam - "Go see the purple computer on the second floor". Height, weight, a quick drug test, eye exam, etc. Great no problem. Except no doctor for the eye exam, no biggie right? Went into the physician, asked my about my medical health. I was warned "Tell them everything, they'll find it out anyway". I wasn't really sure how they'd do that, but I wasn't going to check to see how true that statement was. After I finished with the doc, which is the last step in the tzav rishon you're supposed to get your profile number. "You don't have a profile". "Why not?" "The eye doctor isn't in." "Right, so when will he be in?" "I have no idea, you have to come back." "Come back?" "Yup." So I left, realizing that this soldier wasn't going to be of any help.

A few days later a friend of mine got his taarich giyus - date of enlistment. Well, I guess it's time for me to get this eye exam done. But how? Well I called up the lishka, no answer. Great. I'll send them an e-mail - still no answer. Hmm... I asked the Business Director of the Yeshiva, Avinoam, if he could help (he's a Colonel or something like that in the reserves) to no avail. So I called up the central office a day later, and asked how do I make this appointment.
"You have an appointment."
"Really?"
"Yeah, this coming Sunday at 9:30."
"Fantastic. Oh one more thing, how am I supposed to know about this appointment?"
"I just told you."
"No, I mean if I didn't call"
"Well, I guess we're supposed to send you something."
"Right."

Right then and there, I said to a friend of mine: "Watch, I'll get it after my appointment's already over".

I showed up, now two weeks after the original tzav, back to the lishka for the eye exam. Handed the receptionist my ID, got my card, and headed upstairs. This time, instead of 20 something immigrants, I found 17 year old Israelis everywhere, and they were mostly female. The lishka took on an entirely new atmosphere. Already a pro at this, found my terminal, swiped the card and waited. A minute later I was called in, and after 5 minutes I was done.

"So when will I know about my giyus?"
"You'll get your draft notice in the mail"
"How long will that take?"
"Eh, about a week."

More waiting. Only this time, the patience of the Yeshiva I work for is understandably wearing thin. Avinoam, the business manager, wants me to go back and break down doors to find out. Everyone else, is telling me to wait. So I waited. And as I got impatient I decided to call Nefesh B'Nefesh (the people we made aaliya with) to see if they could help. Their contact with the army said that I might not have to go in. Okay, but that doesn't really help.

More waiting...

We spent Shabbat in Chevron (Hebron), at which point Naomi and I were basically feeling that I might have to go serve. And if I did it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I've always wanted to, but despite the fact that I would loose my job and our housing, we could do this for a year - and it would help my Hebrew a lot, which would be a big benefit in the future. Okay, so if I get drafted I'll go, if not then I wont.

We left it up to the army.

Well, Nefesh B'Nefesh just called and told me that I've received a medical profile too low to be drafted at my age - if I was 18 I'd still go - but not now. Instead of receiving an full fledged exemption, I'm in what we call maagar (reserve list); meaning that if needed, I can be called up for a short service, in war time, etc. Okay. So now I can go on with my life now, keep my job, and our housing - yet at the same time there is this twinge of regret. Oh well, next time I guess - right.