Simcha v'simchah

(Guest post by Kalev)

     This past Sunday we attended the wedding of our friends' son. For those who know me, you understand how much I detest formal events. I have good reasons for this aversion: they require me to don a suit, they waste hours of useful time, and perhaps worst of all, they demand socializing with other humans (1). Any one of these by themselves, let alone all three, dissuades me from attendance unless I muster herculean strength from deep inside (a.k.a. Chavah tells me I am going). However, when the opportunity to attend an Orthodox wedding arises--despite its tripartite obligation of a suit, time, and socializing--I eagerly attend. I have good reasons for this also.

     First off, I think the whole process of orthodox weddings, from start to finish, is a beautiful thing. The symbolism, the kiddush Hashem, the incomparable jubilant atmosphere, the measured but euphoric interaction between the bride & groom. But, perhaps the most  beautiful thing is that every orthodox wedding is an ultimate triumph of the Jewish people over both Lavan and Pharoah. An orthodox wedding is not merely a rejoicing at the unification of two people, it is a tribute to the Jewish people's survival physically and spiritually and a celebration of the knowledge that with this marriage our survival is perpetually assured.

(1). I never go down without a fight: I did not wear a tie, I took my wife out to lunch to redeem some of the time, and I pretend to be a good father by commandeering Tirzah to avoid having to socialize.

THE DESERT -- Why the Negev?

Negev, Road 40

First, a little information on the Negev Desert. Compared to the typical desert (i.e. Sahara) where you see sand dune after sand dune, the Negev consists of more dirt, rocks, and canyons. According to Virtual Israel Experience, the Negev is "highlighted by remarkable landscapes, waterfalls, caves, archaeological sites, cities, craters and a rich history." The desert encompasses more than half the landmass of Israel (roughly 60%), and yet it is only home to about 8% of the population.

The Negev Desert is framed at its borders by Jordan and Egypt, with its southernmost tip being Eilat (port and resort town of roughly 50,000). Beersheva is the larges city in the South, and prides itself on being perhaps the most diverse city in Israel. It has about 210,000 residents, and serves roughly 600,000 citizens in its entire metropolitan region. 

You may say, "Well, all that sounds great, but why choose to live there? Especially as new immigrants?" Here are some of the reasons why we've chosen the south:
                     
Expenses / Employment
Housing and living expenses are significantly less compared to Jerusalem and central Israel (and for those of you who know Jeremy (Kalev) this is for sure a deciding factor :)). Also, there is a lot of development and this makes for thriving employment opportunities -- especially in Jeremy's skilled areas.

Purpose
"The South is Israel's new frontier"
There is an opportunity to make an impact; help develop a community; dedicate yourself to the South and it's continued growth. Some of these reasons are intertwined with a more Zionistic perspective. If you are interested and would like to read more on this point, you can start by visiting this blog post, The Importance of the Negev.

Community
The reasons for choosing to leave the Jewish community we are currently an active part of is not a reflection of the community itself. It is a fantastic community, with great friends, teachers, and educational opportunities for our young children. However, we desire a different physical/tangible environment for our children. First and foremost, we want our children to have to opportunity to experience Israel firsthand, and at a young age. We want them to be able to learn Hebrew, and interact with Israeli culture, without the problems that my husband and I will face that are inherent in moving to a different country at an older age. We want to give them the opportunity to thrive without the hangups of adult immigrants. We also don't want to raise our children in the city -- and yes, to us our small Jewish community in Indiana is still too much city! We want them to be able to in interact with the ground, with the earth, and L-rd willing see things grow from their own efforts. We want them to be able to run around, play, and explore the world around them. We want them to see and touch animals (chickens, goats, etc.) on a regular basis. (And yes, we know this is also all possible in the North, but our reasons for specifically choosing the South over the North is for another post -- this one is already getting long :).)

This is obviously a very basic explanation. We have spent a lot of time researching, networking and speaking with people in Israel, as well as here in the States, to help up determine the best landing spot for our family upon arrive.

Pins on a Map - LOCATION in 3, 2, 1

Merchav Am

We have narrowed our community list down to one! Merchav Am is our first choice. The community is located between Sde Boker and Yeruham, approximately 35 minutes' drive from Be'er Sheva (the largest city in the South), in the Negev (a part of the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council). I'm planning to write a separate post on why we chose the Negev Desert - so if you're interested stay tuned.

Merchav Am is currently home to 71 families and over 270 children! I think there will be plenty of friends for our kids. Actually, our kids played a very important role in choosing this community. We wanted a place that our little ones could run around and play freely with others. I want to be able to open my door and let me kids out to run around and not have to be worried about them constantly. At least I know no cars will be zooming by on a main highway :) Here is a picture of the newly built playground:

It looks pretty awesome to me -- and I'm not even a kid! I know Jeremy (Kalev) will love it -- and I'm sure the kids will too :)

But yes, there is more to Merchav Am then just some sand and a playground. There is also a Synagogue, Beit Midrash(1), mikvah, a makolet (small grocery store), community center, library, day care, nursery and kindergarten. What more could a girl as for? How about evening activities/classes? Those include (as of right now but will probably be different once we arrive) men's night, women's night, zumba, yoga, krav maga, pilates, and more.

Another reason we choose this community was because of its emphasis on wanting to make the desert grow and prosper. They are very "backyard animal" friendly -- goats, sheep, chickens, etc. This is just up our alley. We want the kids to grow up around (and help care for) "farm" animals. We are also excited about beginning some agricultural work in the desert. The community is working on beginning an agricultural initiative and we could potentially be on the front end of this "make the desert grow" opportunity!

Here's a Goggle Map so you can get a better overall geographical idea of where we are thinking of going:


If you are interested in a what a typical day at Merchav Am look like, check out "A Day in Merchav Am" from the Day in the Life Of series by GoSouth NBN.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

(1) Beit Midrash - study hall or "house of study"

Exciting Times - Rolling with the Punches

So much has been happening in the last few weeks! I set here looking at a blank page not knowing what to write about first. I decided I would just quickly make a list of everything that is going on and slowly work through that list creating an individual blog post for each thing.

1. We applied for a program called Bayit Rishon B'Moledet (First Home in the Homeland). This would allow our family to spend the first 6 months (and up to 1 year) focusing on Ulpan (Hebrew language learning). We were accepted into the program and are waiting to hear back about potential community placement.
2. We have decided that we really want to live in the Negev. We are now working directly with the GoSouth NBN team. They are helping us work through most of the logistics of such a large move including shipping, housing, employment, networking, etc.
3. We have narrowed our community search down to . . . wait for it . . . ONE community (check out this blog post to learn more)! We now have a top choice in where we would like to initially settle. This point is a little hazy since we have also applied with the Bayit Rishon program; however, both the community and the program director are working together and (G-d willing) we might be able to be placed into the community through the program itself. This would be AWESOME! Basically at this point we are just W-A-I-T-I-N-G to find out (1). 
4. I got a job! Employment unknowns - at least for me - may be not so unknown after all. I applied for a job with an Israeli company. They also have offices located in Canada, as well as the US. The awesome part is I work from home and can set my own hours. There is a minimum amount of time I have to fulfill, but after that they will give me as much work as I want. Since they are based in Israel, once we make the move I only have to transfer the position from the US to Israel and I can continue working as quickly as I would like. How awesome is this!!??
5. Just because - Here are some more pictures we took for another part of our application:

They had to be passport size and we needed to submit multiple copies. Eventually we will have to do this for everyone - as well as redue our own - for our official Israeli documents. But this is what we got the first time around. Not too bad.

(1) As a side note let me just say that it feels like there is a lot of WAITING! We rush to get forms filled our, submitted, and emails answered only to have to wait, and wait, and wait to hear back. I think this is pretty typical - and the wait is probably not as long as it feels - but it still is frustrating and difficult for me!

Applications, Applications, Applications

Okay, so it turns out that if you want to move to another country there is A LOT of paperwork to work through. And a lot of applications to fill out. We are working on deciding where in Israel to start out at. One of the housing programs we are working on required us to submit a family photo with our application. We needed to get the application in ASAP so we took a picture at night (hint - why all the kids are in pajamas) with the timer on my phone. This is what we got:

Not too bad considering everyone was tired and all 6 of us had to fit into the screen shot in 10 seconds. Actually, the 10 seconds was more than enough time to get in place. The problem was keeping everyone in their spots for that long before the flash went off! 

More on our top community choices and locations soon!

Nefesh B'Nefesh Application - Step 1

LET'S GET STARTED - HOW TO APPLY (STEP 1)

Nefesh B'Nefesh has made Aliyah much more accessible in the past few years than it used to be(1), at least with olim coming from North America and the UK. They work alongside The Jewish Agency in order to help streamline the process and provide as much help as possible to the new immigrant, both pre- and post-aliyah. According to NBN, "Aliyah is a big decision with many facets – and Nefesh B’Nefesh is here to to break it down for you to make your Aliyah dream a reality."

So, let me tell you a little about our experience so far with applying for Aliyah with the help of NBN. We began by exploring the NBN site to try and get as much information as possible. And man is there a lot of information available! The recommendation is you begin the application at least 6 months before your planned Aliyah date; however, you can begin long before that time. You can set the pace at which you move through the process. If you need to slow things down, that's fine. If you take a little longer to make the decision to move, NBN may temporarily close down your application file. All you have to do is email them and let them know you are ready to move forward and they will re-open your file (with everything still available that you originally submitted).

The initial application is pretty straight forward. You answer all the typical questions - name, address, birth date, family history, education, employment, etc. At the end of the initial application, you are asked to submit what is called an "Aliyah Statement." This statement is supposed to be a summary of why you want to make Aliyah, including background information on yourself, your past visits to Israel, and a prediction of what you will do once you arrive in Israel (IDF service, employment, Ulpan, etc.). This requirement caught us a little off guard but we were able to articulate all of this in about one typed page (only one statement per family unit, not per applicant). It took us a few days to work through this information and get it on paper, but it has come in handy with other programs we have applied for so it was nice to get it done and out of the way.

**IMPORTANT - SAVE EVERYTHING!**

You do not know when you will have to reproduce something you have already submitted, or submit the EXACT same thing for a different portion of your application or program!

(1) This is a somewhat debated idea. Working with NBN is not "required" and there are Olim who claim it is better to work only with The Jewish Agency when making Aliyah. The other option is to come directly to Israel and apply for Israeli citizenship once you arrive. Both ideas are beyond the scope of my knowledge. If you are interested in learning more, I suggest you look closely into what other options are available to you and your family. 

Insects and Scorpions - Oh My!

Termites. TERMITES EVERYWHERE. At least that's how I felt after we got our inspection report back on the pending sale of our home. If you haven't guessed it, we had the surprise "termite find" in our report. This got me wondering what type of surprises involving bugs we could have in Israel. 

First question: Are there termites in Israel?
Short answer, yes. Thanks to Mr. Barosh, a certified exterminator in Israel, I found out all kinds of interesting information on termites. For example, most termites build their nests in dry wood and wood products; however, in Israel two of the most common species of termites build their nests in the ground. Also, termites are social insects with a hiarchy of power - a king, queen, soldiers, and workers. Check out the termite page here for more information specific to Israeli termites (and how to get rid of them). 

Second question: What other types of unwanted critters will we find in Israel?
This also lead me to wonder what other types of critters we will come in contact with once we get settled. I found a fantastic post about this from Adventures in AliyahLand called Bug OFF! The most common critters found in Israel (that cause people unwanted trouble):

• head lice
• cockroaches
• mosquitoes
• ants
• food moths

Looks similar to the unwanted critters found here in the U.S. 

Third question: What should I know about scorpions if I'm in the Negev?
Last but not least - SCORPIONS (which I know are not technically insects, but who can have a post on unwanted critters without mentioning scorpions)! This is especially true if you plan to settle in the Negev. I came across this video and just for fun decided to share it with you. 

There are two different poisonous scorpions to watch out for, especially in the spring and summer seasons. Both of these have pretty frightening vernacular names: Deathstalker (Palestine Yellow Scorpion) and Southern Man-Killer (Androctonus Australis). Interestingly, the scorpions venom from his tail is only released during his first sting. They may sting more than one time, but only the first sting will release venom. If you run into any scorpions, spiders, or snakes while in the Negev, check out the Hadassah Medical Center page for information.

Deathstalker

Southern Man-Killer

Basically what I learned - If you see a yellow scorpion running after you, don't stop to admire it! Yellow = Bad

Selling our Home

I know what you may be thinking - Wow, you are already selling? Your Aliyah date must be fast approaching. The answer is yes and no. We sold our home back in June 2015 and moved into the eruv. We were unable to find a home to purchase in the pending timeline, so we decided to rent. We signed a one year lease and decided to look into getting answers to the logistics of making Aliyah. That way, if we decided to move forward with Aliyah, we could coordinate it with our lease contract timeline. If we decided to postpone a move to Israel to a later date, we could begin looking at purchasing a house in relation to the end of our lease terms.

Just for fun here are some pictures of our previous home. Jeremy and I spent countless hours fixing up this place (originally purchased on auction) in order to sale it for profit. We were very happy with the outcome - and a bit sad to leave. This was the first time I felt like we had made a house into a home.

 Sale Pending!

 Painted fireplace (my project)

Updated, remodeled kitchen

Now we are looking for a new place - IN ISRAEL - to call home! Hopefully a post will come soon about the communities we are looking at and what may be a potential possibility for our family.

Aliyah Process: Step by Step Overview

The steps needed in order to make Aliyah(1) differ depending on your home country. This is a very basic overview of what those steps if you are coming from the U.S.A. If you would like more detailed information please refer to Nefesh b'Nefesh (NBN). According to their homepage, NBN is an organization "dedicated to revitalizing Aliyah from the USA, Canada and the UK by removing or minimizing the financial, professional, logistical and social obstacles of Aliyah and the move to Israel." The organization partners with the Israeli government and The Jewish Agency to help streamline the process of immigration to Israel. The steps include:

1. A joint Nefest b'Nefesh and Jewish Agency application (details on this step coming soon Post One).
2. Interview with your local Aliyah Shaliach(2) (details coming soon).
3. Approval for Aliyah.
4. The Aliyah Flight.

Of course each one of these steps has many substeps! My hope is to go through each one as we experience them in real time. At this point, we have semi-completed steps one and two. So much paperwork; so much time! But thankfully it has only strengthened my desire to get to Israel. One thing we have heard over and over again is "Oh man, the Israeli bureaucracy. All you do is hurry up to wait. . . and wait and wait." While this has been partially true (however our only experience to date has been here in the States), we have received help and been guided in continuing the process and have yet to hit a real road block in moving forward. Sometimes this help comes after continual emails and phone calls, but I've been told that in order to survive in Israel I must have a strong backbone and a dominate personality - demand help, be persistent (A.K.A annoying), stay strong and help will come.

(1)Aliyah - "making aliyah" means moving to Israel
(2)Aliyah Shaliach - A representative of the Jewish Agency for Israel who is responsible for validating your Aliyah documents and conducting an in-person interview to determine eligibility.