FAQs

Hi! Since a bunch of you have expressed interest in our aliyah plans, I thought I'd just post it all on this blog. Thanks so much for your continued support and concern!

FAQs about the Spolter aliyah experience:

1. When are you going?
Iy”H, we will be on a July 21st flight out of the NY area
2. Are you going to be on the east coast to see family at all before you go?
Definitely! We will for sure be there after July 4th, and Rena and the kids might even go before – still up in the air (we’re not big on advance planning)
3. Do you have a place to live?
Yes. We will be renting half of a 2-family house in Yad Binyamin. It is, of course, smaller than what we have now, but it does have 4 bedrooms – one of them is waiting for you!
4. Where is Yad Binyamin?
At the intersection of 3 major highways – 6,3,7. It is about 15 minutes south of Rechovot, 20 minutes west of Beit Shemesh, and 40 minutes to Yerushalayim. Simcha and Efrat Friedman are already living there, and we are so excited to be close to family!
5. Do you have a job?
Ruby has a job at Orot, an Israeli teachers’ college that has a one-year “seminary” program for girls from the US (like Michlalah). Since there were only very few students for next year, the administration decided to close the program for next year, and hire Ruby to build it up again. Therefore, he will be travelling to the US periodically to recruit students and promote the new program.
6. What about Rena?
Rena will be keeping the job she has had for the last almost-11 years (it will be 11 years on July 5/30 Sivan). It is perfectly transferable to Israel, Baruch Hashem.
7. How do the kids feel about the move.
Pretty much the same as we do – excited and nervous. Simcha and Bezalel have very strong Hebrew and are good students, and Leah and Petachya are young enough that they’ll pick it up fast.
8. What school will the kids attend?
There is a great Mamlachti Dati Torani school in Yad Binyamin, called Broyer’s, that the kids will be attending. It is separate boys and girls on the same campus. The boys currently go up to 8th grade, but they want to add a high school. I’m pretty sure the girls go up to 6th, but we have a while until we have to deal with that. The school is very accommodating to olim, and offers ulpan as early as 1st grade. Petachya will be in a Hebrew-speaking gan. For those of you familiar with the Israeli educational system, he will be in “trom trom chova”.

I’m pretty sure that covers all the questions people here have been asking, but if you have any more, feel free to ask.