Our Stuff is Here! (and other stories)

Yay! So, here's how it went: On Monday, R went to the shipping office, and Annie (pronounced ah'nee) told him that our stuff would get here Thursday the earliest, and Sunday the latest. So I called her: "It's not right, can't work like this, we really need our stuff - the kids are bored, etc." On Tuesday, she still wasn't budging, but our neighbor told us we need to call twice a day, so we did. The hardest part was that Annie was really sweet, so I felt a little bad nudging her so much, but we really did want to get our stuff. By Wednesday morning, Annie said she was not able to get a truck for us, but we would get it Thursday. At 1pm, I was at a neighbor doing laundry, when Simcha came in to tell me that our stuff was coming at 4. At 2:45, I got a phone call: "Hello, this is your mover - we just got into Yad Binyamin. How do we get to your house?" So, things were a bit hectic and crazy, but we got our stuff. Yay! I was afraid that we had used up our brownie points with that going so smoothly. Read on and see what you think.
We had an appointment this morning at 10:30 with our Absorption advisor at the Absorption Office in Ashdod. We left five minutes late, but would have been on time, if the office had been where map website said it would be. We had Bezalel, Leah, and Petachya with us, and, thanks to the kind and trying-to-be-helpful residents of Ashdod, we got quite a city tour. After stopping at the recreation office of the area, an absorption center, the new central bus station and the City Council building of Ashdod (which, by the way, is closed on Thursdays in the summer), the kids spotted a really cool park with the craziest slides you've ever seen. Since they had been relatively good during the drive, we opted to stop and let them run around. On the way from our parking spot to the park along a strip of shops, we passed (you guessed it!) the Absorption Office! We ran inside, knowing we were 1 hour late, and our kind advisor said that she would take us . . . after her regularly scheduled appointments. We decided to reschedule, and hope we'll be on time for our Monday 11am appointment.
On the way out of Ashdod, we stopped to add me as a second driver on the retal car contract. I must say, I handled myself very well - pushing in front of 4 burly Frenchmen who were trying to bargain with the woman behind the desk. That enabled me to drive to Gedera this afternoon to sign up for health insurance. The first step involves going to the post office and getting a stamp with a receipt of some kind. We did that yesterday. Well, actually, first R went to try to sign up the whole family, but I had to go again and sign up myself and the kids. Since it's socialized medicine here, the health insurance office is also a doctor's office - kind of hard to explain. That's where I went today. I spent two hours filling out forms (some that I didn't even have to fill out!) and figuring out what the Hebrew ailments were on the form to see if we have them or not. We now have our temporary health insurance cards. I just have to get another form stamped by the bank and return it to the health office, and R has to go sign himself up, since he wasn't on my form. Let's just stay healthy!
That's all for now, folks. Shabbat Shalom!

The Israeli Business Model

I can't say enough about Nefesh B'nefesh. Yesterday we attended a "fair" where they brought us in to give us our teudat zehut (Israeli ID cards without which you don't exist here), but also brought in different banks, health insurance companies and the like to compete for our business. So, armed with the Teudot Zehut I headed this morning straight for the shipping company to release my lift and hopefully get our stuff. The lady at the shipping company was really nice. She took all our information, helped me fill out the forms - she was really great. But when I asked her when we'd get our stuff, she said, "Oh - Thursday maybe, and by Sunday at the latest." What? It seems that I have to pay for every day that the shipment is in Israel longer than four days. Apparently the shipment arrived last Wednesday, but no one really knows. At the same time, I got my Teudat Zehut in record time, came immediately to release the lift the very next day, and now I've got to wait until the tax people decide to release my lift. But they get to charge me for every day that they hold onto the lift until they decide to release it. When I told my brother about this little catch-22, my brother said, "Welcome to Israel."

Official Israeli Citizens

I started today taking care of stuff that needed to be done here in Yad Binyamin. There is a social worker in the Regional Council who is in charge of olim (new immigrants), and that was incredibly helpful. She actually said that we are the best organized of the olim she has seen. Yikes! I can't imagine how they manage. She took me to the offices I needed, so the kids are now all registered for school and we are registered as residents to pay the necessary taxes. Evidently, a big phrase here is "hora'at keva", which means that many necessary expenses (i.e. tuition and property taxes) are taken directly out of your bank account. Smart on their part.
After I did that stuff, we left to go to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). Nefesh B'Nefesh, the incredible group with which we came, was conducting a fair of various service providers, and would also be handing out our teudot zehut (ID cards), which are the Israeli equivalent of Social Security numbers - you can't do anything official without them.
So, we left our house a little after 12 to walk to the bus stop right outside our community. We then took the 40 minute bus ride to Yerushlayim, and switched at the central bus station to go to the Nefesh B'Nefesh offices. We got there at about 2:30. The kids were great. After we got all our stuff, we walked around a bit and popped into a coffee shop for some "lupper". The boys wanted hot chocolate, so I said they should order in Hebrew. They were very proud of themselves. We had arranged to rent a car for the next two weeks until we can get our act together enough to buy a car. However, since this is peak car rental season, we were only able to get a small 5-seater. Also, it was not 5:00, and the rental place closed at 6, and we wanted to go to the Kotel (Western Wall) before leaving town. So, I took Leah and Petachya to the Kotel on the #2 bus (which I think stopped at every bus stop in Yerushlayim on the way), and R took the older boys in a taxi to the car rental place in the King David Hotel. Unfortunately, he first went to the Kings Hotel, so they did some fast running and all turned out well. Meanwhile, Leah, Petachya and I were thinking up as many tefillot (prayers) as possible in front of (almost) the holiest place on earth. Leah's high point, though, was seeing a bride and groom taking photos at the Kotel.
So, then it was time to go home. We decided to split up this way: I would take Petachya back on the but to the Central Bus Station and then home, since we didn't have his car seat with us to put in the rental car. On the way to the bus stop, we met people we knew, so I got a little flustered and got back on the #2 bus. As I handed my bus card to the driver for a stamp, I asked him if the bus goes to the Central Bus Station. He stamped my card, and then said: "the number 1 does, but I go real close - just a five minute walk)." So, Petachya and I enjoyed another detailed tour through Chassidic areas of Jerusalem before we ran off the bus (someone told me it was my stop as the doors were opening). We got up to the ticket counter, and I asked for the bus to Yad Binyamin. This was a little after 8. She said I had to ask "Information", the booth next to her. I asked the "information" woman to write down the number and time of the next bus to Yad Binyamin, and she wrote "437 - gate 10 - 21:00." I was naturally disappointed that we would have to wait so long for the bus, so I asked if that was it. "No - there is also one at 9:30."
Then, I went back to the ticket booth to buy a ticket. "You have to pay the driver the 17 shekels directly for Yad Binyamin" (it's a stop on the way to the "real" destination of the bus). I only have a large bill, and I want to get Petachya a snack for the way, so I asked if she had change. She proceeded to give me a receipt for 17 shekels and change. Go figure. R was thoughtful enough to pick us up at the bus stop, thus saving us a 15 minute walk home.
All in all, a good day.
Tomorrow we go to release our stuff from customs.

So Much to Say; Where Do I Start?

I guess it's by saying that this aliyah week has been an amazing experience. Nefesh B'nefesh transforms what could, and rightfully should be an exhausting, frustrating transition into a exhilarating, uplifting event. It really was amazing, having so many friends, family and others around to share in our aliyah. I'll just share different thoughts that struck me as we experienced this week.

• After the ceremony I went upstairs to deal with the Ministry of Absorption. What a pleasure! They had a number of offices open, each with a listing of names (divided equally among them), so that the wait was rather short. I walked into the office, and the woman already had our information printed out, and I just had to sign a couple of forms and she handed me our teudat oleh. Then she gives me an envelope with a bunch of money in it. All I could think was, "Wow. Here I am moving to a new country, and not only do they make me a citizen; they give me a bunch of money to get started." What does America, known as a country built on immigrants and immigrati on, give to its olim chadashim? Nothing. But if a Jew comes to Israel, the country has an entire infrastructure dedicated to my integration and acclimation. Wow.
• My brother Yair took me shopping for a bunch of small appliances near his house in Kiryat Sefer. After leaving the hardware (actually, it was more of an "anything you can think of") store, I was really hungry having missed lunch. But next door was a bakery selling among the cakes, great borekas with cheese and soy dogs. I bought a couple, heated them up and had a great snack, and all I could think of was, "In the US when I leave the hardware store and I'm hungry, they have a hot dog stand there, but I can't eat anything. Maybe some chips. It's an incredible thing to be able to take for granted the fact that there's kosher good food pretty much everywhere. I know that it's a small thing, but coming from a place where you had to make a trip to get a doughnut, that's saying something.
• My sister-in-law got us some groceries, among which she bought whole wheat cereal without added sugar. (I checked, and it's got maltitol. Yummy.) Because of my no-sugar diet, I haven't eaten breakfast cereal in over four years. It's almost impossible to get whole grain cereal without added sugar in the US. It's just cereal, but it's a big deal to me.
• People here in Yad Binyamin have been great. The kids have already found some friends, Simcha and Leah being the most active, and Leah in the most demand of course.

As you can obviously tell from this post, our internet (and phone) are up and running. It took two days. (My uncle, who moved here in 1972, didn't get a phone until he was here for six months.) There's something of a funny story there. The guy came and installed the modem, but we couldn't get the computer to connect to the network. So he tells me: "I just tried switching the modems, and I've never had two modems be bad at the same time. So your computer must be broken." OK, I'll check the computer. I take the computer to a local computer store - great guy from Gush Katif runs the store - and he plugs it in and it starts up immediately. So the computer is not the problem. When I go back home and look at the modem, I can see upon visual inspection that some of the wire connectors are bent out of shape. So, with a screwdriver and small piece of wire, I performed minor surgery on the modem and lo and behold - it works! Sure, it was the compter. Baloney. Telling my brother about it later, he tells me, "Get used to it. It's always the other guy's fault."
After I solved that problem, it was all uphill: the router worked great; I plugged in our Vonage phone and it worked right out of the box. It's pretty crazy to make local phone calls in America from halfway around the world. I remember my first year in Israel. My mother allowed me to call home once every three weeks. It was a real event that you schedules. Yesterday while speaking to her she was in the middle of something so she said, "Can you call me back in ten minutes?" Sure, no problem, but it's a different world than it used to be.
In any case, it makes a great impact to be connected - to be able to freely call family and friends back in the States. So getting connected was a big deal, and I glad we were able to do so so quickly.
I'll wrap up. But please write back. We love hearing from you. Shabbat Shalom to all!

Homecoming

Well, we're connected, so I can finally blog. And we're here! What an overwhelmingly amazing experience! Baruch Hashem, the plane ride was uneventful. Leah watched Peter Pan three times - once in English and twice in Hebrew - since it was the only kids' movie available. El Al has sure come a long way - you can watch what you want when you want, and play games, too. That was the focus for the kids. The Ministry of the Interior was on the plane, so they came around collecting our passports and confirming information. That way, our documents were ready for us when we landed. As you probably already know, we wore the T-shirts on the plane, which everyone loved. It was also an easy way to spot everyone at the airport. Before we landed, they announced over the PA system that the largest welcoming group to date came to greet us at the airport - almost 900 people! The Zacks' (which was great for Simcha and Bezalel), Zvi Fass (with Naama via cellphone), Jeffrey Schreiber, the Friedlanders, Tobi and Zvi, Lippy and Maureen, and the entire Spolter crew from Kiryat Sefer (which was great for Leah and Petachya) all came to greet us with signs, snacks, small toys, and many hugs. So many people came over to us and said: "This is the best thing you will ever do with your life." Wow! After the ceremony, which was very moving (I hope you saw the part about the woman who was on the Exodus!), R went upstairs to get the documents (travel and health insurance vouchers as well as an envelope with shekels from the Ministry of Absorption) and I went to get the luggage. Thanks again to Pam and Yair who stayed around until we got into a taxi. Actually, two taxis, since we had so much stuff. The drive to Yad Binyamin was very straight. When we got to our street (Slav), the driver started looking for our house number (32a). On the left we saw numbers 35, 33, and 31, but on the right we only saw houses in early stages of construction. The driver turned to me and asked: "Are you sure your house is ready?" Sure enough, after we passed number 15 on the left, 32 showed up on the right - complete!. We live in a small cul-de-sac with 8 houses, all numbers 32, letters a-h. Ours is the first, so we have our own private driveway, which is kind of cool.
Since we've come, so many people have stopped by to say hello. Our first night, we were given dinner by the welcoming committee in Yad Binyamin. Yair brought us a small fridge from his in-laws, which has been incredibly helpful, as have the many groceries, the electric kettle and last nights' dinner sent from Pam. Yair also took R shopping yesterday to buy a toaster oven, microwave, hot water pot for Shabbos, etc. He first took Leah and Petachya back to his house, so they had a fantastic day. Simcha and Moishie were left here to play with Simcha and Bezalel, and they all spent a few hours shooting hoops at the outdoor covered basketball hoop.
Oleh Chadash (new immigrant) story of the day: Petachya spilled yogurt on one of Ruby's shirts, by mistake, so Ruby went to buy detergent yesterday so we could was his shirt in the sink. He bought a laundry booster that you use with regular detergent instead! I tried it, though, and it still worked! I hung the shirt outside on the enclosed clothes line, and it was dry in two hours!
Our communication situation: We had our phone and internet installed this morning, as you can tell. Our Israeli phone number is: (077) 501-1327. If you're dialling from the US, you dial 011-972-77-501-1327. Our phones are still charging, so you might want to wait a bit before calling so we don't get cut off (it's now 5:07pm Israel time).
Our Shabbos plans: We are invited out for all 3 meals - how cool is that!
I have lots more to say, but I'll spare you for now, and save it for my 3am post, if tonight is anything like last night. We miss you and love you all in the US!

T minus one to D-Day

It's now almost midnight, and we're going tomorrow. Wow. It doesn't feel as climactic as I thought it would. We are all excited, though. I wasn't able to be so much help with packing today, since it was a fast day. Kudos to R for all your hard work! Thanks also to Ima, Abba, Chavi and R for taking care of the kids today! The bottom line is, that's why I'm up at midnight instead of sleeping - I'm doing my part now. Packing and re-packing to make it all fit. I ruminate again on the amount of "stuff" we have.
As far as the van goes, we may actually have a buyer. He's bringing his mechanic by tomorrow morning to take a look at it. Since we need it to get to the airport, though (mainly to carry all our stuff), he's not going to come take it until the evening. Thanks again to Abba for helping us take care of that!
Shabbos was absolutely beautiful. My grandparents and aunt came, as well as my sister, brother and sister-in-law. The kids had a great time. Ima made it all look effortless, and did an amazing job of cooking and serving. Thanks:)
Pam (my sister-in-law in Israel) called and said the shipping company called and said the lift should get there Wednesday. We need a teudat zehut (the equivalent of a Social Security card) to pick it up. They will hold it for free for four days, and then start charging us. The problem is that NBN gives us the cards on Sunday. So, I called them, and they said they would do what they could to expedite the process they already expedite by having the Ministry of Interior on the plane. Isn't that amazing!
Okay, enough procrastinating. I'm going to go do some more repacking. Don't forget to watch us land at 12:30am EST on Tuesday, July 22 on the live Nefesh B'Nefesh webcast!

Our American Number in Israel

It's official: We now have a Vonage account which we cannot yet access, because we have yet to hook up our phone. To do that we'll need to get our lift, take out our computer, set up our internet, get a new plug adaptor for our router and Vonage box, and then plug in the new phone. Then you can call us. But you'll need our new number:

It's 248-246-1545, or BIT-AIM-1-KIL, or CHU-AGO-1-LIK

(if you figure out a better one, let me know.)

We're In New Jersey: Last Week Part 1

It's hard to believe, but we've reached the last stop on the American leg of our journey. It's kind of hitting home that from here we head to the plane in just a week. Exciting, exhilarating and scary all at the same time.
It has been a long time since the last post. We were tired, I guess. So sorry for the long post, but here goes.
Last I left you, it was Sunday afternoon and I was waiting for some computer files to finish copying. I finally left shul for the last time (and surrendered my keys) at about 5pm, and headed home to wrap everything up. Someone bought two of our three couches at the last minute (we gave the third one away), and we were running around the house packing, throwing things away, cleaning, preparing food, giving other things away. A kid across the street got an entire computer (minus the hard drive). It seems to have been so haphazard.
While we originally planned on getting out midafternoon, that didn't happen. So you start making deadlines in your mind. At five I figured we'd get out by seven. At seven it had to be eight. At eight I finally said to Rena, "You know, it's pretty late. Why don't we just get out tomorrow morning." She looked at me and simply said, "No, we're leaving tonight." It was too much. One of the reasons that it took forever to leave was that people kept coming by to say goodbye, wish us well, and just talk for a few minutes. It was wonderful and touching, but made it rather difficult to get anything done. And by the time they did leave I forgot what it was that I was doing, so I'd just start another task.
For the first and last time, we loaded some bags on the roof of the car. (By some miracle, they didn't fall off on the way.) The car was so overloaded - the floors, the trunk, between the seats and the children - that although someone had asked us to bring a small suitcase to Silver Spring, there was simply no way to fit it in the car. Literally. So we called them and they quickly came to pick it up. Sorry about that.
Finally, at 10pm, the car was loaded, the kids bathroomed - and we headed out. When we finally got on the road, while I thought that we'd be totally exhausted, Rena and I had such nervous energy that we just talked. I think it was the first time that we really talked to each other in weeks. We finally stopped in a motel and collapsed for the night.
Both Rena and I found leaving Detroit bittersweet. We will miss greatly the close friends that we made, and feel tremendous fondness for the shul and its members. Leaving weighs heavily upon us all, as we close one chapter in our lives and begin yet another.

To be continued

The TShirts that We Made

So Long, Farewell...

I'm sitting at my desk in shul. It's 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon. Yes, we were supposed to leave this morning, but life got in the way. Anyway, I'm waiting for the final files on my computer to copy over, so I've got a few mintues to write.

It was a very meaningful Shabbos. I gave a speech about Optimism - click here if you want to read it - and the power of positive thinking and the future of the shul that I think came out well and was very well received. I also davenend Shacharis for the amud. Simcha did Anim Zemiros, which he had prepared to the tune of "l'shanah haba-a-a, l'shana haba-a-a, l'shana haba-a-a b'yeru-sha-la-yim". (If you can't get the tune in your head, ask him to sing it for you.) Anyway, I often stand up with the kids on the bimah to get the people quiet for anim zemiros, and somehow all the other kids (Leah, Bezalel and Petachya) were standing there with me all together, and when Simcha finished, the shul started actually singing l'shana habah for real - and it was pretty emotional for me. It was a great feeling.

Also, the shul threw a kiddush in our honor, which was a surprise that we kind of knew about anyway. Rena had these t-shirts made up with "four questions about the Spolters' Aliyah" on the back, and a sort of Spolter Aliyah 5768 Logo on the front - and we all had them. So we put on the shirts after davening before the kiddush which everyone got a big kick out of. It was really nice and touching -- people saying goodbye, wishing us well.

It's interesting, because on Shabbos afternoon before minchah, I gave a shiur (kind of based on the parshah) on the struggle between the needs of community and one's own personal and familial needs, and the difficulty of finding a balance between the two. I used Moshe and Aharon and the difficulties that they had in interacting with their children (Moshe specifically) as examples of the struggle. (It was a good shiur. I should write it up. I'll add it to the list.) In any case, I spoke about how pretty much every time we'd try and go on a family vacation, someone in the shul would die, and we'd have to delay, postpone, find a way to squeeze in the funeral.

Lo and behold, Shabbos ends and the phone rings.

A member of the shul died - and would I be willing to officiate at the funeral? What could I say - "No, I'm sorry that your loved one who I knew well died. But I've got to go?" So I said yes, and the funeral took most of the afternoon. (It's the first funeral I've ever been at where they didn't dig the grave long enough, and had to pick the casket back up and widen the hole while we were all waiting. I guess when you think you've seen everything...)

In any case, I think it's gotten to the point where the members of the shul want me to leave already, because every time I plan to go someone else dies. Maybe the next rabbi will be luckier.

I feel like this is sort of a kaparah. When I first got here and we were planning on going on vacation, a woman who was the parent of a member - and herself a member of the shul - died on Friday. Go figure. We were leaving on Sunday, I was a recent arrival, didn't know the woman all that well, and wasn't asked really to officiate at the funeral. So I figured that it wouldn't make a difference if we stuck around or not, and we left to go on vacation. Big mistake. The family was really mad, and I'm not sure if I ever made it up to them.

So I guess this should be my penance for that time so long ago. It's a fitting end to my rabbinic career here in Michigan - trying to be there for people, taking care of their needs, and often putting myself second. It's the nature of the job, and to be honest, I'm sure that I'll miss it.

Funny Story of the Day

We didn't send the Pesach dishes on the lift, but we sent our empty duffel bags!

I'm Cleared!

After several phonecalls and much pleading, I was cleared this afternoon at the Connecticut DMV as well as the national database. Yay! That meant that we were able to go back to the Secretary of State's office and get my drivers' license renewed in about 35 seconds, thanks to the pass they gave me after waiting yesterday. They didn't even give me a hard time about my hair covering! So, we are again planning to leave on Sunday.
Several people came to see the house today, and two even filled out applications for rent, so there's some hope that things will be settled here before we leave the country. If not, there's always e-mail . . .

Kapparah Number Two (a.k.a. the DMV)

So, today we were supposed to go to the library, because they were organizing a scavanger hunt, which sounded like fun. On the way, I decided to stop at the DMV (here it's the office of the Secretary of State) and renew my drivers' license, which expires on my birthday of this year. That's July 29 2008, exactly one week after we arrive in Israel. Why, you might ask, should I renew my license now, if I am just going to get a new one in Israel? Well, the way I understand it, if you have a valid US drivers' license, the process for getting an Israeli license involves one lesson with an instructor and the driving test. If you don't (which I won't, if I can't get appointments within the first week, which I probably won't), you have to take a written test in Hebrew, and if you pass that, several (read: about 20) lessons with an instructor, and then the driving test. All you who made aliyah can confirm or refute that understanding. Be that as it may, I decided to renew my license before we leave. I waited until today, because it was one of those things that could wait until the lift left. So I thought. Anyway, at the SOS you have to first wait on line to get a number, and then you can sit and wait in a chair until they call your number. After I got the number, the kids and I went next door to Kmart and bought a deck of cards so they would be occupied during the waiting period. I was number 11, and they were still on 85 (they go up to 99 and then start over), so we started a heated game of "Go Fish". When I next looked at the digital display, it read "06", but the lady behind the counter called out "14". I missed my number. Fortunately, "14" was really nice, and let me go. That was about 1 hour and 15 minutes after we had arrived. When I got to the counter, the woman informed me that I have an outstanding ticket in Connecticut, so my license can't be renewed until that is cleared up.
So we came home.
And I started calling the DMV in Connecticut. After 3 department transfers and an hour of total time on "hold", I was informed that since we had never returned the license plates from the Geo Prism when we moved, my license had been suspended in Connecticut in 2002. A year after we left. Mind you, I had already renewed my MI license after that time, but now I can't. I had to FedEx a check and a piece of paper asking them to cancel the license plates to the DMV in Connecticut (who have a ZIP code on their web site that doesn't exist, accoring to FedEx and the US Postal Service) so they can change their records tomorrow. However, since it's a holiday weekend, the changes will not be in the national system until next week Tuesday or Wednesday. We're leaving Sunday. Oh, and I cannot renew by mail, since I already did that last time. So, I called my friend the criminal defense lawyer. Let's see what strings she can pull to allow me to renew from out of state. Let it be a kapparah.

Bezalel's Lohan Test

Bezalel wanted me to write about it, so here it is. Last Friday, he had his last day at the Chinese School for Martial Arts, where he's been taking Kung Fu for the last two years. He was promoted steadily through the ranks, and was recently accepted into the exclusive Lohan group, where they wear black uniforms with yellow sashes. The test is one of endurance, so the sifu (the guy in charge of the place) has the kids doing things like: jumping jacks for 3 minutes, uncle willies for 3 minutes (staying at the top of a pushup, but with elbows on the floor) and other masochistic activities. Needless to say, there is a reason why the sifu does not recommend the parents come. However, as a sign of support for Bezalel, I came. And left soon after I got there. Anyway, we're all really proud of him. He has worked very hard, and even passed the Lohan test!