Not Kedai for most people--Moving to the secular state of israel (SSOI)

  I have arrived in Cleveland. Shall we shatter another 1,000 myths? What is your image of Cleveland? Is it based on rumors, fifth hand talk? I have been here now four times and have read their news daily for years. So let me give you some information. The airport is super up to date. It makes Ben Gurion look like a slum. But that is not the most important contrast. Most important are the people. They are so polite, so helpful but here’s the surprising part, they are friendly, they are folksy. It’s just like Texas actually. And they are sort of soft-spoken, non-aggressive. In other words, they are the polar opposite of Israelis. Downtown Cleveland is lovely. It has lots of pre-War architecture, stone buildings with complicated facades. It has tastefully done modern buildings. Nothing is overwhelming. And the streets and their signage are in excellently updated condition with clear instructions about everything. This reflects the polite nature of this society. They are thoughtful....

I just read what could be my third dozen article from a Modern Orthodox person about “the obligation” to live in Israel. They must all plagiarize one another because they are all exactly the same. The Ramban and the Rambam. Then arguments against Rav Moshe Feinstein’s pesak that it is not obligatory. Then Ovadia Yosef. Then Hershel Schachter who lives in New York. Tell me where did the Ramban live? And the answer is, in Spain. Where did the Rambam live? And the answer in Egypt. Thus apparently that living in Israel might be an obligation doesn’t make it an absolute obligation, unless we are to call them sinners. Ah so their excuses aren’t relevant anymore. Why is Israel safe now? Really? Then why is every youth in military uniform? Why does every apartment have a bomb shelter? Why does the PM tell us weekly that Iran is seconds away from building an atom bomb? Why does he talk again and again about “existential threats”? Why is the entire country so mad at the Charedim for not being in...

Yesterday was Monsey, today New York City. I don't know what New York I was remembering but the one I experienced today was incredible. I guess that's what living in Israel can do for you, make every other place seem like paradise. The city is beautiful. The architecture is astounding. I was at the New York public library. My goodness. There isn't two inches in Israel that looks like that. Comparing New York City to any city in Israel is like comparing a black stallion to an alley cat. And please accept my apology alley cats for using you in this way. You are far more pleasant to look at than any modern Israeli city. The infrastructure in New York is a miracle. It goes on and on and it mostly works. They have made such improvements in the trains. They are reasonably clean and punctual and the instructions over the loudspeakers and the arrival boards are really helpful. I found my away around so easily. But here's what amazed me more than anything. I don't know why, ...

Is Walmart supposed to make a man cry? Maybe it wasn’t the endless supply of affordable necessities, including comfortable and durable cotton black pants for $20 whereas in Israel uncomfortable polyester pants that don’t last a year cost $75. Maybe it wasn’t even the polite and friendly staff, many of them Hispanic, that smiled and said hello and thank you and bagged my stuff. Maybe it wasn’t even the Elton John song playing on the sound system where a man sings about his longing for his brother Daniel. He sings, “Daniel my brother, you are older than me, do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal.” Well, maybe the song is what did it. But that’s after a day of being in Monsey, staying in a guest apartment with its own private entrance, two large beds, a living room with a desk on which I am now typing, a spacious private bathroom, and a second room that isn’t used at all. In Israel, there are no guest rooms so you can’t have guests. Every week in the lobby of my cruddy ap...

The same naive Modern Orthodox rabbis who tell you to move to Israel tell you to become an organ donor. Danella Gallegos, a 38-year-old woman from New Mexico, was declared to be in an irreversible coma, and her family agreed to donate her organs, trusting the medical diagnosis. However, as preparations were underway for the extraction surgery at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, one of her relatives noticed something unsettling: tears streaming down her face. Dismissed as mere reflexes, no one anticipated what would happen next. On the day of the procedure, one of her sisters observed movements, and a doctor asked Gallegos to blink if she could hear him—and she did. Despite this, organ donation coordinators pressed to proceed, even suggesting administering morphine to reduce her motor activity. Fortunately, the medical team refused to go forward and halted everything. Danella was not only conscious but, days later, managed to recover completely. Search Assist Modern Orthodox Judais...

 I'm at the airport that was named for an atheist in the country whose leaders like to call "the Jewish State." However, I see no evidence of that here. I have passed hundreds of people. I saw three yarmulkas and not a single woman who appeared to be religious in any way. The yarmulkas were on guys would not appear religious at all if you took the yarmulkas off of them. And it took a while before I saw them. I looked and looked. The stores and restaurants are like those of any airport. The airport displays feature a little local artwork, nothing about religious Judaism. To my mind, the ubiquitous flags don't count as that but rather as a display of secular nationalism. When I pulled off my cap for the passport checker woman I received the frown that secular Jews in Israel give when they see a religious person. It was the same at the security checkpoint. When I put on my tallis and tefillin to daven Schacharis at my gate, I felt like I would have felt in Idaho or Munic...

   See the speed bump? When I drive from the broken down parking lot in my tiny little apartment to the crowded business district that lacks parking I drive over a dozen speed bumps. It's a 1 KM trip. Seems like every 25 feet is a speed bump. They shake the car. And because the drivers behind tailgate you wind up going fast then breaking, fast then breaking. It's the typical Israel experience---unpleasant. I was in Texas recently. There were no speed bumps. People drive normally on their own. They don't need to be slowed down by intentionally placed blockages on the road.