At the airport

 I sit here with a heavy heart because I am headed back to Israel. Certainly, I considered never returning. Maybe some day I will enjoy an Exodus finally. Maybe Hashem will have mercy on me and get me out of that place.

The heart will get heavier when I get on that plane but now I'm still cheered up by being in Ohio where even the security people at the airport are pleasant. I don't know if in my entire life I have ever encountered nicer people than the  Ohioans I have met over the last three days.

A few minutes ago I was walking along and a little kid said something to me. I figured he needed help with something. I said, "Yes, how can I help you?" He mumbled, "I was just saying hello." They teach the kids to be friendly. I said, "Oh hello." 

I just bought a bottle of water and was called Sir at least five times. 

This is reflected in how the society operates. Road signage is very clear as are instructions at banks, stores. The two go together. Considerate people, considerate society. Israel is the opposite.

Travel is supposed to be stressful, especially for frum people. Where will I get my food, etc. And I packed in lots of activities for a 2 day trip. Yet my stress level is at 2 right now. In Israel, generally it's a 7 or 8, sometimes 9. It is never below 7.

In Israel, I have a ongoing fear of getting yelled at. I walk around flinching. Here you can make mistakes. People respond kindly. You can ask for directions. They schmooze with you. At the security checkpoint at the airport I asked an agent if I could bring a sandwich through the checkpoint. He laughed and said, "Only if you have one for me." I told that I had extra. He could have it. "What kind?" "Egg salad." "Oh I couldn't do that so early in the morning." "It's eggs," I said. "Oh I couldn't do that to my coworkers." He was laughing. I was laughing.

This kind of encounter happened over and over again. You should see the nurses at the hospital where my friend is recuperating from surgery. They were so friendly and solicitous. 

And what a hospital. World class. That's why a guy from Northern New Jersey went there for surgery. And the hospital is 10 minutes from the frum area, not one hour like where I live in Israel. 

The roads here are very easy to navigate. Nobody tail gates and there never are many cars on the road. So you can change lanes, get in the turn line, even turn around without much trouble. People drive slowly.

I could go on and on. This society makes life seem like it's not so hard. I can see how people can direct their lives, follow their dreams etc when living in a place like this. In Israel and New York a person can develop terrible cynicism and a doom and gloom attitude.

The only time I felt any stress here was when dealing with Orthodox Jews. Oh, they are much nicer than in Israel or even New York. But they lock all the shuls. Every door is bolted. I saw this in Texas too. It's Zionism again, making everyone paranoid. The place where I stayed had a special lock and I was instructed several times to be careful to lock it. 

And why is it that frum people cannot accept a complement about their city. I say, "I like your city. And the people are so nice." But I get a blank stare as if it is osur to complement Gentiles. I found this in Houston too.

Even the Great Lake which was made by God Himself doesn't evoke a response. Didn't the Rambam say to find God in nature? Not one person said to me, hey make sure you see Lake Erie while you are here. Not one. But I was asked, did you daven Maariv? As if I needed his help with that. But I could have used a suggestion about what to visit.

I believe that Jewish ethnocentricity drives people to ruin their lives by moving to Israel. If Gentiles are terrible even when they are wonderful, and Jews are wonderful even when they are terrible, then might as well move to Israel. It could only be good. It's Jews right? And Jews are the best in everything. We're so perfect all the time!

This attitude predates Zionism I believe, so it's not just the Zionists who ruin people's lives by tricking them into moving to Israel. It's Jewish, particularly Eastern European Jewish myopia that did it. In Western Europe they did appreciate Gentile accomplishments. They lived in a more civilized society, as do we, so we should be appreciating what's good. But the Zionists have taken anti-Gentilism to another level.

Also, it's people being out to lunch. Lights on, nobody home. I told one New York transplant that I found the people in Ohio to really pleasant. She could have said, "I agree," but she didn't. She said, people are pleasant everywhere. She was arguing with me in a sense, and revealing her New York background. But also she uttered nonsense.  People are not nice everywhere. Did she mean frum people. They also are not nice everywhere.

But she admitted that Ohio is a great place to raise children. "Baruch Hashem that Hashem led us here," she said.

Baruch Hashem.