Yerushalayim
I came as a bachur to the Mir Yeshivah, and then got married here in Eretz Yisrael.
I continued learning in the Mir, while my wife
worked for Otzar HaChochma, the world’s largest digital sefarim library,
in its beginning stages of amassing and scanning thousands of sefarim.
We
then moved to Modi’in Illit, where, with the help of our parents for the down
payment, we purchased our first apartment. As is common in this country, we
bought “on paper,” paying the contractor in installments as the apartment was
built. Meanwhile, we rented down the block. It was an interesting experience
watching the progress of the construction of our apartment.
My
wife then worked at ImageStore doing document digitizing and electronic
archiving. It was one of a few companies that started the trend of creating
workspaces tailored for large numbers of chareidi
women interested in working together, close to home, in a sheltered
environment. Next door to ImageStore was another such company, Citybook, which
provided jobs to many native English speakers living in Modi’in Illit by
outsourcing for American companies.
While my wife worked, I continued as an avreich
in a small kollel in Kiryat Sefer, where we would hear shiurim
from Harav Moshe Mordechai Karp, shlita (author of the popular Hilchos
Chag BeChag series). The group comprised a real mix of Litvish, chasidish
and Sefardi avreichim both from Eretz Yisrael and abroad.
When one of my neighbors started teaching safrus,
I jumped at the opportunity. I always had creative and artistic leanings, as
well as an attachment to the written words of the Torah. The idea that I could
actually create a physical object which would be imbued with kedushah (holiness)
also appealed to me. I had always dreamed of having my own real kosher Megillas Shir HaShirim for reading at the time of Kabbalas
Shabbos, so I figured that, instead of spending the money
(which I didn’t really have) to buy one, I might as well invest in learning the
trade.
That
decision served me well as I have been able to turn this occupation into a
livelihood as our family has grown.
My father bought the first Megillas Esther I wrote. He reads from it every year for many family members, including
his mother, my grandmother. I remember hearing how excited she was to see the megillah,
proud that her grandson was a real sofer. It was even more interesting
to hear it from her, as a member of the generation that wanted to see their
children as doctors and lawyers.
After we had been in Modi’in Illit for some years,
a married cousin with several children followed suit and came to join us from
Los Angeles. There weren’t enough Americans in the neighborhood to make it
comfortable enough for her, so they ended up moving to a more Anglo
neighborhood in Yerushalayim, where her husband also learned safrus.
Even though they ended up moving back to the U.S. after a number of years, her
husband still makes an income from the trade he learned here: writing sifrei
Torah, tefillin, and mezuzos.
I ended up moving up north with my family to a new chareidi
kehillah in the neighborhood of Givat HaMoreh in Afula. What allowed for
our move is the fact that safrus is an occupation that is not dependent
on location. It was an amazing experience to take part in the growth of a new
community in Eretz Yisrael, contributing our talents and efforts to make it
happen. After several years there, we moved to Yerushalayim to be closer to my
aging grandfather, who had meanwhile immigrated here. Utilizing the connections
I made up north and elsewhere, I am now involved in promoting the more affordable
communities of Eretz Yisrael for the Anglo-Chareidi community, mostly in
the north and south of the country.
Being
the oldest in my family, I was the first one to establish myself here in Eretz
Yisrael. Several siblings followed me, with two sisters currently living here
with their families and other siblings coming to visit occasionally, including during
their post-high school or seminary stint. My parents also come to visit and to
share in simchas.
I think my parents see Eretz Yisrael as the future
not just of the Jewish people in general but of our family specifically. Having
grandchildren who are playing in the streets of Yerushalayim and elsewhere in
Eretz Yisrael makes them feel strongly connected to the amazing part of our
nation’s history that is playing out now. When, at the end of the Pesach Seder,
they say “l’shanah haba’ah biYerushalayim,” it is a Yerushalayim that is
much more tangible to them, not just some esoteric concept. They’ve been here,
they are represented here, and they have a future here.
I
am proud to be part of that future.
The Security
Situation
When, as a bachur, I decided – with
my parents’ approval – that I was to go to learn in Eretz Yisrael, there were
several relatives who expressed concern about the security situation in Eretz
Yisrael.
It was just a few days before I
was scheduled to leave home that my father and a few of my siblings went to do
some shopping. While at the store, a gun-wielding teenager forced everyone into
the freezer while he cleaned out the cash registers. (The cashier led them
instead into the refrigerator.) Although, baruch Hashem, the traumatic ordeal lasted
just a short while, without any injuries, I was no longer subject to any
dissuasion due to security concerns.
This article is
part of the Eretz Chemdah series featuring Anglo-Chareidim living in, settling,
and building up Eretz Yisrael. A project of Avira D'Eretz Yisroel, coordinated
by Yoel Berman - info@aviraderetzyisroel.org.
