Page 40 - issue
P. 40
Journey to Bnei Brak
studied because it was the popular thing to do but did not
enjoy, Alon went back to university in Israel to study psychol-
ogy. He also taught computers in a school in nearby
Ra’anana while maintaining a part-time learning schedule in
kollel. He currently has a private psychology practice and
works with troubled youth in a school in Petach Tikva, com-
muting there on his bike in only 30 minutes. Although Sheryl
got her degree in occupational therapy, she enjoys being a
stay-at-home mom.
When the Friedmans made aliyah, they moved into the
apartment that belonged to Alon’s parents in the Shikun
Gimmel neighborhood of Bnei Brak. They were fortunate in
being able to live rent-free, thought they eventually bought
the apartment. At that time, the secular neighborhood was
becoming more religious, and over the next several years,
more and more chareidim moved in because of lack of hous-
ing in the chareidi neighborhoods. Today, the neighborhood
has transformed to completely chareidi, with a good number
of modern chareidi families as well. A few years after the
Friedmans’ aliyah, Alon’s only sibling, a sister, moved to
Israel, and not long after that, their parents joined them, mov-
ing to Petach Tikva.
I ask Sheryl about her adjustment to Bnei Brak, a mostly
Israeli city, where Hebrew is the spoken language. Fortunately
for the Friedmans, language was not a problem. Alon had
retained his Hebrew while living in the U.S. as his family
spoke Hebrew at home, and Sheryl learned Hebrew before
their move, mainly from a private Israeli teacher and also
from the environment in her in-laws’ home.
Even though the family had difficulty adjusting in other
areas, Sheryl says, “What kept us there was that in Bnei Brak
you live as a Jew, not as an Israeli who keeps the Jewish reli-
gion. On the chagim, you see tons of secular Jews coming
into Bnei Brak just to look, just to walk around, because it’s
all out on the street. Around Chanuka, people on the streets
sell menoras, and before Sukkos, there are sukka and arba
minim stands. All over the city, there are huge flyers advertis-
ing all kinds of religious happenings. It is common to walk
outside and hear people calling for a minyan. Everything is
based around religious Jewish life, and when events are
scheduled, factors such as minyan are taken into account to
avoid conflicts.”
◆◆◆
Another special quality of Bnei Brak is its upstanding soci-
ety. In the Friedmans’ neighborhood, a fruit and vegetable
store leaves its produce on the street all night long. “No one
would think of taking anything,” says Sheryl. She also enjoys
being able to go out late at night and feel perfectly safe walk-
ing the streets. Many stores are open at night, and men are
constantly coming and going to their learning sedarim and
minyanim pretty much around the clock.
Sheryl compares life in Bnei Brak to a “village.” The shuls
are where you go to daven and are generally simple shteibl
32 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
studied because it was the popular thing to do but did not
enjoy, Alon went back to university in Israel to study psychol-
ogy. He also taught computers in a school in nearby
Ra’anana while maintaining a part-time learning schedule in
kollel. He currently has a private psychology practice and
works with troubled youth in a school in Petach Tikva, com-
muting there on his bike in only 30 minutes. Although Sheryl
got her degree in occupational therapy, she enjoys being a
stay-at-home mom.
When the Friedmans made aliyah, they moved into the
apartment that belonged to Alon’s parents in the Shikun
Gimmel neighborhood of Bnei Brak. They were fortunate in
being able to live rent-free, thought they eventually bought
the apartment. At that time, the secular neighborhood was
becoming more religious, and over the next several years,
more and more chareidim moved in because of lack of hous-
ing in the chareidi neighborhoods. Today, the neighborhood
has transformed to completely chareidi, with a good number
of modern chareidi families as well. A few years after the
Friedmans’ aliyah, Alon’s only sibling, a sister, moved to
Israel, and not long after that, their parents joined them, mov-
ing to Petach Tikva.
I ask Sheryl about her adjustment to Bnei Brak, a mostly
Israeli city, where Hebrew is the spoken language. Fortunately
for the Friedmans, language was not a problem. Alon had
retained his Hebrew while living in the U.S. as his family
spoke Hebrew at home, and Sheryl learned Hebrew before
their move, mainly from a private Israeli teacher and also
from the environment in her in-laws’ home.
Even though the family had difficulty adjusting in other
areas, Sheryl says, “What kept us there was that in Bnei Brak
you live as a Jew, not as an Israeli who keeps the Jewish reli-
gion. On the chagim, you see tons of secular Jews coming
into Bnei Brak just to look, just to walk around, because it’s
all out on the street. Around Chanuka, people on the streets
sell menoras, and before Sukkos, there are sukka and arba
minim stands. All over the city, there are huge flyers advertis-
ing all kinds of religious happenings. It is common to walk
outside and hear people calling for a minyan. Everything is
based around religious Jewish life, and when events are
scheduled, factors such as minyan are taken into account to
avoid conflicts.”
◆◆◆
Another special quality of Bnei Brak is its upstanding soci-
ety. In the Friedmans’ neighborhood, a fruit and vegetable
store leaves its produce on the street all night long. “No one
would think of taking anything,” says Sheryl. She also enjoys
being able to go out late at night and feel perfectly safe walk-
ing the streets. Many stores are open at night, and men are
constantly coming and going to their learning sedarim and
minyanim pretty much around the clock.
Sheryl compares life in Bnei Brak to a “village.” The shuls
are where you go to daven and are generally simple shteibl
32 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
