Page 44 - issue
P. 44
Journey to Bnei Brak
Sheryl emphasizes the incredible acts of chesed that
take place in Bnei Brak. There are sales catering to the
large chareidi families where you can shop for clothing,
school supplies, and all kinds of items at cost price. There
are a myriad gemachim, everything from providing cooked
food to helping people find jobs. Sheryl tells of a sweet
episode that happened when her married son came to visit
from Tzfat. They had forgotten their baby’s specific formula
at home, and it couldn’t be found in the stores in Bnei
Brak. Although it was midnight, sure enough, they found a
gemach that stocked that particular formula!
The Friedmans’ journey was a process. Sheryl and her
children feel more accepted now by the community at large.
Sheryl stresses that she davka wanted to live in an Israeli
community, and so she is for the most part happy with her
place in Bnei Brak and counts the many blessings of what
life there has to offer.
The Aliyah of Elisheva Grant
In any community, people have varied experiences, and so I
turn to another native Baltimorean, Elisheva Grant, whose
maiden name is Zucker, to share her story of what brought
her to live in Bnei Brak. Thirteen years ago, when Elisheva
met her husband Dovid Grant, another Baltimorean, he was
learning in Yeshivas Ponovezh in Bnei Brak. Dovid began
learning in a different yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael as a bachur,
and when he was ready for a change, he tried out Rabbi
Edelstein’s shiur in Ponovezh and loved the learning. It was
a hard adjustment for him, because he didn’t know any of the
other bachurim, plus he had to get used to a different culture
and mentality. Thankfully, he knew some families from
Baltimore living in Bnei Brak, who helped ease him into his
new environment. Although Elisheva was quite comfortable
in Yerushalayim when she met Dovid , she agreed to settle in
Bnei Brak because her priority was that her husband should
be happy with his learning.
Elisheva’s adjustment to Bnei Brak was made easier by
having a good friend from her class in Baltimore, Sara
Schondorf (nee Schleifer). Although Sara moved out soon
after Elisheva arrived, Elisheva describes how it was a “huge
thing” for her to have Sara’s company during her initial set-
tling in. “Sara introduced me to other friends, we shared
Shabbos meals together, and it was just fun to have her
around,” Elisheva recalls. Lucky for Elisheva, she also had
some other neighbors who were from chutz l’aretz.
Since Elisheva was already used to the Israeli mentality
from Yerushalayim, daily life in Bnei Brak didn’t come as a
shock to her. Yet she certainly had to adjust to being sur-
rounded in Bnei Brak by Hebrew-speaking Israelis, and
learning the language was a challenge. But her adjustment
to Bnei Brak was just another piece of adjusting to being a
young married woman. She also was interested and excited
about living in Eretz Yisrael, and for her, that made all the
36 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
Sheryl emphasizes the incredible acts of chesed that
take place in Bnei Brak. There are sales catering to the
large chareidi families where you can shop for clothing,
school supplies, and all kinds of items at cost price. There
are a myriad gemachim, everything from providing cooked
food to helping people find jobs. Sheryl tells of a sweet
episode that happened when her married son came to visit
from Tzfat. They had forgotten their baby’s specific formula
at home, and it couldn’t be found in the stores in Bnei
Brak. Although it was midnight, sure enough, they found a
gemach that stocked that particular formula!
The Friedmans’ journey was a process. Sheryl and her
children feel more accepted now by the community at large.
Sheryl stresses that she davka wanted to live in an Israeli
community, and so she is for the most part happy with her
place in Bnei Brak and counts the many blessings of what
life there has to offer.
The Aliyah of Elisheva Grant
In any community, people have varied experiences, and so I
turn to another native Baltimorean, Elisheva Grant, whose
maiden name is Zucker, to share her story of what brought
her to live in Bnei Brak. Thirteen years ago, when Elisheva
met her husband Dovid Grant, another Baltimorean, he was
learning in Yeshivas Ponovezh in Bnei Brak. Dovid began
learning in a different yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael as a bachur,
and when he was ready for a change, he tried out Rabbi
Edelstein’s shiur in Ponovezh and loved the learning. It was
a hard adjustment for him, because he didn’t know any of the
other bachurim, plus he had to get used to a different culture
and mentality. Thankfully, he knew some families from
Baltimore living in Bnei Brak, who helped ease him into his
new environment. Although Elisheva was quite comfortable
in Yerushalayim when she met Dovid , she agreed to settle in
Bnei Brak because her priority was that her husband should
be happy with his learning.
Elisheva’s adjustment to Bnei Brak was made easier by
having a good friend from her class in Baltimore, Sara
Schondorf (nee Schleifer). Although Sara moved out soon
after Elisheva arrived, Elisheva describes how it was a “huge
thing” for her to have Sara’s company during her initial set-
tling in. “Sara introduced me to other friends, we shared
Shabbos meals together, and it was just fun to have her
around,” Elisheva recalls. Lucky for Elisheva, she also had
some other neighbors who were from chutz l’aretz.
Since Elisheva was already used to the Israeli mentality
from Yerushalayim, daily life in Bnei Brak didn’t come as a
shock to her. Yet she certainly had to adjust to being sur-
rounded in Bnei Brak by Hebrew-speaking Israelis, and
learning the language was a challenge. But her adjustment
to Bnei Brak was just another piece of adjusting to being a
young married woman. She also was interested and excited
about living in Eretz Yisrael, and for her, that made all the
36 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
