Page 45 - issue
P. 45
Journey to Bnei Brak 37
difference. Elisheva states, “If you want something, you can
do it, and when it comes to living in a place like Bnei Brak,
you have to want it to be happy.”
Elisheva shares an incident that happened to her when she
and Dovid first arrived in Bnei Brak as newlyweds. One
Shabbos, they went to the famous Lederman’s shul, where
Harav Chaim Kanievsky davens. After shul was over,
Rebbetzin Kanievsky, a”h, noticed the young Grant couple
and asked them to come over to give them a bracha. Elisheva
remembers those words of bracha and the tremendous emo-
tion she felt at being singled out by the chashuva Rebbetzin.
Elisheva describes her experience and perspective
towards life in Bnei Brak. First and foremost, she enjoys the
great kedusha suffusing the city due to the widespread
Torah learning that goes on there. Every Shabbos during
shana rishona, Elisheva would go to Ponovezh to daven. “I
find it beautiful to see children outside playing carefree on
Friday nights.” During the week, too, she and her children
feel safe outside at night. Elisheva relates that her children
are very helpful; the older ones watch the younger kids and
do shopping for her. She believes that the standard level of
responsibility of children in Eretz Yisrael is greater than you
would find in America. The Grants live is very simple area,
with the people trying their best and wanting to have big
families. There are challenges as well, of course.
Looking back at these last several years of her life in Bnei
Brak, Elisheva realizes that she learned how to live in Bnei
Brak through her children. Yes, schools are different from
what she was used to growing up in Baltimore, and class
sizes are considerably larger, but Elisheva finds that having
an older, experienced woman to whom she can address her
questions is helpful in learning and understanding the school
system. She points out that in, her experience, Bnei Brak is
no different than other communities in the sense that some-
times you will have a good class with a good rebbi or teacher
and sometimes you won’t. Elisheva has friends whose hus-
bands are working, and their children are still accepted into
good chadarim and schools. Elisheva acknowledges that
chadarim are selective, which she perceives as a good thing
for the general benefit of society, but of course it is hard for
the family that is turned away.
Elisheva and her children feel very accepted within their
schools, because she totally conformed to the chareidi
lifestyle and tries to accept the differences. In fact, her
daughter’s teacher actually appreciates that she knows
English so well from speaking it at home.
When Elisheva initially looked for a job in Bnei Brak, she
accepted whatever came her way. First she subbed for a
friend teaching English in high school, which she found to
be “amazing.” After that, she took over a babysitting group.
There were times when she wasn’t employed and lacked the
knowledge and skills to navigate the system, so she used her
creativity and began a baking chug (after-school activity) and
u 410 358 8509 u
difference. Elisheva states, “If you want something, you can
do it, and when it comes to living in a place like Bnei Brak,
you have to want it to be happy.”
Elisheva shares an incident that happened to her when she
and Dovid first arrived in Bnei Brak as newlyweds. One
Shabbos, they went to the famous Lederman’s shul, where
Harav Chaim Kanievsky davens. After shul was over,
Rebbetzin Kanievsky, a”h, noticed the young Grant couple
and asked them to come over to give them a bracha. Elisheva
remembers those words of bracha and the tremendous emo-
tion she felt at being singled out by the chashuva Rebbetzin.
Elisheva describes her experience and perspective
towards life in Bnei Brak. First and foremost, she enjoys the
great kedusha suffusing the city due to the widespread
Torah learning that goes on there. Every Shabbos during
shana rishona, Elisheva would go to Ponovezh to daven. “I
find it beautiful to see children outside playing carefree on
Friday nights.” During the week, too, she and her children
feel safe outside at night. Elisheva relates that her children
are very helpful; the older ones watch the younger kids and
do shopping for her. She believes that the standard level of
responsibility of children in Eretz Yisrael is greater than you
would find in America. The Grants live is very simple area,
with the people trying their best and wanting to have big
families. There are challenges as well, of course.
Looking back at these last several years of her life in Bnei
Brak, Elisheva realizes that she learned how to live in Bnei
Brak through her children. Yes, schools are different from
what she was used to growing up in Baltimore, and class
sizes are considerably larger, but Elisheva finds that having
an older, experienced woman to whom she can address her
questions is helpful in learning and understanding the school
system. She points out that in, her experience, Bnei Brak is
no different than other communities in the sense that some-
times you will have a good class with a good rebbi or teacher
and sometimes you won’t. Elisheva has friends whose hus-
bands are working, and their children are still accepted into
good chadarim and schools. Elisheva acknowledges that
chadarim are selective, which she perceives as a good thing
for the general benefit of society, but of course it is hard for
the family that is turned away.
Elisheva and her children feel very accepted within their
schools, because she totally conformed to the chareidi
lifestyle and tries to accept the differences. In fact, her
daughter’s teacher actually appreciates that she knows
English so well from speaking it at home.
When Elisheva initially looked for a job in Bnei Brak, she
accepted whatever came her way. First she subbed for a
friend teaching English in high school, which she found to
be “amazing.” After that, she took over a babysitting group.
There were times when she wasn’t employed and lacked the
knowledge and skills to navigate the system, so she used her
creativity and began a baking chug (after-school activity) and
u 410 358 8509 u
