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P. 83
Journey to Rechavia
large enough to accommodate everyone. There was even a Accelerating the Pace of Change ©WWW
big yard where the kids could run and play. The location was
not a good fit for them, however, because the residents were Evidence-Based Treatment for Children and Adolescents
mostly of an older generation, the parents of Liza’s childhood Anxiety, Behavior, Depression & Trauma
friends still living there at the time. Parenting Techniques with Proven Results
From Ramot, they moved to Rechavia in the center of the Momentumcounseling@outlook.com
city. Since Meni’s father is the Rav of the Chabad shul, 443-756-4648
Tzemach Tzedek, in the Old City, and Meni was raised being
part of the shul, it was important to him to live within walk- Evening and Sunday appointments
ing distance of the shul and be active in it once again. The
shul was built by one of the Lubavitcher Rebbes and was
actually the only shul left standing after the Six Day War.
Every Shabbos, the Even-Israels make the 35-minute walk to
Tzemach Tzedek. Liza is enthusiastic about the shul: “It’s fun
because it attracts a lot of tourists, and you get to see so
many people through the years. Of course, there’s a core
group of people who daven there as well.”
There are no religious schools in Rechavia, so children
leave the neighborhood, taking either public or private trans-
portation. The Even-Israels sent their daughter to a Chabad
elementary school in Ramat Shlomo. Their older son went to
Meni’s father’s school, and their younger son went to
Rapaport in Ramot. It is a “chardal” school (a mixture of
chareidi and dati leumi) that has a large number of both
chutznikim and Israelis.
◆◆◆
The Even-Israels came to Israel during the second
Lebanese War in 2005, which made settling in hard and very
scary, especially for their son, who was eight years old. Their
daughter had an easy time adjusting, and by Chanuka time,
she was already speaking Hebrew with an Israeli accent. Liza
recognizes that her children’s adjustment was made easier
since she and her husband spoke fluent Hebrew and were
already Israeli citizens, and because they had family living
there.
Liza mentions that her boys have severe allergies to nuts
and peanuts, and when they first sent them to the Israeli
schools, she had to work hard to educate the staff about their
allergies. “If I did not know Hebrew,” she says, “I probably
would not have come to Israel at that time.” Liza adds that
there is now much more awareness of allergies in the schools.
Liza also had a hard time initially getting the proper ulpan
(Hebrew language) help that her children were entitled to in
school. “You can’t always rely on the school for language
help,” she says, “and this can be very frustrating.” She advis-
es olim to be prepared to spend money to acclimate their
children, whether with ulpan or extra chugim (activities) to
keep them busy after they come home from the shorter
Israeli school day.
Leah, the Even-Israels’ daughter, who is now 18 and in
12th grade, shares her experience making aliyah. “It wasn’t a
hard process for me. I’m friends with a lot of people who
made aliyah a lot later and their process was probably one of
u 410 358 8509 u 75
large enough to accommodate everyone. There was even a Accelerating the Pace of Change ©WWW
big yard where the kids could run and play. The location was
not a good fit for them, however, because the residents were Evidence-Based Treatment for Children and Adolescents
mostly of an older generation, the parents of Liza’s childhood Anxiety, Behavior, Depression & Trauma
friends still living there at the time. Parenting Techniques with Proven Results
From Ramot, they moved to Rechavia in the center of the Momentumcounseling@outlook.com
city. Since Meni’s father is the Rav of the Chabad shul, 443-756-4648
Tzemach Tzedek, in the Old City, and Meni was raised being
part of the shul, it was important to him to live within walk- Evening and Sunday appointments
ing distance of the shul and be active in it once again. The
shul was built by one of the Lubavitcher Rebbes and was
actually the only shul left standing after the Six Day War.
Every Shabbos, the Even-Israels make the 35-minute walk to
Tzemach Tzedek. Liza is enthusiastic about the shul: “It’s fun
because it attracts a lot of tourists, and you get to see so
many people through the years. Of course, there’s a core
group of people who daven there as well.”
There are no religious schools in Rechavia, so children
leave the neighborhood, taking either public or private trans-
portation. The Even-Israels sent their daughter to a Chabad
elementary school in Ramat Shlomo. Their older son went to
Meni’s father’s school, and their younger son went to
Rapaport in Ramot. It is a “chardal” school (a mixture of
chareidi and dati leumi) that has a large number of both
chutznikim and Israelis.
◆◆◆
The Even-Israels came to Israel during the second
Lebanese War in 2005, which made settling in hard and very
scary, especially for their son, who was eight years old. Their
daughter had an easy time adjusting, and by Chanuka time,
she was already speaking Hebrew with an Israeli accent. Liza
recognizes that her children’s adjustment was made easier
since she and her husband spoke fluent Hebrew and were
already Israeli citizens, and because they had family living
there.
Liza mentions that her boys have severe allergies to nuts
and peanuts, and when they first sent them to the Israeli
schools, she had to work hard to educate the staff about their
allergies. “If I did not know Hebrew,” she says, “I probably
would not have come to Israel at that time.” Liza adds that
there is now much more awareness of allergies in the schools.
Liza also had a hard time initially getting the proper ulpan
(Hebrew language) help that her children were entitled to in
school. “You can’t always rely on the school for language
help,” she says, “and this can be very frustrating.” She advis-
es olim to be prepared to spend money to acclimate their
children, whether with ulpan or extra chugim (activities) to
keep them busy after they come home from the shorter
Israeli school day.
Leah, the Even-Israels’ daughter, who is now 18 and in
12th grade, shares her experience making aliyah. “It wasn’t a
hard process for me. I’m friends with a lot of people who
made aliyah a lot later and their process was probably one of
u 410 358 8509 u 75
