Page 69 - issue
P. 69
Journey to Be’er Sheva
go back to America. My husband said, ‘Give me one logical Accelerating the Pace of Change ©WWW
reason why we should go back.’ I couldn’t come up with a
logical reason, and I’m very glad about that. I think I was Evidence-Based Treatment for Children and Adolescents
overwhelmed being a young mother and without family.” Anxiety, Behavior, Depression & Trauma
Parenting Techniques with Proven Results
When they made aliyah, their five-month-old son, who
had never been sick, now started to get ear infections from Momentumcounseling@outlook.com
the winter cold. In addition, she says, “It was hard until my 443-756-4648
husband found work. Our second son was born during that
time, and it was hard having a baby when your mother’s not Evening and Sunday appointments
around and in a foreign country. But one of the hardest
things for me was that you don’t have a community in the
same sense that we had in Baltimore. You go to shul to
daven. It wasn’t the same kind of experience you have in
chutz la’aretz. It was an adjustment.”
◆◆◆
Things started to pick up when the Neumans moved out
of Gilo to Be’er Sheva. Originally, Judy wanted to settle in a
kibbutz, but Yaakov wasn’t game. On the other hand, apart-
ments were expensive and scarce in those days, so the
Neumans looked around for a religious moshav. At the time,
today’s established communities were just forming. They
were accepted to go to Gush Katif, but Judy says, “We chick-
ened out because we were afraid we would not make good
tomato farmers!” They would have been expected to open a
hothouse for tomatoes, and since they were given just a short
time to decide, they declined the offer.
Unlike today, when there is housing available in many
communities, back then, the Jewish Agency offered olim des-
ignated housing with good rates on a mortgage in various
neighborhoods. The Neumans were offered such an apart-
ment in Be’er Sheva. At the same time, friends who had
moved to Be’er Sheva a little while before were helpful and
encouraging. And so, the Neumans found themselves settling
in Be’er Sheva. These same friends turned out to be instru-
mental in helping Yaakov find employment.
After their move, Yaakov started working in computers for
a chemical company, similar to what he was doing in
America. The company produces all kinds of chemicals, from
fire retardants to chemicals used for water treatment. The
head offices are in Be’er Sheva, so 99% of his time, Yaakov
remained local. Once in a while, he had to visit the plants in
Ramat Chovav or another location near the Dead Sea to see
how they could improve the computer systems for the work-
ers’ needs. He describes his adjustment to the Israeli work-
force as being, “relatively smooth.” When Yaakov joined the
developing company, there were only three other workers; by
the time he retired, the computer department had increased
to about 40 workers!
Judy comments on Yaakov’s positive influence he had on
his secular coworkers: “He didn’t behave like the ‘messenger
of religious people,’ but just by being who he was, he could
show people who weren’t religious that a religious person can
be a mentch and can joke around. Every year he took the
u 410 358 8509 u 61
go back to America. My husband said, ‘Give me one logical Accelerating the Pace of Change ©WWW
reason why we should go back.’ I couldn’t come up with a
logical reason, and I’m very glad about that. I think I was Evidence-Based Treatment for Children and Adolescents
overwhelmed being a young mother and without family.” Anxiety, Behavior, Depression & Trauma
Parenting Techniques with Proven Results
When they made aliyah, their five-month-old son, who
had never been sick, now started to get ear infections from Momentumcounseling@outlook.com
the winter cold. In addition, she says, “It was hard until my 443-756-4648
husband found work. Our second son was born during that
time, and it was hard having a baby when your mother’s not Evening and Sunday appointments
around and in a foreign country. But one of the hardest
things for me was that you don’t have a community in the
same sense that we had in Baltimore. You go to shul to
daven. It wasn’t the same kind of experience you have in
chutz la’aretz. It was an adjustment.”
◆◆◆
Things started to pick up when the Neumans moved out
of Gilo to Be’er Sheva. Originally, Judy wanted to settle in a
kibbutz, but Yaakov wasn’t game. On the other hand, apart-
ments were expensive and scarce in those days, so the
Neumans looked around for a religious moshav. At the time,
today’s established communities were just forming. They
were accepted to go to Gush Katif, but Judy says, “We chick-
ened out because we were afraid we would not make good
tomato farmers!” They would have been expected to open a
hothouse for tomatoes, and since they were given just a short
time to decide, they declined the offer.
Unlike today, when there is housing available in many
communities, back then, the Jewish Agency offered olim des-
ignated housing with good rates on a mortgage in various
neighborhoods. The Neumans were offered such an apart-
ment in Be’er Sheva. At the same time, friends who had
moved to Be’er Sheva a little while before were helpful and
encouraging. And so, the Neumans found themselves settling
in Be’er Sheva. These same friends turned out to be instru-
mental in helping Yaakov find employment.
After their move, Yaakov started working in computers for
a chemical company, similar to what he was doing in
America. The company produces all kinds of chemicals, from
fire retardants to chemicals used for water treatment. The
head offices are in Be’er Sheva, so 99% of his time, Yaakov
remained local. Once in a while, he had to visit the plants in
Ramat Chovav or another location near the Dead Sea to see
how they could improve the computer systems for the work-
ers’ needs. He describes his adjustment to the Israeli work-
force as being, “relatively smooth.” When Yaakov joined the
developing company, there were only three other workers; by
the time he retired, the computer department had increased
to about 40 workers!
Judy comments on Yaakov’s positive influence he had on
his secular coworkers: “He didn’t behave like the ‘messenger
of religious people,’ but just by being who he was, he could
show people who weren’t religious that a religious person can
be a mentch and can joke around. Every year he took the
u 410 358 8509 u 61
