Need info/ideas re: Rechovot, Nof Ayalon, Carmiel

slushiemom

Tue, Jun 22 2010, 11:50 am

OP, I'm gonna have to agree with Goldapoe in that 1- Sheinfeld sounds like a place that you'd fit in very nicely. A strong Chardal shul, with DL shuls nearby, and everyone getting along and respecting one another.

and 2- chareidi amother who decides what DL is like based on some girls who for some reason felt they needed this woman (who is CLEARLY lacking the midda of ahavat chinam, as well as sorely lacking in her knowledge of lashon hara) to mentor them has tremendous chutzpah.

amother

Tue, Jun 22 2010, 12:57 pm

Tablepoetry wrote:

Inspired wrote:

I also agree that you sound DL to me.

For the sake of accuracy, and since the op doesn't seem so familiar with all the definitions here, DL spans a rather large spectrum. You have strict chardalniks who cover their hair all the time and whose husbands/sons go to hesder, and you have more liberal/flexible/modern DL, where the women don't necessarily cover their hair at all. Some are more nationalistic, some less. And yet all these groups would define themselves as DL.

Some cities have a mix of this spectrum, some veer more to the stricter DL (like Nof Ayalon) and some to the more liberal DL (like Ra'anana).
So when looking for a place to live, DL probably isn't precise enough of a label; chardal may be better.

How does kashrut play into this? If someone eats only badatz (meats, chickens and ingredients), are they going to have trouble integrating into the stricter DL/chardal communities? Is there a large percentage of chardali/torani residents who eat only badatz (in general and specifically in the communities mentioned above - Nof Ayalon and Mevo Horon)? If not, this can become a problem...

TzipG

Tue, Jun 22 2010, 1:06 pm

amother wrote:

I can only speak for myself - While I do buy only mehadrin products in my home, I will eat no questions asked in other's ppl's homes as long as they present themselves as frum, Shomrei Shabbat/Kashrut/TH Jews. They may follow "lesser" standards when it comes to hechsherim, but I choose to be machmir on bein adam l'chaveiro and meikil on kashrut chumras.

shabri

Tue, Jun 22 2010, 1:26 pm

My brother and sister in law are Chardal in Beit Shemesh. She covers her hair, but leaves a tefach out. She wears jean skirts but only tznious ones. He gves a daf shiur, davens wth a minyan 3x/day. Totally shomer everything.

They send their kids to Rappaport which from what I understand has a dress code which would be considered pretty strict in America--my 8 yr old niece has to cover her elbows and I think she needs to wear socks. But def they are into the army, secular education etc.

Anyway, point is, they only eat mehadrin hashgachos. They are strict abt asking their rav what is acceptable to eat.

Actually you might want to look into their community, its called Nofei Hashemesh and while not chareidi at all, its comprised of all shomrei torah umitzvos Jews who are serious abt their Judaism.

amother

Tue, Jun 22 2010, 2:33 pm

shabri wrote:

do you know if they are going to build more. As of now it seems like the project kind of died out. We would have liked it there but ended up in ramat shilo instead- definitely rbs but not chareidi neighbors.

November

Wed, Jun 30 2010, 7:36 am

OP here: Hi Everyone!
We just returned from Israel and have lots of info. To those who would put me into a strong, halachic DL box, I would concur. However, my husband is a bit more Yeshiva-ish, and a baal teshuva without having learned in Yeshiva, so we don't quite fit in perfectly anywhere. That's just going to have to be the way it is. For those who asked, our children are a daughter going into 5th grade and twins going into 2nd. In terms of Israeli Bais Yaakov type schools in the middle of the country, my dress was not acceptable. My husband was told that outright that my skirt was too long, I showed too much hair with the tefach and I had to do something about my shirt, even though it was 3/4 length. OK, I chalked it up to a cultural difference and am not going to get worked up about it. Baruch Hashem we did find some Bais Yaakov type schools that were more open to community families that were not as particular: the Bais Yaakov in Chashmonaim and the Amichai school in Carmiel. Yes, I said Carmiel. It's far up North, with a strong Rabbi and a strong kollel and warm, open people who are trying to make a positive difference. My husband loved Carmiel- it's calmer, beautiful, more affordable. For me, I am concerned about being so far from my friends and family in the middle of the country. It took us 2 hours to get to the airport. That's going to be a big consideration.
By the way, for those wondering: Nof Ayalon is lovely, there is a Vaad that has to accept you, but there is no issue of having a TV there. There is very little housing available, and what is available is small and very expensive. Mevo Choron (pretty much up the street) is also lovely, it is over the green line, you cannot have TVs there. Lots of young families with little kids. The bus does not go there. I repeat: there is no public bus that goes there yet. Housing there is hard to come by, and getting more expensive. That was an issue throughout our trip- finding something affordable. Hence the trip to Carmiel.
Please ask anything else if you think I can be of help!

November

Thu, Jul 01 2010, 6:39 pm

amother wrote:

Bambamama wrote:

There's a school in REchovot called Etz Chaim. Maybe that would be appropriate?

No, it's chareidi. I doubt they would accept a child whose mother shows a tefach of hair and doesn't wear socks, even though they are open and warm.

OP here: we did in fact visit Etz Chaim cheder just last week. It was recommended by Rabbi Stein, who was well aware of my dress because we had sat with him at his table beforehand. As an American, I do believe that Rabbi Stein himself is more of an open-minded individual. I believe that there are children from all kinds of families in his cheder. In my experiences, it has been the girls' schools (particularly Bais Yaakovs) that are strict about what I call Mommy Dress Codes. Talmud Torahs- not so much.

November

Thu, Jul 01 2010, 6:48 pm

Mrs Bissli wrote:

Nu, did you visit Rechovot?

OP here: yes we did. In fact, we went straight there from the airport. I couldn't believe how close it was to Ben Gurion!! That's a major plus- you can go visit anyone who is flying into (or out of) the country. As a city, my husband was not wowwed by Rechovot. Aesthetics apparently mean a lot to him- something I found out on these pilot trips. Again, please take what I am saying with a grain of salt: we were only there for a day. It seemed very hectic, rushed and not so pretty. That's the part we were in, which was close to Rabbi Stein's shul. I know there are different areas which may have different flavors. We went to see the Etz Chaim cheder, and heard a bit about the Bais Yaakov in Rechovot. This part of Rechovot did not feel like a great fit for us religiously either. Plus, people kept telling us how expensive it is. Now in truth, everywhere in central Israel felt expensive. That's why we are so seriously considering Karmiel. Anyone care to join us???