Please tell me the differences between Beit shemesh and RBS!

shalhevet

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 7:05 am

Liba wrote:

http://www.masortiworld.org/molami/Ideology

I don't understand what you are all trying to say. Masorati here is the Conservative movement. They have synagogues, offices, and even a kibbutz. The kibbutz has a synagogue as well.

http://www.masortiworld.org/molami/Ideology

The main Massorati shul in Israel is on Derech Chevron in Jerusalem

The Masorti Movement in Israel
Masorti Olami Israel
Address:
98 Derech Hebron, Jerusalem 91074
City:
Jerusalem
Contact Person And E-mail Address:
Yizhar Hess (Executive Director and CEO) - yhess@masorti.org
General Information - masorti@masorti.org
Telephone Number:
+972-2-565-8000
Fax Number:
+972-2-624-6869

Yes, we all know they exist, but there are probably about 100 people like this, 99 of which are American. If an Israeli tells you he is masorati, this is NOT what he means. He possibly hasn't even heard of this movement. He means he (and his wife) don't look frum re how they dress but he is a good jew at heart, he believes in Hashem, he makes kiddush and his wife lights candles, he goes to shul every so often, maybe even regularly. He might not look for a hechsher when out but he would never eat 'chazzer treif'. He possibly drives on Shabbat, but never on YK. If he is in aveilus ch"v he keeps all the halachos. He gets married according to halacha. Quite possibly they keep TH or some form of it (probably including going to the mikva). He is probably Sephardi, but I do know a Ashkenazi masorti family.

The word masorti in Hebrew simply means traditional, which is why it got a different meaning in Israel and America.

amother

Fri, Jan 11 2013, 12:38 pm

Thanks everyone, this is OP.

slushiemom, so you live in sheinfeld, do you have a car, do you find that you need it?
what do you like better about sheinfeld than Ramat Shilo? do you consider yourself DL or chardal? and what about your parents? what do they like about sheinfeld?

Are there any chareidim at all in sheinfeld or are they all over in nachala umenucha? is nachala umenucha the area where all the problems were, or is there a decent relationship between the two neighborhoods?

I am just trying to figure out where we will fit in, we do not want our kids to mix much wiht the other gender, are there separate youth groups? also, we are strict about long sleeves,etc, and dh does not wear a black hat and wears black knitted. Are there a lot of people like me who dress chardal style, long sleeves, higher necklines, long skirts, etc?

Are there any black hat wearers at all in sheinfeld? or is it totally DL and chardal?

I was looking at a real estate website and am confused by which neighborhood is which. Rchov Rashi seems to be much cheaper than reuven and gad, I s that still part of the sheinfeld neighborhood and is it still a nice place to live?Also , do you know which are the best real estate agents to rent adn buy from?

When you say that the people who send to rapaport have a bus, does that mean a school bus, adn do you know approx how much it costs per child ? is it just for elementary or also for

please advise. so many questions, sorry!

I really want to stay anon still, otherwise I would PM you. I really appreciate yor help, I need lots of info!
Thanks!

amother

Sat, Jan 12 2013, 1:26 pm

OP I'm the amother who responded earlier.

It sounds to me like you'd be out of place in Sheinfeld. There is a separate youth movement there, Ezra, and there are a few chardal type families, but most families allow things like boys and girls hanging out. In fact Gad and Reuven are the place that MO teens go to hang out on Shabbat.

The thing is, the anglo MO neighborhoods in Beit Shemesh aren't just not hareidi, they're a little anti-hareidi. There's a sense that doing certain things, like not hugging guy friends, or not singing in front of guys, things like that, makes you too frum. I'm sure not everyone feels that way, but it's something I've heard from a lot of people.

Not all of Rashi is part of Sheinfeld, so that's probably why there are some lower prices there.

slushiemom

Sat, Jan 12 2013, 2:35 pm

amother wrote:

before I answer the op, lemme just say that the bold is really obnoxious, probably L"H and DEFINITELY not true. I actually don't know anyone who this would apply to. Also, you don't even live here, why are you anon?

OP, it would definitely be easier to answer all your questions over email/gchat or facebook or something, if that's a possibility let me know ( I wont out you), if you really need to stay anon for now, then reply here and I'll try my best to respond to everything Smile

amother

Sat, Jan 12 2013, 4:40 pm

slushiemom wrote:

First you insult me, then you want to know why I'm anonymous?

I'm trying to help the OP. I think what I'm saying is true, and I think it's relevant. I've heard similar feelings from people who, like me, lived in Beit Shemesh as young adults. Obviously not everyone feels that way, because some people choose to stay.

You say you don't know anyone it would apply to. Are you and your friends similar to what OP says she wants for her kids? Because if you're more typical MO, of course you wouldn't experience the same type of stereotyping.

SJcookie

Sat, Jan 12 2013, 7:27 pm

Hi OP.

Beit Shemesh is a city in Israel. RBS alef is a community within the city. So, for example, if you'd be mailing a letter to RBS alef, the city would be beit shemesh, not RBS alef.

I would break Beit Shemesh down into 6 "mini cities": (note: I am generalizing these communities...just so that you have a picture. But obviously there're exceptions.)

1. "Old Beit Shemesh" which has many secular or traditional people: mainly Sefardim, Ethiopians, and Russians.

2. Sheinfeld and Nofei Aviv are DL communities, which have many American families. The area is generally more upscale and expensive than "old Beit Shemesh".

3. Kiryat charedi in Beit Shemesh. That's where many charedim live. The Charedim who reside there are mainly Israeli-charedi and yiddish speaking.

4. Cheftziba: has Israeli-sefardi Charedim and slonim chassidim.

5. RBS Alef - is a mix of DL, Chardal, and Charedim. Has a fair amount of both Anglos and Israelis. There are many English speakers, but generally, the Israelis & charedim live on nachal sorek, nachal kishon, and nachal lachish. The DL and Chardal communities, which have many Americans, live higher up the hill - like on nachal dolev, nachal shimshon, etc.

6. RBS Bet - mainly chassidim.

Throughout Beit Shemesh (ie: all of the communities that I mentioned above): there's public transportation on nearly every street - there're local buses that stop within Beit Shemesh, a direct bus to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and a train station where there're trains that stop almost everywhere in Israel.

There're many shopping centers and kupat cholim (healthcare clinics) in the various communities. There're also many supermarkets where you can do all of your shopping, and if you don't have a car, that's fine because all of the supermarkets deliver. If you don't want the delivery, you can take a cab, bus, or get a ride with someone you know.

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.

slushiemom

Sun, Jan 13 2013, 1:00 am

amother wrote:

slushiemom wrote:

I did not call you obnoxious, I called what you said obnoxious (which it was, as you have no firsthand info if that is correct- which it's not). I'm more typical MO, probably a bit to the left of OP, my chevra is all MO and pretty varied- I'm very close with about 6 young couples and there's over 20 in my wider chevra. NO ONE touches or hugs other people's husbands. I'm not saying the neighborhood is right for OP (I'm not saying it's not either, I'm in touch with her privately to give more relevant details and let her decide).

Again, your original post was to give info about the community based on what you heard- that does not in any way compromise your identity, there's no reason you should have been anon.

slushiemom

Sun, Jan 13 2013, 12:37 pm

amother wrote:

I'm talking about life for teens and young adults, not married couples. I think OP would be fine there but if I were her I'd worry it wouldn't be comfortable for her older kids with her expectations of them.

I already said twice that this is based on my experience actually living there, and friends experiences actually living there Confused

My sincerest apologies. I must've mixed up a couple of different posts- it just really touched a raw nerve when I read something I percieved as negative about my community when I literally have NEVER encountered that in 9 years of living here.

There ARE different communities/shuls within Sheinfeld, I (correctly) assumed OP was discussing the Gad/Asher/Reuven/BMTL community.

amother

Mon, Jan 14 2013, 3:19 am

amother wrote:

The bolded is true..

slushiemom

Mon, Jan 14 2013, 3:30 am

amother wrote:

The bolded is true..

Yes, when members of the hareidi community start up with our community, (some) ppl here are vocal about e/t that annoys them about the hareidi lifestyle, up to and including the lack of reining in their violent members.

however, it's been very quiet for over a year and believe me, no one goes around talking about hareidim. we live our lives, and they live theirs and zehu. Most families here would not want their kids to become hareidi as adults (meaning, in israel as it stands, they want army, college, and work for their kids), just like hareidim would not want their kids to become DL.

Personally, I try to instill ahavat yisrael in my kids, going out of my way to pick up hareidi (women) hitchikers, etc

shalhevet

Mon, Jan 14 2013, 3:38 am

slushiemom wrote:

amother wrote:

slushiemom wrote:

I don't live in BS, and I've been there about twice, I think. I just think it's important to note that you, yourself, slushiemom, posted several letters/ emails from rabbis(?) and/or communal leaders from the BS DL/ MO community which were extremely inciteful, calling on the MO there to demonstrate (? I don't remember all the details) against other frum Jews in BS.

I have NEVER seen such hate from MO people against chareidim as seems to be found among at least some of the MO residents of BS, anywhere else in Israel. I think there may be politics and/or struggles for land there (read: money) as a cause, but I would be wary of living there if you want to straddle the two worlds.

slushiemom

Mon, Jan 14 2013, 3:44 am

shalhevet wrote:

slushiemom wrote:

amother wrote:

slushiemom wrote:

The situation last year was literally crazy. you say you've never seen such hate from MO towards chareidim- I've NEVER seen those who identify themselves as chareidi behave so violently towards MO in an MO town anywhere else but here (we all know about the bleach throwers etc in Meah Shearim, but as awful as that is "at least" it's on their own turf). So we had disgusting, violent men in OUR neighbrohood spitting, shoving, pushing,leaving dog poop on our sidewalks, and yes uncalled for hatred back towards where it was coming from (most people recognized that it was a fringe group- what got us mad was that NO chareidi identifying rabbi, when asked, when the rest of the city was rallying against the violence would come out publicly against what they were doing- I cannot fathom why)

It was awful, it was a chillul Hashem, believe me e/o here just wants to live in peace, as evidenced by the fact that since the media blowup got the violent ones to back down, there has been ZERO trouble proving it was one-sided instigation, with us defending ourselves.

Now, it's 100% live and let live. no one here talks about hareidim, good or bad it's just not relevant to our day to day lives- so no, there's no BASELESS hatred here.

(btw- it didnt hit as close to home, obviously but I was personally living in ramat shiloh at the time of the violence, and the table talk there was the EXACT SAME as in sheinfeld regarding the crazies and the disdain for chareidi rabbanim refusing to denounce it).