Anyone in Kfar Chabad?

amother

Sat, Sep 18 2021, 11:48 pm

And have a minute to hear out my dream and tell me just HOW unrealistic this is?

I have a dream of coming for the summer (this summer or whenever the borders open up) with all of my kids, age 1-16. We would rent a house or apartment, I'd put the younger kids in day camp, send my older ones to Yeshivas Kayitz, and take my older daughter (whom I promised her own Israel trip) to tour a few places.

The primary goal would be for my kids to learn a lot of Hebrew! Everything else would be a bonus.

So... how nuts would it be? How crazy expensive would it be? (Aside for the costs of the tickets, the touring, and Yeshivas Kayitz.) Are houses/apartments available to rent? How much is day camp, and what are the hours like? Is Kfar Chabad walkable, at least to a grocery store?

Thanks for any input Smile

Chickensoupprof

Sun, Sep 19 2021, 1:14 am

What FF says is true. Tzfat is really meschist and also kfar chabad especially the younger generations. I know from tzfas because I spent lot of time there and I’ve heard how kfar chabad was. Beis shemesh also has chabad communities

amother

Purple

Sun, Sep 19 2021, 1:27 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

Do you believe that the Rebbe is Moshiach?

If not, you will NOT fit in there. Same with the Chabad community in Tzfat.

There are many in Kfar Chabad who are not meshichist. They're just not as loud as the meshichists.

To OP, I don't know about places to stay in KC. KC in general is not cheap but I don't know about short-term rentals or AirBNBs.

It's not exactly a walkable place, but I guess if you find somewhere to stay right near a grocery store, then you won't need a car to get there. You can probably make do on foot, depending on how much you're willing to walk, where in KC you stay, and which amenities you need, but in general, I would say you need a car. Public transportation to and from Kfar Chabad is also not great, so if you're looking to tour/ travel, you'll probably want a car, though you can definitely make it work without one. I believe there is a train in each direction once an hour, but you'll want to check when it runs and when the last train is. There's also a bus that goes to the tzomet, and there are some buses that operate within Kfar Chabad itself, to Bnei Brak and other places, I think, but I've never taken those.
The train stop is at the edge of Kfar Chabad, and runs between it and the long road leading to Kfar Chabad Bet.

I can't answer your other questions, sorry.

amother

Purple

Sun, Sep 19 2021, 1:29 am

Chickensoupprof wrote:

You can't compare Kfar Chabad to Tzfat. Tzfat is way more extreme. I wouldn't say Kfar Chabad is more extreme than some meshichists in places like Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem. You can find all kinds of people in Kfar Chabad. Tzfat seems to attract more of a certain type than other types.

amother

Sun, Sep 19 2021, 1:33 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

Do you believe that the Rebbe is Moshiach?

If not, you will NOT fit in there. Same with the Chabad community in Tzfat.

Don't worry, we're not scared of any extremes. I have relatives on one side who say Yechi with non-frum Yidden, and on the other side who shudder to hear it. Me and DH are relatively pareve. I say that we bring shalom Smile

I've been to both Kfar Chabad and Tzfas, and although there are very passionate individuals living there, it's not exactly going to cause issues in the day-to-day. Especially not for staying just for a summer! (For various reasons, we're not considering Aliyah at this point, Chabad politics not playing any role whatsoever!)

To answer your question, I haven't found a better candidate for Moshiach yet; and although my boys don't wear Yechi yarmulkes, I wouldn't faint if they did.

Thanks for all the practical info offered!

Success10

Sun, Sep 19 2021, 2:04 am

If your kids are coming in with very little Hebrew, it seems a shaky plan. Unless you go stay in areas with a solid English speaking population, like Tzfat. Could be you could find a Summer rental in Tzfat (not the Old City) for $3,000 a month. Maybe much less. Tzfat is a very affordable city, but they do milk the tourism season. Lots of supermarkets. Close to kevarim and tons of tourist attractions.

American style day camp is not always easy to find here. More common to find backyard camps run by teenage girls in their homes. Very cheap. Like 150 shekels a week per kid.

I don't think you can make this happen for less than $9,000, not including airfare.

tree of life

Sun, Sep 19 2021, 2:30 am

Hi I'm chabad living in ramet beis shemesh
I'm not sure that coming to Israel for six weeks will teach the kids Hebrew it will help of cause
Kfar chabad is lovely but most people are cousin etc etc so hang around with each other plus you need to be approved to live there not sure about rentals best bet is either ramet beis shemesh gimme/or aleph l or ביתר
Where most Chabad kids speak Hebrew and English
Yeshiva kayitz is usually in a campus sometimes ok tsfas or other places my boys had great time going
Happy to give you honest answers
It's lovely here happy to help you