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How Hashem brought us to Erits Hakodes.
When my mother told me she was
separated, it was a big surprise for me
because my father and her had been
married their whole life. My mother is
more than 80 years old and my father is
80. I never thought this could happen so
near my home, but it did. My father who
for me and for everybody must be
considered our example in life had been
cheating my mother for some months and
my mother discovered it and moved out. I
thought those things were not usual at
their age but I was mistaken when they
came to visit us this summer and stayed
with us both of them but in separate
rooms. I saw nothing unusual in their
behavior. They were like friends. But
summer ended and they went back to their
lives in their country of origin and to
their things.
Talking to my mother, who often sees my
father to go to eat out or for a walk,
she told me she did not want to see him
anymore because he was in a restaurant
with her, but he was looking at a modest
woman.
When I told her that when he was here
with us in Israel, he was behaving okay,
she told me, "Of course he was. In your
place, women are dressed from hair to
toes. Not an inch of them is seen.
All of this made me think a lot and also
be grateful to Hashem.
Before coming to Israel, I pleaded
Hashem to take me out of that country of
immodesty where women walked in the
streets almost naked. And I thought to
myself, how am I going to raise my kids
here? How did Moshe raise his kids in
Egypt? But I am not a Rabanit. We are
not so strong in Torah to survive this
kind of place. And I started to ask
Hashem for a holier place to live.
Months passed and nothing happened as I
saw this was just impossible in my life.
How was my father going to accept that
we move so many kilometers away from
them and accept not seeing his only
grandchildren often? He is not Jewish. I
am a convert. How will he be able to
understand that?
In the meantime, I had started donating
the maser to Bezrot Hashem organization
every month and receiving lots of
advices from our dear Rabbi Yar and
Ruven. May God help him in all that he
does. We did not give maser to receive
miracles. We did because it was what it
had to be done according to Torah.
Before knowing the Bezraat Hashem
organization, the Torah we knew from our
country rabbis was confusing. Maser
calculation was confusing. Even giving
maser was confusing as all the
politically correctness of the majority
of the rabinim in our country was what
we knew until we discovered bezat
hashem. We knew about maser we knew
about some of the halahhat but it was
all confusing. When we started listening
to rabbi ruven it all became clear 10%
that is it not deducting this or that or
somehow giving it a way out. One day I
was lighting the Shabbat candles in my
home. I light them in a Hanukkah glass
box that has a double base. Shabbat
candles on one side and Hanukkah candles
on the other side. I noticed the glass
was broken, but I did not pay too much
attention to it. I thought the maid
perhaps did it. It's okay. It can happen
to anybody. I continued lighting my
Shabbat candles for months and praying
to Hashem to take us out of that
immodest city and country and take us to
a holier place. I did not tell Hashem
where as he knows best.
I was so tired and disgusted of going
out to the street and I had to go out
for everything, taking kids to school,
even in a kids park. I could not stand
being a long time because of all the
dirtiness that was in front of our eyes.
Time passed and one day I was sitting in
the couch looking at the candle box when
I saw the Erett Israel map so clear in
the cracks of the glass. I was
astonished. How did I not noticed it
before? No way. Hashem is taking us
there. No way. My father will not allow
it. Too far away. And I continue with
that thought in my mind, wishing this
was a message from Shmayam saying that
my prayer was accepted and we were going
to the best place of all, our land. I
did not tell anybody about it. I thought
they might think I was crazy with such
thoughts. Messages from Shamayan.
Israel, are you crazy? With time, we had
to tell our family that we will not be
living in that country forever. Kids
were growing up and getting closer to
bar mitzvah. We had to move soon. We
wanted to know where. We did not know,
but I wish the broken glass was right
and we could somehow by miracle go to
Israel. The day I went to talk to my
father was a very scary day. My father
is the type of man that does not go
around. He is very straightforward.
If he likes one thing, he will tell you
straight and the same if he does not
like it. I was really afraid, but I had
to do this. I had to tell him for the
sake of my family. My kids can depended
on that. My whole family was at risk
staying there. When my father sat with
me and listened to what I had to say, I
could see his face changing, anger
through his eyes.
He said, "No way. Are you crazy? What do
you want to do?" I tried to explain to
him that our kids were raised Jewish
with Torah and mitzvah and that our
country could not provide them with the
right education. There was almost no
Torah life in our country. But inside of
me, I knew he would not understand it.
How could he? After all, he was not even
Jewish to understand all of this. I
returned to my house crying, anguished,
and sad.
I did not talk to my father for several
days. I was hurt. A week passed and I
went to talk to him again. This time he
was calmer. I could see no such anger in
his eyes, but worry. We sat down and
talked about it. I suggested a nearby
country that had a very good Torah life
and schools. I had researched it and
talked to people living there. It was
fine and we could see them often as it
was only an hour plane away from us.
What a surprise I had when he told me,
"No, you are not going there. You are
Jewish. If you want to move, you will
have to move to Israel." And I told him,
"But Daddy, it is too far away." He
answered, "Israel, but daddy, you are
not going to see your only grandkids at
all. It is 24 hours distance by plane."
He continued saying, "You are going to
Israel as I will not allow you to go
anywhere else. My heart was beating so
hard and fast. I could not believe what
I was experiencing at that moment. Oh my
God, Hashem made us a miracle. My
prayers were heard. Not only he will
take us out of this country, but he will
take us to the holiest country a Jew can
live on. Eret Hakodesesh." I could not
be more thankful to Hashem and to my
dear Rabbi Ruven who was the mentor of
it all. Returning with what I was
talking at the beginning nowadays and
since we moved to Israel some years ago,
we have been living in Heredi
neighborhoods since they left this
summer. All I can do is think in my
mother's answer to me. Of course, he
behaved good. Women there are all
covered from hair to toes. Not an inch
is seen of them. Not everybody can live
in Israel as Rabbi Ruven says, "But it
is our place, the place we love, and the
place we have to be. We could not be
happier with this change. Although it
was, and it is not easy. I know that if
I had only prayed to Hashem, this might
have not happened. What I did was pray
plus supporting a wonderful organization
who helps poor people and does kiru to
save Jewish souls from going out of the
way of our fathers or as we say out off
the derek. Since we started donation of
our maser to bezat hashem many miracles
have happened in our lives. This is just
one of them. In the high holidays we try
to donate more. As it is said, zodaka
saves lives not only physically because
with that money, poor people can buy
food, but especially spiritually. It
gives Bezraat Hashem the possibility to
do cassad. The best kind of cassette a
person can do for others and for
himself, herself. Kiruv
donate. Do cassed with yourself and
others.