Real Life Stories and Experiences of Yidden Settling in Eretz Yisroel.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
As we continue studying Seder Bereishis, we learn more of the immense stature of the avos. Parshas Vayeira is replete with stories from the life of Avrohom Avinu, one of the greatest people to ever walk this earth. From his devotion to the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim to the way he dealt with the nisayon of the Akeidah, every nuance of his demeanor, speech and actions personified the values he sought to instill in his descendants, continuing to guide and inspire us to this day.
“Maaseh avos siman labonim.” The actions of the fathers guide their children, as they point out the path to perfection in this world.

I love nature and I’m also attracted to ruchniyus. It was only natural that I made Eretz Yisroel my home, being the place where ruchniyus is natural and where nature is ruchniyus.
From the Teveria apartment building I live in, there are views of the beautiful Kinneret and its green surroundings. I enjoy looking at the scenery and connecting to the kedusha. It’s not just a big and beautiful lake—all other lakes in the world get their chiyus from HaShem “personally” keeping His “eyes” on this one. This is true as well for all the other elements that make up nature—the mountains, valleys, plains, skies, oceans, and everything else you can think of. The kedusha root of all of it is in Eretz Yisroel.

Various Perspectives and Experiences of English speakers Living in Eretz Yisroel
How We Made It in Eretz Yisroel
It was over fifty years ago when my husband, Meir Miller, first came to Eretz Yisroel as a bochur to learn in yeshiva. He had a strong desire to learn Torah in Eretz Yisroel and therefore worked hard as a waiter for a whole summer just to save up for a ticket (by boat, in case you were wondering). The difficulties that such a move involved did not daunt him.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
The end of Sukkos is one of the loneliest times of the year. As the decorations are peeled off and the sukkah is taken apart and put away, we feel exposed and removed from the comforting shelter in which we had been enveloped for more than a month.
From the first time we said “L’Dovid Hashem ori” during Elul, we were drawn into a sublime world. B’motzoei Menucha, we felt the tremors increasing, as we ushered in the days of Selichos. The week reached a crescendo as we stood in awe upon hearing the piercing cry of the shofar that filled our hearts.

Various Perspectives and Experiences of English speakers Living in Eretz Yisroel
I want people to know that life in many places here in Eretz Yisroel—the lifestyle, values, and education system—is very different than that in America. I love this life, but it is different, and it does have its challenges. People shouldn’t come here thinking they can continue living just like they did in America, only with the perks of living in Eretz Yisroel. Sometimes the challenges actually “are” the positives. That’s because life here is just “different.”

Various Perspectives and Experiences of English speakers Living in Eretz Yisroel
Present and Future
I came from Los Angeles as a bochur to the Mir Yeshiva, and then got married here in Eretz Yisroel.
I continued learning in the Mir, while my wife worked for Otzar HaChochma, the world’s largest digital seforim library, in its beginning stages of amassing and scanning thousands of seforim.

Ratzon HaShem
I came to learn in Eretz Yisroel after three years in Beis Medrash (post high school). I grew up in Lakewood, New Jersey, and, like most of my friends, when I came to learn in Eretz Yisroel I had no long-term intentions. I came to do the two-year Eretz Yisroel experience. Like most bochurim, this obviously included Shabbos seudos at the homes of many different types of people.
At one of those Shabbos meals, the question was posed: “How can people live in chutz la’Aretz if there is a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisroel?”

Various Perspectives and Experiences of English speakers Living in Eretz Yisroel
This Is Our Own
As a Jew, this is my real home. It’s my own culture, my own alphabet all around me. Prophecies come alive. A large portion of our Torah is relevant only here.
It’s only my first day in Eretz Yisroel and I already receive Bircas Kohanim. When I buy any produce, I have to make sure terumos and ma’aseros were separated or do it myself. This is HaShem’s special Land and His Presence is manifested also by His special rules for what grows here. It makes His Presence feel even more real.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
It became a joke, but many years ago, when Hillary Clinton was still thought to be a somebody, she met Russian President Vladimir Putin and gave him a present. It was a cheap plastic reset button, meant to symbolize that she and her then boss Barack Obama were going to reset America’s relationship with its old nemesis. Of course, as with much else that she and Obama attempted, nothing happened.
Rosh Hashanah is our reset button, and a whole lot more. On this day, Hakadosh Boruch Hu examines everyone and every creature and decides what type of year they will have. We have the ability to do teshuvah and reset ourselves and our actions and the way we have conducted ourselves throughout the year.