Lazer Beams

Don't Wait Another 10 Years

Debbie finally arrived in Israel last month, after ten years of longing. She has been corresponding with me for a little over a year, and the first thing she did was to show up at my Wednesday evening weekly Emuna talk and broadcast in English from the Chut Shel Chesed Yeshiva in Jerusalem. G-d willing, she'll be working in the mornings as an English teacher and spending her afternoons at a women's seminar for Baalot Teshuva.

Debbie wrote a message that we wants me to convey to all of you; it's really profound:

Rabbi Lazer, please tell your readers how I wanted to make Aliya ten years ago when I was 21. I also wanted to learn more about Judaism. I let my mother talk me out of both. During the last ten years, I wish I could say I've been treading water, but it's worse. I floated from job to job, had a miserable relationship with a person outside of our religion who I lived with for four years, and have sacrificed my own aspirations to keep mom happy. I was miserable and lost my self-esteem. You gave me the courage to pack up and do what I really want. Pass the message on to others - don't waste a decade of your own lives to keep others happy. Come to Israel today, and claim your Jewish birthright. Live your own lives. 31 is better late than never...

No, Debbie, don't cry over spilt milk. With Hashem's help, your Emuna will strengthen and you'll meet a good guy very soon. Your message is an important one.

The ingathering of the exiles is just one more sign of the wonderful times that await us in the rebuilt Jerusalem of Eretz Yisroel, amen.

Affordable - and Beautiful - Israel

Dear Rabbi Brody,

I really want to make Aliya with my family, but people have been telling me that if I don't have a half million US bucks, I won't be able to get a decent apartment. I don't want a mortgage, and with property values in my area, I'll barely clear $200,000 when I sell my home. What can I possibly buy in Israel with that amount of money? Thanks for your time and attention, Gerald from Midwest USA

Dear Gerald,

if you're looking for a flat with in an American neighborhood of Ramat Bet Shemesh or Jerusalem's Ramat Eshkol or Har Nof, $500,000 is roughly what you'll pay. But, if you're willing to both live and think outside the Anglo-Israeli box, then you'll have some wonderful opportunities, where $200,000 or less will suffice.

Gorgeous places up north with growing observant communities are Maalot, Nazareth Illit, Tzefat and Kiriat Shemona.

As far as the south of Israel goes, Arad has the cleanest air in the world and it's also gorgeous. For $200,000 or less in Ashkelon, you can get an apartment in walking distance to the Mediterranean. If you go to a place like Ofakim or Yerucham, you can get a palace for $150,000 or less.

Contact my dear friends at Nefesh B'Nefesh, because there are usually several incentive programs for moving to the Galilee up north or to the Negev down south. Both are wonderful places to raise your family. Remember also that education here is virtually free, but you'll have to a bit of legwork to find the right schools for your children. It's well worth it. The younger they are, the easier they'll adapt. May Hashem help you succeed! Blessings always, LB

Best Bet in a Chancy World

I must humbly disagree with the doomsday prophets. Sure, Israel suffers from big problems and major threats. But it's heaven for your soul. The fact is that here, more and more people are quietly getting closer to Hashem. In Israel, a beautifully quiet spiritual revolution is taking place. Entire communities of emuna-oriented Jews are mushrooming in places that for years never had a synagogue or a Torah scroll. Yavniel, Carmiel, and Maalot are three examples. Folks there aren't yelling at social protest demonstrations because they're talking to Hashem. Many of our good friends in the USA and Canada have made Aliya recently. I urged those who sought my advice to consider places other than Ramat Bet Shemesh and Har Nof. I sent them to Maalot, to Katzrin, and to Yerucham, where they could buy nice apartments for a song, not worry where the kids are playing and breathe clean air. I've heard no complaints, only expressions of how happy they are to be here. I firmly believe that 5773 will be a wonderful year for the Jewish people in Israel, despite the threats.

The Evil Inclination wants you to think otherwise. By the way, the EI will do anything to prevent a person from making Aliya, especially casting worry and doubt in people's hearts. The EI was active back in the time of the "Sin of the Spies", and he's still active now...

Every day, I get letters from worried parents with children in yeshivas and seminaries here in Israel. They're frantic for their children to come home to the USA or Canada because of the apparent impending danger with Iran. Other families who had planned Aliya write and ask if it's still safe to come to Israel; many are getting cold feet, especially whenever they listen to the news.

So is it safe in Israel? Let me preface my answer with a quick historical refresher of what happened a mere two decades ago:

Continue reading Best Bet in a Chancy World in this week's exciting issue of Breslev Israel web magazine.

Also featured this week (alphabetically, according to author):

Rabbi Shalom Arush: No More Fashion Show

Dr. Zev Ballen: Living the Dream

Rabbi Dovid Charlop: Balancing Body and Soul

Yael Karni: Computer Meltdown

Rivka Levy: The Gate of Love

Aaron Michael: Antidote to the Big Swindle

Zevulun Yanover: Uman? You're Fired!

We look forward to seeing all our friends in Uman later this week. Meanwhile, have a wonderful week and meaningful preparations for Rosh Hashana. May Hashem grant you all your heart's wishes for the very best.

Emuna Land

The Gemara refers to the Land of Israel as the one unique place on earth where a person can feel that he has a G-d in his life. Must we all make aliya now? Why is aliya so hard?

Aliya: Like Cleaning for Pesach

My cherished and esteemed friend Doctor Arie Keehn, who is also a key partner in spreading emuna, send us a wonderful thought:  He was walking home from synagogue at the termination of Passover with his friend, Jay Wolf. Jay had mentioned that this was the time of year that they hung up a sign in his house that says: "Dust is not Chamentz and the Husband is not the Korban Pesach" (Pascal lamb). Arie asked if he could explain why people were not stressed to put away their Pesach dishes etc. in one night, but are overwhelmed for at least one month prior to the holiday.

Jay then related the message he gives to our brothers outside of The Holy Land. He likens Aliya to cleaning for Pesach. Everyone stresses out for that month prior to the holiday, but even though we are tired, at the end we get to celebrate the holiday of our freedom. Even more so with Aliya. Aliya is stressful during the preparation process, but in the end, we get to celebrate our freedom in our homeland. Every year we prepare for Pesach, but you only need to make aliyah once.

PS - The best preparation in the world for Aliya is reinforcing your emuna. Time to come home...

Time to Come Home

Before Shabbat, my beloved teacher and spiritual guide Rabbi Shalom Arush told me the following:

1. Despite all the threats against Israel, the Land of Israel is the safest place to be and no Jew will be hurt here, as we witnessed with the recent 220+ missile attacks in the South of Israel and no Jew was hurt other than minor scratches.

2. The Jews outside of Israel should start making a serious effort towards Aliya.

3. Hashem knows what's in your heart - even if you can't make aliya at this time for whatever reason, you should be praying to Hashem every day to enable you to make aliya.

Have a wonderful week!

Aliya: All on the Table

This post is an answer to the many (Thank G-d, many!) inquiries I have been receiving recently about aliya. I'll address, with Hashem's help, the spiritual side of the issue. For the practical side, see my cherished friends and their fact-filled website at Nefesh B'Nefesh.

Israel today has its problems. Militarily, tens of thousands of missiles are aimed at us right this moment. Iran? Only Hashem knows what'll be. Almost a third of our citizens have experienced rocket attacks. A leftist elite anti-emuna press and oligarchy have systematically deligitimized our dearest citizens who were once proudly called "pioneers" but are now addressed (with a snarl) as "settlers". There is a terrible animosity between much of the Haredi community and much of the secular community, even between the national religious community and the Haredi community. Torah's overall prestige among the genuine populace is alarmingly low. A secular Israeli youth is much more interested in the NBA than he is in Mordechai and Esther.

The Arabs seem to be warming up for a third intifada. Ahlan wa'sahlan, let them start...

And yes, if your kids can't live without American fun and games, they'll have a rough time time adjusting.

Now for the good news.

Israel is in the midst of the biggest spiritual awakening since the days of Mordechai and Esther. The BTs are conservatively estimated in the high 6 figures, if not more.

Anyone that opens their eyes in Israel realizes that Hashem controls everything. The day-to-day miracles here are beyond belief.

People here are real - not superficially polite, but real. Give any two Israelis 5 minutes to talk to each other on a personal level, and they'll bind.

This is our country and our homeland. You here a siren set in to warn that Shabbat is imminent. In all the cities, there are Purim parades. Everyone speaks Hebrew. Kids grow up with different values. No, we don't haveWalt Disney and Fantasy Land - we have Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai and Miron.

Every hill in Israel has its own melody.

If you love being Jewish and you want a life (not easy, mind you) of joy and emuna, come by all means. If you're willing to become an Israeli, aliya is for you. Most people who seek to live an American, Canadian or British lifestyle in Israel are miserably frustrated.

The Gemara says that three things don't come easy: Torah, the World to Come, and the Land of Israel. Be ready to pay your dues with a big smile.

With all the above in mind and you still want to come, the Land of Israel will embrace you like a loving mother. Call NBN, and tell them that Lazer sent you.