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The Four Stages of Aliyah

David Brent — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:04:06 +0000

I attended my first day of Ulpan (Intensive Hebrew Study) in Haifa on Sunday. The class contained about 20 other new Israeli immigrants mostly from the former Soviet Union. Fortunately for me, the teacher does not speak Russian so if none of us understand what she is saying, she says it in English and one [...]

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Israeli Health Care

David Brent — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:06:39 +0000

I am continuing my incredibly popular series on comparing living in Israel to living in the USA. Previously I compared the cost of living in Israel to the cost of living in the USA. Now I am going to take a closer look at the health care systems of the two countries. One of the [...]

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Comparing the Cost of Living in Israel to America

David Brent — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:28:24 +0000

As an oleh chadash from the USA, I am often asked the same question from Israelis. Why choose to come live in Israel from the USA? Why would you leave America? Israelis have a skewed opinion of the USA. They are certain that the grass is greener — that all people do in the USA [...]

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Humility at the Wall

David Brent — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:49:34 +0000

I live in Haifa but my wife and I love to take long weekends in Jerusalem. Every time we are in Jerusalem, we visit the Kotel, the remnant of the Western Wall of the Second Temple built by King Herod around 2000 years ago. As the sun sets on Friday, Jews from all over come [...]

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Why the Reform Movement is so Unpopular in Israel

David Brent — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:23:02 +0000

There is an old joke about a Jew who is stranded on a deserted island. When he is rescued, the rescuers are amazed to discover that he has built three separate synagogues. Why three? They ask. The man answers, “This one I belong to, this one I used to belong to, and this one I [...]

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How My Father in Law Singlehandedly Captured the Golan Heights in 1967

David Brent — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:13:59 +0000

In honor of Yom Hazikaron, I wanted to write a piece about the miracles my father in law experienced in the 6 day war. A lot of brave men lost their lives fighting for our country. Baruch Hashem, my father in law is alive to honor them. On Independence day, he is being given the [...]

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My Aliyah Experience

David Brent — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:03:00 +0000

The day I had been dreaming of for so long had finally arrived. March 12th 2013. Rosh Hodesh Nisan. My daughter drove me to the airport with my three suitcases, gave me a big hug, told me she was proud of me, and drove away. “Not to worry,” I told myself, “You will be back [...]

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10 Days and Counting

David Brent — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:21:44 +0000

In 10 days I will become an American Israeli. I will be landing in Ben Gurion airport and I will be greeted by a volunteer from AACI. I will be led to processing where I will be given my Israeli identity card, my health insurance and a small wad of shekels. My flight to Israel [...]

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Making Aliyah the Easy Way

David Brent — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 22:49:18 +0000

My fellow blogger, Elie Klein, inspired me to write this blog when he wrote about “Making Aliyah the Right Way.” Elie jokingly wrote me that I am making Aliyah too easy by marrying an Israeli. Elie is right, it is a lot easier to make Aliyah when you marry an Israeli. My Israeli wife takes [...]

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My Weekend in East Jerusalem

David Brent — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 20:42:50 +0000

Last month I spent a weekend in East Jerusalem. I did not plan on staying in East Jerusalem. I just wanted to stay in a nice hotel that was both convenient to the Old City and Hebrew University on Mount Scopus, where my daughter was studying. Using a discount web site, I found a highly [...]

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Dreaming of Aliyah

David Brent — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:25:38 +0000

I just returned from a month in Israel. It was my fourth trip to Israel in 2012. In 2012, I travelled to Israel for Passover, returned in the summer travelling in June and studying Hebrew at an Ulpan in July, returned again for the Holidays (Rosh Hashanah through Sukkot) and finally for the month of [...]

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Kidney Stones and Tefillin; Anxiety and Miracles

David Brent — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 09:31:54 +0000

Chanukah is over. But I still want to talk about miracles. My father suffers from kidney stones. Anybody who has had kidney stones knows that they are incredibly painful. My father has had surgery to remove kidney stones but that does not stop them from coming back. My father maintains a strict diet that includes [...]

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My Chanukah in Israel

David Brent — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:29:36 +0000

This is my second Chanukah in Israel. I leave the USA a week or two after Thanksgiving and return just before New Years. My last few days in the USA it feels that the whole country is getting ready for Christmas. Lights start going up, I see Christmas trees through neighbors’ windows, and all the [...]

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Preparing for Aliyah

David Brent — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:40:38 +0000

I am planning to make Aliyah in the Spring. There are three steps to making Aliyah. Step 1: Fill out the application. Step 2: Meet with the Jewish Agency. Step 3: Wait for approval. There are a few more steps if you plan on actually moving to Israel. But my situation is more nuanced. So [...]

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Peace Lessons from Leah

David Brent — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 12:17:17 +0000

At synagogue this past Shabbat, I was troubled when I was reading about Leah’s children. I read that Jacob hated Leah. No reason is given in the Torah why Jacob hates Leah. I know he is having sex with her so that can’t be the reason. Maybe she is a bad cook, I have no [...]

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