One of the profile questions on http://www.singolim.org which I found on Pinchas' Blog is: "Below describe in you own words why Aliyah is important to you. If you already made Aliyah also talk about your experience making Aliyah:"

I got a bit carried away and here is my answer....

I came nearly 9 years ago for a Yeshiva "summer program" after my first (and subsequently last) year of college. I loved yeshiva, but I despised Israel, Israeli apartments, Israeli meat (or what tried to pass as such), Israeli attitude, fighting to the death with taxi drivers over 30 cents and most importantly the fact the milk comes in bags.

I anxiously left after around a year and counted down the days until I would go home for Pesach (I guess an "anti-omer" of sorts) and then learn for the next zman in the US.. The moment the plane took off I already regretted my decision, got this gnawing feeling in my kishkes and knew it would not be long before I was back...

6 Months later I was and I have been here since, and don't plan to leave (unless I am expelled from my house in the next few months by the shilton hakofrim/memsheles zadon).

Why Israel? Honestly I ask myself that question every day and have yet to come up with a satisfactory answer. It is certainly not the bad attitude, rudeness, poor hygiene, lack of amenities, high prices, even higher taxes, small cars, bad meat, pitiful salaries, 6 day workweeks, deathly bureaucracy, or the dreaded milk in bags. Certainly not the rashayim in the government and supreme court. Definitely not the threat of being shot or blown up every day for the crime of waking up that morning (or in my case, early afternoon).

I think when it comes down to it, I like the fact that in Israel, being Jewish is normal and the natural thing to do. In Israel you just ARE Jewish, period. The difference between a mildly assimilated American Jew and even the most secular Israeli is astounding. No one (ok fine, no one excluding a statistically insignificant fringe minority) would dream of not getting married under a chuppa, or giving their kids a bris. Almost everyone goes to shul on Yom Kippur, a majority fast, and upwards of 90% leave Egypt each year at a Pesach Seder. Every student (even in the most heretical anti-religious schools) must learn Tanakh and Jewish History. We speak Hebrew, we use Shekalim and everyone kvetches to their heart's content (as if there is such a thing). You have to go out of your way to find treife restaurants (even in Tel Aviv) and there is no city, town or neighborhood without a shul(an orthodox one at that). People stop for hitchhikers, invite perfect strangers to their homes for Shabbos and let their little kids roam around unsupervised in the streets (or send them to the store to buy milk in bags). Maybe it is the fact that I can read about certain events in the Chumash and the Gemara and get in the car and go there. Shabbos Chaaye Sarah in Chevron, Lag B'omer in Meron, Birchas Kohanim in Yerushalayim, and for a change Tu B'shevat actually matters. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I scoff at the walls of the Old City which are a mere 400 years old, on my way to Daven at one which was built over 2000 years ago. I remember as a wee youngin' being impressed when we went to visit a house on Long Island which was a whopping 300 years old, in Israel 300 year old artifacts are worth less than yesterday's election poll results.

In America I was a weirdo, a fanatic, a fossil, a relic from the past hanging on to his culture which became obsolete centuries if not millennia ago. Even in Schnorrer Park and Flatbush you are surrounded by people with customs and culture very different from ours and can't help be inundated and influenced by it. Even the shtarkest of Jews in America has a different attitude and way of life than his cousin in Bnai Brak or Beer Sheva. In the streets of The Old City, Meah Shearim or Hebron I am just another brick in the wall just some Harry trying to get to the mikeveh before it closes. Elsewhere I am a tourist attraction.

But I think what really spoke to me and still impresses me to this day is the level of living l'shaim shamayim and mesirus nefesh which is routinely displayed everywhere you look. Yidden who dedicate their lives to serving the Aibishter, have kids without cheshbon, live on hilltops without water or toilets and spend all day arguing about nuances in 2000 year old religious debates because "it is a mitzvah". The entire value system even when compared to worldwide frum communites is just different. Stores which open "after shachris" and close whenever the falafel runs out because the baal habayis has done his histadlus for the day. Everyone is in debt, live in overdraft but somehow manage to put food on the table and marry off their kids. There is no logical explanation for it and hashgocha pratis literally blows in the wind here. I am not saying that living L'shaim shamayim and mesirus nefesh are impossible to find in America, but in Israel you don't even have to look and certainly doesn't come as a surprise.

Sure we can make a list of all the things wrong with Israel (and Israelis) (take milk in bags for example) and still not be finished before the next appearance of Halley's Comet and there is clearly much room for improvement on many fronts, but when push comes to shove, if you are REALLY interested in "being Jewish" Israel is THE place to do it.

That said, I've been here for almost 10 years and it STILL bothers me to no end that milk comes in bags.....

Out of curiousity, whats the reason they dont come in bottles? As most countries largely use bottles.

Krebbe, I agree with you so much.

In addition:

I don't even mind that milk comes in bags! First of all, you can now get milk in cartons if you prefer.
Secondly, you can buy this little pitcher to put the milk bags in and it all works fine!

Poor hygiene: Actually I think Israelis tend to have better hygiene than most Americans.
Most Israelis shower more than once a day since it is so hot there.
They also use better smelling soaps and colognes.
Israelis smell better than Americans in general!

The high prices and low salaries are a bummer I agree. In fact, I really don't understand for the life of me how most people get by there...

Bad meat - Yes I agree, the meat isn't great there. Not sure why exactly. The chicken is just fine though. And in general, I find the food is better and tastier - just focus more on the excellent quality fruits and vegetables.

6 day workweeks - Actually while this does exist in some jobs, many if not most jobs in Israel are only 5 days a week. I worked there for 4 years and all of my jobs (yes there were several of them - 4 to be exact) were only Sunday through Thursday.

Ok, I'll add (most of) my answer from my SingOlim aliyah profile (I left off the part that isn't so relevant to the question):

I remember, as a teenager, trying to figure out where i would want to live. This was before I became religious and decided I wanted to make aliyah, so the Jewishness of the location wasn't so important to me. Then I got involved with NCSY in tenth grade. I went on one of there Israel summer programs, Michlelet, the summer after tenth grade. That was a huge turning point in my life. During the program, I decided to become religious, so I knew I'd be changing my lifestyle. Not only that, but it was during this program that I decided that I wanted to make aliyah. I remember being inspired by a Chaim David song that includes a string quartet whose members had made aliyah from the four corners of the world. I suddenly realized that Jews were coming from all over the world and that Israel is the one place where you can really live Jewishly, in a completely Jewish environment.

At that point, I had basically emotional reasons for wanting to make aliyah. That changed when I went to Orot for seminary: in classes like Torat Eretz Yisrael, I learned the religious sources and reasons to make aliyah. I'd always been Zionistic, but when I got to Orot I discovered the meaning of religious Zionism. I realized that optimal mitzvah performance can only occur in Israel. I realized that the Zionist dream of reclaiming and rebuilding the land that has come true and continues to unfold is part of the geula process, and therefore we have an obligation to do whatever we can to support Israel. And the fact that so many Jews are making aliyah is the promised kibbutz galuyot. So, it seems to me that Mashiach is coming soon. Also, so many things about israel are holy: lashon hakodesh, shekel hakodesh, tzivot Hashem (although the Chabad have a different definition for that).

My children will be Israeli. They will grow up speaking Hebrew and therefore be able to learn Judaism in its original language more easily. They will grow up not surrounded by a non-Jewish culture, and so they won't be jealous that they don't have a Christmass tree. They'll be able to make friends with all the kids in the neighborhood and know they're all Jewish. There are a lot more choices for schooling.

And finally, Hashem gave us this land; it is His gift to us. It was taken away for awhile, but now we have it back. How can I take it for granted? You can go on a tiyul and learn about incidents in the Tanach that happened in that place. The whole land is full of kedusha. It's amazing- the desert is blooming. It's clearly a miracle; prophecies are being fulfilled in our generation! How can I not be a part of it?

Just today I made a dating profile on SingOlim. Feel free to check it out!

It saves money. Period. People want to pay for the milk and not the package. Bags are great for schools or people with lots of kids that know they will finish the bags right when they open them. They don't store the milk very well after opened though. That said K-Rebbe, for another whopping Shekel you could get milk in a standard wax carton with a screw-off cap even.

Milk today comes bottled, cartoned and in 2 liter bottles. However, for some insanity the 2 liter milk is harder to get mehadrin. It seems to me that larger Charedi families would be the biggest customers. My 1st morning in Israel I found the bag of milk, a knife and a pitcher on my table upon waking. I promptly cut the corner (that part was easy) and poured it quickly into the pitcher, which does not hold all of the milk from the bag. It spilled all over. When I called the housemother she was a bit amazed to have an olah who didn't know how to put the bag into the pitcher. She was even more amazed that her new charge didn't know that that little rug we put between the beds was for cleaning the floor, it was very cold that winter. We understood that the squeegie was for pushing the shower water down the hole. It was beyond us why we weren't given a mop for spills and washing the floor.

BTW, K-Rebbe, you have a neighbor who for a mere arm and leg can solve your meat problem, too. Simply take out a mortgage and ask him for steak darom Americai. Don't waste it on anything but al haesh. The rest may be bachelor cooking.

When I was a very young girl we used to buy milk bags and pitchers.

On the rare occasion that I actually buy milk you bet it is in a carton or bottle!!





I actually bought some of that steak for Pesach, it was quite good and really not THAT expensive, at least as far as steak goes..... I also had some good "steak ayin" from Meitam Chafetz Chayim in Jerusalem the other day, they also have good meat, an unbelievable but horrendously expensive rib steaks on the bone, the only place I've even seen them in Israel (with a decent heksher anyway).

You are right as you are buying for a single. I need 3-4 packs for a meal.

That's why I can't move to Israel. I hate chicken.

How about turkey?

Feh.
I'm a beef man.
(I'll eat chicken if I have to...)

You can't get real turkey in Israel, at least I've never seen it.
The closest you can get are legs, and I detest dark meat.

Even if you manage to find a whole turkey, the ovens are too small to cook them

Many of us have american ovens. You can order whole turkey at the butcher. They are a little smaller than the US standard though.

I was just kvetching anyway, if I really wanted a turkey I could just get one from my neighbor....