Almost Eden - Latest comments

morasha [Visitor] in response to: Ulpan Reconnaissance: Morasha

morasha [Visitor] — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:23:49 +0000

Cammie Novara [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parashat Shoftim 5770

Cammie Novara [Visitor] — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:53:23 +0000

"Humans beings who live in disorderly societies or those devoid of laws and mores will eventually regress into primitive conduct matching those of the animal world. Hunger, lack of suitable living quarters, unemployment etc., combine to drive otherwise normal people to perform acts of extreme cruelty beyond the imagination of the civilized mind." I am completely in agreement with that. There's a really fascinating debate that I thought would be of interest on evolution vs. intelligent design going on at http://www.intelligentdesignfacts.com

Eli [Visitor] in response to: FedEx-Customs Shakedown

Eli [Visitor] — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:51:23 +0000

I've been living in Israel for the past 10 years, I've gotten used to this so much that I forgot how a good postal/customs system is supposed to work. I myself once ordered a PSP from ebay for $100 and ended up paying 300 shekels customs/brokerage fees.
My advice for anyone wanting to import items into Israel:
1. When possible use USPS Priority Mail. No brokerage fees, you pay customs at your local post office.
2. Order small packages. For packages worth less than $50 you don't have to pay for neither customs nor vat(as far as I know). (for clothes its under $75)

Gedalyah [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parashat Re'ai 5770

Gedalyah [Visitor] — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 19:53:59 +0000

Once again, Rav Kahana has delivered another tour de force.

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Safe Laundry Hanging

Tehillah [Member] — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:23:16 +0000

Shalom Isobel,

I have some catching up to do with the blog. We spent our first year in Ma'ale Adumim. We then moved to Ra'anana for a year, and we are now back in Ma'ale Adumim (but in a different apartment). I actually started a blog post about it last night but haven't had time to complete it yet.

Thanks for your kind words.

Tehillah

P.S. Yes, you are a tougher woman than I :D I can handle blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, but not heat waves.

Isobel [Visitor] in response to: Safe Laundry Hanging

Isobel [Visitor] — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:07:46 +0000

Great post - I especially love step 7!

I'm living in Eilat where the 90s are a cool day - yesterday for example it reached 113F outside (was over 40C in my apartment) but I rarely have the a/c on. Maybe we're just tougher down here (j/k - but I am a fair-skinned redhead from the UK so I think I'm doing pretty well). The lack of humidity makes a BIG difference.

I've been following your blog from the start and it was a great help to me as I prepared for aliyah. I think though I missed part of the story because I thought you were in Ra'anana and then I read the "moving" post. Are you back in your original apartment in Ma'ale Adumin?

David [Visitor] in response to: Dvar Torah Va’Etchanan 5770 by Rabbi Shmuel Weiss

David [Visitor] — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:19:36 +0000

If you find yourself needing to say Birkat Hamazon and you don't have a bencher around and it's not a Yom Tov, yet you happen to have an iPhone, iPod Touch or an iPשd, then you can get a best bencher app - iBirkat and recite Birkat Hamazon in a nussach of your choice.

Oh, and here is the link: http://www.appstudio.co.il/portfolio/apps/ibirkat/

Yitzhak [Visitor] in response to: Buyer Beware - Stanley Movers

Yitzhak [Visitor] — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:44:05 +0000

Bad, bad, bad. How awful!

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Aliyah Dollars and Sense

Tehillah [Member] — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:54:50 +0000

Shalom Avi,

These are very personal decisions you need to make and therefore I can only provide you with my opinion.

Your Question 1) Whether or not to leave possessions in storage is dependent on several factors: a) the financial value of those items vs. the emotional; b) how secure (from theft, fire, or other disaster) will your things be in the storage location; c) can you afford to pay the storage fees for the necessary period of time?; and d) do you have someone near the storage facility who is willing and able to take represent you (will probably need a Power of Attorney from you) with the international shipping company you later choose to send the shipment?

From experience:
A) I left my furniture, kitchen equipment, appliances, china, sewing room items, etc. in a 10 x 20 storage unit in California while my family spent a summer exploring other parts of the US to determine where we would settle. We temporarily settled in South Carolina in a furnished rental while looking for a more permanent home. In the meantime, it was difficult to find work comparable to what I left behind (at the time I was earning $65k in CA and was being offered $18 to $20k in South Carolina!) and therefore after about 5 months I had to borrow the money to pay the storage fees. My ex-husband's business failed and wiped out our bank account. Shortly after arriving in NY to stay with family while we got back on our feet, the Northridge earthquake hit and my possessions were destroyed. This all happened on US soil - no complication of being in a different country.

B) Recently a friend of ours made Aliyah and came to stay with us for a few months. She left her possessions in the US. Fortunately she had a friend there who was willing and able to coordinate her shipment to Israel once she found an apartment. However, things didn't go smoothly as the local shipping company didn't correctly estimate the size of her shipment and 1 lift van (7' x 7.5' x 3.5') wasn't enough - they decided she might need 1.5 or maybe 2. This left her friend in a difficult situation as decisions had to be made regarding what not to ship. It put a strain on everyone involved and in the end she accepted 2 lift vans - doubling her expected expense.

We also expected to ship 1 lift van and on moving day were informed by the local company that they couldn't fit it all in 1 and we had to pay for 2. We did not ship furniture or appliances (except for small kitchen equipment like mixer and food processor).

My advice is to sell everything you aren't emotionally attached to, ship only what you need (e.g., clothing, books, family photos, etc.) and buy furniture and appliances here if financially possible (BTW, we were able to buy some used items in very good condition for a lot less than new). Garage sales in the US were extremely disappointing - we did much better selling on eBay and Craig's List.

Your Question 2) Yes, it is possible. I suggest that you get on the chat lists (http://groups.yahoo.com) for the communities you're interested in and ask for specifics there. I know of one very nice and large furnished apartment in Ma'ale Adumim that will be available in October (if it hasn't already been taken) - I would have jumped at the chance to have it but we needed a place in July.

Wishing you all the best!
Tehillah

Avi [Visitor] in response to: Aliyah Dollars and Sense

Avi [Visitor] — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:51:56 +0000

I am in favor of taking a small lift (1/2 a 20 ft container) and my wife wants to take only the 3 suitcases per person on the plane (and no lift- garage sale everything and re-buy in Israel). Our compromise is that we would put the possessions that we want to keep into storage in the US and when we find a place to live in Israel, we would send the lift ~ 1 year later with whatever we have space for in our Israeli apt/house. This approach would require rebuying necessities (table, chairs, kitchen supplies, appliances, mattresses etc) for the first year in Israel or finding a furnished apt. for the 1st year.

1) Do you think the compromise is feasible-- practically and financially?
2) Do you think it is possible to find a furnished apt for the 1st year in Israel? We are interested in the cheaper areas of Gush Etzion, as well as Maale Adumim and Kochav Yaakov.

Bryna Lee [Visitor] in response to: How to Deposit a Check in a Bank Leumi ATM

Bryna Lee [Visitor] — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:43:00 +0000

this really helped me today, when I deposited a check at the atm for the first time. thanks! and I've got the getting cash out thing down too. And Bank Hapoalim gives you an option for English, but Leumi doesn't- go figure. Hapoalim, I am told, also doesn't have any branches in Judea or Samaria. So like I said, go figure...

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Ulpan Reconnaissance: Morasha

Tehillah [Member] — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:15:38 +0000

Hi Daniel,
For such a high-tech country, one would expect to find e-mail contacts for them but unfortunately - to my knowledge - they don't use them. I managed to find one last year for the ulpan in Ra'anana and sent them a message. They never responded. When I inquired of the director she told me they don't use it! I'm sorry but all I can offer you is their phone number 972-2-628-1032.

Kol Tuv,
Tehillah

Daniel [Visitor] in response to: Ulpan Reconnaissance: Morasha

Daniel [Visitor] — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:58:37 +0000

My family is researching various ways to study hebrew in the Land.Is there a possible email contact for Morasha?

Yonatan [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parashat Chukat 5770

Yonatan [Visitor] — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:30:47 +0000

Tehilla, may I repost this on my blog?

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parashat Korach 5770 and Flotillas

Tehillah [Member] — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:18:00 +0000

Personally (me-Tehillah), I disagree with the anonymous comment when s/he states:

"the "State of Israel Corporation" (currently in power by the grace of the United Nations) is not related in any way to any aspect of the Positive Commandment mandating "Yishuv Haaretz"."

The current Israeli government has nothing to do with the commandment of "Yishuv Haaretz". The command stands regardless of who is in control of the governing body. The Land is still the Land of Bnei Israel.

In my opinion, if all religious Jews in the world were to return to the Land (all of it) that God promised to the descendents of Avraham Avinu, then people's complaints about the type of government in place in Israel would be invalidated. How? Because if the demographics of Israeli citizenship were to shift to that of a majority being religious, then the "laws" of the Land would be changed to those in line with Torah.

By refusing to make Aliyah and participate in the rebuilding of our great nation, Jews in the galut are turning their back on the most important Torah commandment (one that is stated to be equal to the performance of all others combined) and causing disunity. And according to the great Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, tz"l:

“We have more Torah today than ever in the history of the Jewish people. We have more Chesed in the Jewish world than ever in the history of the Jewish people. We have more Kosher food then ever in the history of the Jewish people. The one thing that we are missing is unity, and that is what is holding back the Moshiach from coming!”

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parashat Korach 5770 and Flotillas

Tehillah [Member] — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:06:33 +0000

This is a follow-up from RABBI KAHANA:
Dear Friends,

Below is a comment I received on what I wrote on this week’s parasha, which leads me to believe that perhaps I did not state my intention with the necessary clarity, and others might have misunderstood what I meant.
the comment:

"Eretz Yisrael" is not synonymous with "The State of Israel".

It seems to me that the "State of Israel Corporation" (currently in power by the grace of the United Nations) is not related in any way to any aspect of the Positive Commandment mandating "Yishuv Haaretz".

I do not mean to question your "direct line" to God’s inner thoughts, but I do not see how you know that the God of Israel actually "considers" anyone that does not support the current political system and the reigning courts of the State of Israel ("right or wrong")as an "outsider".

(Just for clarification: Does "outsider" mean "karet" or just "stam a goy"?

…this is NOT a rhetorical question, please tell me what God REALLY thinks on this one.)

… maybe as an act of "patriotism" we should abandon our homes and follow the advice supplied by Helen Thomas…why burden the STATE OF ISRAEL with the kind of expense and trouble caused by Jews in Gush Katif when we know that it is in the interests of the STATE OF ISRAEL to demolish Jewish presence in Jerusalem, Haifa and Jaffa?

WHO DECIDES?

BY WHAT AUTHORITY?

Shabbat Shalom

My reply:
I am highly critical of many decisions my government has taken and takes, although I will never voice them to people who live in the galut. There are plenty of "miraglim" who can do that better than I.

I simply say:
When the Cossacks of the global village are planning to set fire to the village ghetto, called "The State of Israel," it is not the time to check if the Jewish firemen are wearing tzitzit.

In normal times, we have the right and even responsibility, to criticize non-Torah governmental decisions. But today, when the Medina is under an hysterical blitz of hatred, we have to join together and announce "My Medinat Yisrael - right or wrong".

Shabbat Shalom ve’Chodesh Tov

Nachman Kahana

Tali [Visitor] in response to: Ulpan Reconnaissance: Morasha

Tali [Visitor] — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:24:54 +0000

Excellent! we are starting in the begginning of June. This is a big help. We have been studying Hebrew for a year now pretty consistantly. Is it possible to reach fluency in these classes?

JACK EISENKEIT [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on BeHar-BeChukotai 5770

JACK EISENKEIT [Visitor] — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:52:40 +0000

HI RABBI NACHMAN KAHANA,

I LOVE YOUR LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER NATANYAHU, I HOPE HE READ IT. HOWEVER, IF HE DIDN'T IS BECAUSE HE GETS THOUSANDS OF E-MAILS EVERYDAY FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. I USE TO WRITE TO HIM
AND I MET A KNESET MINISTER WHO TOLD ME THAT. HOWEVER HIS SECRETARIES READ
HIS E-MAILS. WHATEVER SEEMS IMPORTANT, HE READS THE MESSAGE.

SHALOM,

JACK EISENKEIT

sari [Visitor] in response to: I.O.U. - Ra'anana

sari [Visitor] — Fri, 14 May 2010 00:12:47 +0000

Thank you for writing this blog! We are planning aliyah this fall (2010) with our three children. The two older ones are very worried about all they will be leaving behind. We're going to Raanana, and you've given a wonderful description, with pictures, about all they will find that is familiar to them.

Yehoushua Ben Menachem [Visitor] in response to: A Letter to the World from Jerusalem, 1969

Yehoushua Ben Menachem [Visitor] — Wed, 12 May 2010 06:49:32 +0000

Awesome. Thank you so much for writing this and re-posting it. I have always answered my daughters questions of "when will Mashiach come" with "When we rely only on Hashem and stop relying on the US." Kol Hakavod to you.

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Unexpected Parnassah in Israel

Tehillah [Member] — Fri, 07 May 2010 07:51:33 +0000

Addressing the lack of English documentation is my next task.

Great feedback regarding the translation, I'll pass it on (it's something I need too)!

John Knickerbocker [Visitor] in response to: Unexpected Parnassah in Israel

John Knickerbocker [Visitor] — Fri, 07 May 2010 07:05:28 +0000

I'm glad you asked, I was going to offer some comments for you about it, but didn't want to without you being interested in it.

I'm a software developer, so I tend to see things a bit more critically than most would, but that just comes from seeing what end users can do with user interfaces that have the best of intentions!

The user interface that is offered when you are initially signed up for the service is interesting, however, when there is a problem it is unclear how to correct the problem. For instance, I was signed up for what appears to be the wrong class and family name on the system. I searched and searched for a way to correct it and finally gave up trying.

From an improvement standpoint, I like the communications I can get from it, but from an oleh standpoint, if I could select a preferred language and have the system translate it into English for me, that would be awesome.

If you need any more feedback as you move forward in your endeavors, I'd be happy to help!

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Unexpected Parnassah in Israel

Tehillah [Member] — Fri, 07 May 2010 06:14:54 +0000

Thanks John,

What is your impression of the service? Has it helped improve communications between your family and the school? Is it an Israeli school or American one?

Shabbat Shalom,
Tehillah

John Knickerbocker [Visitor] in response to: Unexpected Parnassah in Israel

John Knickerbocker [Visitor] — Fri, 07 May 2010 05:30:14 +0000

Mazel Tov, I'm very happy for you!

I get messages from this company for one of our kids school. Small world...הצלחה

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Doors are Beginning to Close

Tehillah [Member] — Sat, 01 May 2010 18:44:26 +0000

Dear Angtigonos,
I agree that Congress - as we currently know it - would never pass such a law. But what if Congress ceases to exist along with the republic?

I've been receiving messages lately from all over the US from scared and angry people involved in various movements (like Tea Party, and other grassroots organizations) indicating that the country is on the verge of a civil war. In addition to telling me what my son-in-law (Iraq veteran) told me about erection of detention camps in every region of the country that will be used to relocate Americans during "emergencies" (real or imagined), these people include quotes from the "founding fathers", for example this batch from Thomas Jefferson:

“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.” -- Thomas Jefferson

“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” -- Thomas Jefferson

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” -- Thomas Jefferson

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” -- Thomas Jefferson

And others:
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of “liberalism,” they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” -- Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948

Americans - Jews and non-Jews - are obviously realizing that they are in big trouble and that trouble is coming from the people they elected to represent them.

Unfortunately I don't think the November elections will have much impact on the damage Obama has done because I don't believe that it is all his personal doing - that gives him too much credit. I believe he is a puppet and the big money behind him is really in control and won't be silenced by elections.

My goal is to encourage Jews to come home while they still have the ability to do so (financially and legally). If we don't learn from history, we suffer the pain of it's repetition.

Shavua Tov!

Antigonos [Visitor] in response to: Doors are Beginning to Close

Antigonos [Visitor] — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:18:58 +0000

I think the midterm elections in November will politically emasculate Obama, and frankly, I can't see Congress EVER passing a law making it an illegal act to LEAVE the US. [Keeping dual citizenship might be another matter. Once upon a time, serving voluntarily in the armed forces of another country could be grounds for losing one's American citizenship, but that's gone the way of the dodo]

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Doors are Beginning to Close

Tehillah [Member] — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:38:34 +0000

Dear Antigonos,

I agree with your comments about spoiled Americans expecting to transplant America here. However, I don't agree with your conclusion that the gates will never close - especially the gates leaving the U.S. because the Obama admin is destroying the foundations of the country and appears to be taking it in a socialist direction. He attacked capitalism this week telling Wall St that there should be a limit on how much money would should be allowed to earn! "Take from the rich, give to the poor" is not within the charter of the United States Constitution, but that's his agenda (as long as it isn't coming out of his pocket)

Antigonos [Visitor] in response to: Doors are Beginning to Close

Antigonos [Visitor] — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:59:24 +0000

I don't buy your conclusion, Tehilla. There isn't a country in the world which has as extensive a helping hand to immigrants as Israel. Did our grandparents or great-grandparents have such a welcome from the US when they emigrated from Eastern Europe? No, of course not. They expected life to be hard in the New World at first, and only hoped for success in future. In fact, compared with what the Israeli government gave me 34 years ago, I think the current crop of olim are really spoiled, but then, Israel isn't the same country, or a challenge in the same way, that it was back in 1976. No one making aliyah then thought they were "transplanting" from the US -- you thought you were entering a new dimension altogether, going from a "First World" country to, if not a Third World country, something maybe like a "Second World" country. Aspirations were more like "will I ever have a car again in my life?" or "how long can I reasonably expect to have friends and relatives send me Care packages of canned tuna and American instant coffee?" Two bedroom apartments were the size of American efficiencies, no one had airconditioning, and the only appliances one had were fridge, stove, washing machine, B&W television. [VCRs and microwaves hadn't even been invented!] Egged bus drivers were looked upon as the best wage earners in the country -- they actually made about $800 per month! Now there really is no limit to what you can have, or purchase here.[There was NO "sal klita" then]

But the interesting thing is that roughly the same number of American olim came then as now, and roughly the same number of olim succeeded in making a success of aliyah, and roughly the same percentage failed then as now and returned to the US. [NBN doesn't publish statistics, but there are other ways of gathering information, and it's noteworthy that the NBN list has actually posted a notice about a returning family recently, which previously they denied even happened to "their" olim]
The "gates", as you term it, won't ever close, but olim will have to stop being pampered quite so much. In the long run, I think this is healthy. An oleh succeeds or fails by his or her own efforts, really. And hasty aliyah, without doing one's homework, rarely succeeds--but that's true of a lot of life, isn't it?

tikva [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parashat Vayikra 5770

tikva [Visitor] — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:59:15 +0000

As a homeopath I enjoyed this. I'm going to share this with fellow Jewish homeopaths!

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Great Expectations

Tehillah [Member] — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:01:01 +0000

Shoshana,

No apologies needed. We were all the way at the back of the plane - the children weren't yours :-)

Shoshana Hurwitz [Visitor] in response to: Great Expectations

Shoshana Hurwitz [Visitor] — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:46:46 +0000

Thanks for a great post and the reminder that although we have a way to go before feeling like vatikim, we really have gotten to the point where things are finally starting to get easier...yay!!

And I guess an apology is in order on behalf of the screaming, crying children on the flight who belonged to me :)

tikva [Visitor] in response to: Great Expectations

tikva [Visitor] — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:28:56 +0000

My experience has been that Israelis are warm , loving and friendly.So often people will ask us " Why didn't you come here sooner?" " When is everyone else you know coming?"
We took the group flight so that we'd miss the "party". I knew we'd be exhausted and we had a 3 hour trip up north as well where I conveniently got rip roaring car sick!!!!
Man, we love it here!This is G-d's Holy Land for Jews!

Barb Pettigrew [Visitor] in response to: Youngest Blogger at the JBloggers Convention!

Barb Pettigrew [Visitor] — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:17:13 +0000

You are amazing!

JOE HILL [Visitor] in response to: HELP WANTED: Jewish Construction Workers

JOE HILL [Visitor] — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:45:59 +0000

IF IT IS MONATARY SATISIFING I WILL TO ANY WHERE TO DO CONSTRUCTION.

$$$.

David Bedein [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parashat Tetzaveh - Shabbat Zechor 5770

David Bedein [Visitor] — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:51:55 +0000

This vital message should be the focus of discussion in every famly and in every community. To many people trip to forget the essence of what Purim is all about. This holiday conveys a message and wwarning from the Jews to the nations, as Rav Nachman understands.

John Knickerbocker [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parasha Teruma 5770

John Knickerbocker [Visitor] — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:48:11 +0000

Reposted on my blog - thanks for the powerful shiur.

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parasha Mishpatim 5770

Tehillah [Member] — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:26:47 +0000

Hi DeenaTova,
I don't write the commentary, I just post it :-) You can contact Rabbi Kahana directly through his web site at http://NachmanKahana.com
Shavua Tov!

Deenatova [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parasha Mishpatim 5770

Deenatova [Visitor] — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:29:05 +0000

How we know it's Egypt and not Azza that will first be destroyed?

tikva [Visitor] in response to: Rabbi Nachman Kahana on Parasha Mishpatim 5770

tikva [Visitor] — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:27:11 +0000

Lovely!

Bryna Lee [Visitor] in response to: Online Friendships and Aliyah No Longer Headline News?

Bryna Lee [Visitor] — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:22:29 +0000

Thanks to a link from Yisrael's blog (Aliyah – Tagging Along http://hessler.co.il/yisrael/?p=30), I discovered this entry, 5 months late.
I love this!
Thank you so much for writing this and documenting the day that flew by and seemed so overwhelming and chaotic to me at the time. I can't thank you enough for all of your help and your friendship. I am so excited to share this entry with my facebook friends who will love to know more details about our soft landing in Israel.

tikva [Visitor] in response to: Excellent Aliyah Advice from AliyahLift

tikva [Visitor] — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:52:13 +0000

Thank you for the compliment!

Tovia [Visitor] in response to: FedEx-Customs Shakedown

Tovia [Visitor] — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:25:07 +0000

Nice story. I needed this advice because we want to make Aliyah some day soon and want to AVOID this type of Harassment. Thanks again.

Bryna Lee [Visitor] in response to: Registering a Freelance Business in Israel

Bryna Lee [Visitor] — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:42:01 +0000

Tehillah,
I continue to be amazed and grateful for your detailed accounts of your olah milestones. I've gotta remember to look here first for the answer, because you may have "done it" already.
Thanks again!

Tehillah [Member] in response to: Registering a Freelance Business in Israel

Tehillah [Member] — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:54:30 +0000

Hi Gidon,
He quoted me 1600 NIS/year for Osek Patur consultation and end-of-year taxes (which may be a special discounted rate for olim).

Not sure about long distance, but I don't see why not. You can contact him at 09-7448570 or by e-mail at brandcpa@netvision.net.il

Gidon [Visitor] in response to: Registering a Freelance Business in Israel

Gidon [Visitor] — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:46:20 +0000

Hi Tehilla!

Thanks for the call out - how much will Brand cost you and does he do long distance (email and phone) service?

Sam [Visitor] in response to: Pesach Shopping in Israel

Sam [Visitor] — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:18:53 +0000

love Israel and the Israeli people.
All Jews of the world should go there and help build a great strong nation!!!
Im going in a couple of years.
Can't wait~~~
Israel ~~ KISSES!

Tehillah [Member] in response to: How to Deposit a Check in a Bank Leumi ATM

Tehillah [Member] — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:51:05 +0000

Bryna Lee,
Yes I have withdrawn Shekels from the Leumi ATM and will have to document that for you another time.
I never used the ATM in MA, only here so I don't know if they also have two different types (like we do).
A friend has used the Leumi ATM to withdraw US dollars as well and says when she inserts a US debit card the screen displays in English!

Bryna Lee [Visitor] in response to: How to Deposit a Check in a Bank Leumi ATM

Bryna Lee [Visitor] — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:37:05 +0000

Tehillah, You have done it again. You must have read my mind. This will really help! Have you done this already for getting cash out too? I haven't figured that out yet and that is very high on my to-do list...

Tehillah [Member] in response to: How to Deposit a Check in a Bank Leumi ATM

Tehillah [Member] — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:38:12 +0000

I don't know but its the same situation when you phone Bezeq - no English but plenty of other languages.

Adam [Visitor] in response to: How to Deposit a Check in a Bank Leumi ATM

Adam [Visitor] — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:11:36 +0000

At my Bank Leumi branch, one can use that same machine in Hebrew, Arabic, or Russian - but not English. There are many more English speakers than Arabic speakers in the area. What gives?