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is much more open to Eretz Yisrael – when you walk in the they can supplement and ensure they are connected to
building, there is a quote from Rav Kook on the wall! Zionism as well.
One of the myths people have about Aliyah is that you have Eshkie: One of the most important things we have learned
to choose between Religious Zionist and Charedi, but we is to make informed decisions, and not to make life-chang-
have been able to find a lot of people living in the gray, with ing decisions based on conversations in the park or in the
aspects of both worlds. Ramat Beit Shemesh has grown stairwell. There was a family of ba’alei teshuva who made
tremendously – Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph now has close Aliyah a few years ago, and they chose to enroll their kids
to 40,000 residents and about 20 schools, allowing each in Religious Zionist schools. The first week they were here
family to find the type of hashkafah and style that fits them. he met a neighbor in the stairwell who told him in quite
And as I said, each child will form their own path. One of certain terms how the Religious Zionist school wasn’t frum
my sons, who has long payos and wears a shtreimel, was enough, and that he had to move his children to the school
walking in the street early in the pandemic without a mask. his kids were in. That school required a hat and jacket for
A policeman stopped him to give him a ticket. When he the interview, which this father didn’t even have, but the
asked him for his ID, my son took out his army ID – giving zealous neighbor lent him his. Thinking this was the only
the policeman such a surprise that he let him off! way to succeed in Ramat Beit Shemesh, the ba’al teshuva
switched his children to a Charedi cheder, which was totally
Your shul also is also a blend of Religious Zionist and inappropriate for them. Six weeks later, his 12-year-old
Charedi. Can you tell us more about it? decided he didn’t want to be religious because he didn’t
fit in.
R’ Avrohom: Our shul is called Kehillas Shivtei Yeshurun
(KSY), and I served as the President there for 8 years. It’s When you make Aliyah there is so much to learn and take
grown from 15 to 190 families in the last ten years under in, so take your time, and don’t be pressured even by
the leadership of Rabbi Yaakov Haber, and it is incredibly well-meaning and strong-minded neighbors. You have to
diverse. You have mostly Anglos, some Israelis too, Charedi, do what works for you!
Charedi-lite, Religious Zionist, Torani, Chardal. Within a
three-minute walk you could have a homogenous shul of Rabbi Leventhal – you run a highly successful chessed
any one of those types, but people choose KSY because they organization called Lema’an Achai. How do the differ-
want to be somewhere diverse. ences between the Charedi and Religious Zionist com-
munities impact the work you do?
There has been a significant shift. When people made Aliyah
between 2005 and 2010, there was a very strong sense of R’ Avrohom: When I walk into the office, there are people
having to conform to what others were doing. Since 2010, working together from across Israeli society. I think it pro-
people making Aliyah have been able to be themselves more, vides a model for how our society as a whole can function.
and this has really helped people. Aliyah is more successful We have therapists who are Charedi, and therapists who
when you feel you can breathe! For example, there are are formerly religious. We match each person with the
many people who daven in a Charedi shul throughout the client who will work best for them, doing whatever is in
RʼAvrohom and Eshkie with some of their children and grandchildren.
year, but davka go to another shul on Yom HaAtzmaut in the best interest of the client. Ultimately, we all have the
order to say Hallel. For them, their shul generally provides same goals, and I am proud that a diverse group of people
them the best community for their family, and they feel are able to work together. n

The Leventhal family.
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