Dallas, TX

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 05 2005 Posts: 3505

we are thinking of making a move to dallas. my husband would learn in the kiruv kollel there. does anyone have any info or live there? obviously, I've had to reveal myself since amother has been disabled here. but if you don't want to, just pm me. thanks.

Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 10:12 am Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

I agree with you that amother should be enabled in this section. It is precisely what amother is for.

Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 10:16 am Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

Anyway, we just had a girl staying with us this week, from dallaas. I was there many years ago doing camp, so I was asking her about it. It seems there is a small by type high school, a few kosher resturants, kosher stores etc.

Sorry, can't tell you any more. Best bet is to call up the rabbi or rebbetzin and ask them questions. Also ask them to give you other people to call, eg someone already in the kollel.

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 27 2005 Posts: 6748

P&Y I dont know about dallas but I wanted to say I third the notion that this section ought to have amother enabled. Even IRL people dont disclose all their possible moving plans until they are settled.

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 05 2005 Posts: 3505

Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 10:41 am Post subject:

PinkandYellow, it's pretty easy to locate the Chabad shluchim, and I'm sure they would speak with you and give you the numbers to the other people as well.

and I also think amother should be enabled for this type of question.
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Ding ding ding!

Tehilla hit #3000!

Mazel tov!

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Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 10:44 am Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

I know someone who lived there quite a number of years ago (more than 10) and I think went to the kollel. If you're interested, pm me and I'll get their #for you. They live in Israel now.
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Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 10:47 am Post subject:

Diamond Member Joined: Apr 16 2007 Posts: 2952

I 3001 the motion that this forum should be amother enabled.

Sorry I have no info about Dallas for you, hatzlacha with whatever you decide.

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18302

P&Y, I have a s-I-l who moved there this past summer. Though she's not in the kollel, she is part of the yeshivish crowd (husband is a rebbe in one of the schools). She is on vacation right now, but if you remember to email me in a few weeks, I can try to get you in touch with her.
I also know someone else who teaches there, but I have to get his (or his wife's) contact info.
Kollel wise, I only know one person currently in the kollel there.
But the community itself is supposed to be very warm (literally too I guess Laughing

), lots of room for growth without compromising your own standards as it continues to thrive, and just a wonderful place to live. Distance wise, it is far from the east coast. But, it's still closer than E"Y if you have family in the States Wink

Wish I could help more, but I didn't see any real responses on here, so I just wanted to give you a favorable impression of the community from all I've heard and seen from friends of mine from there as well as people I know who davka joined the community.
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Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 12:03 pm Post subject:

Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 12:04 pm Post subject:

well I lived in Houston, but not Dallas. but I'll be happy, as I said above to connect you to the shluchim who can help connect you to whoever you want. Smile

Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 12:08 pm Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

I've never been to Dallas but my high school girlfriend is married to the head of the kollel (if it's the same one). Good people. PM me if you want details. I may even be able to come up with her phone number.
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Posted: Fri, Jun 27 2008, 6:09 pm Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

I've been to business seminars in Dallas that have bumped up into Shabbos so I've stayed in the frum community a few times--- VERY warm and friendly--- but DANGGGGG it's *HOT* in the summer!

There are 2 small communities, it seems-- and they're fairly close to each other (but not walking distance). I stayed in both at different times. To me, the Rabbi Rodin community seemed pretty mixed (mostly modern), and the other community (I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the Rabbi or the shul, I apologize) seemed more BT. Both communities seemed to have shiurim and learning opportunities--- I know NOTHING about the kollel though--- didn't meet any kollelniks.

There's one restaurant I like--- it's a pizza dive but cute and fun and serves more than just pizza. Cafe Fino. I think there may be another restaurant or two...... Stewies? I didn't go there.... but you can get kosher sandwiches and salads and stuff to go from Tom Thumb which is nice--- and they delivered to my hotel too!

It's very easy to get around there--- there's one freeway that goes from downtown north and deposits right into the frum communities. It's hard to get lost, which is nice.

I would totally consider living there if the opportunity presented itself--- my only beef would be the heat.

Posted: Sat, Jun 28 2008, 3:40 pm Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

I grew up in Dallas and my parents still live there. I haven't lived there in a number of years so I can't tell you about the current Kollel families or the latest of what is happening. I did want to just ammend what the previous poster wrote. Rabbi Rodin's shul is almost 100% baalei tshuva so if they seem "modern" to you it is because many of them are coming from no background to keeping shabbos, dressing modesly etc. It is a very special and unique shul where everyone is on a path of growth and extremely close knit and focused on improving their midot, rather than focusing on wearing black hats and looking more yeshivish. R' Rodin encourages everyone to strive for the highest level of observance but at their own pace which is why many BT's feel comfortable there. There are a number of nice shuls each with different styles, although I think most of the kollel families daven at Orh Hatorah. I can get you phone numbers of families there. Again, I can't say too much about the kollel but just had to chime in so that everyone knows R' Rodins shul is one of the most special in the world. (Actually R' Pesach Krohn included a story about R' Rodin in on of the Maggid books.) Sorry if I went off topic here. I would be happy to help.

Posted: Sat, Jun 28 2008, 10:49 pm Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

Lisa, wow, that's not the sense we got. The family we stayed with and the family we ate lunch with were not BT and we got a sense that only about half the shul was BT... and a lot were FFB Israelis. Nothing at all against Rabbi Rodin's shul, just an observation of how it seemed to us.. And yep, I can see why people there say it's special! The families are so friendly and welcoming. But yes, to us it seemed more on the modern side, and we're BT ourselves.

But yep, Ohr HaTorah was in the other community (thank you for reminding me the name of the shul!) and when we stayed there THAT'S the shul that seemed 100% BT to us! And I just asked my husband whether he felt that Ohr HaTorah was more modern than Rabbi Rodin's shul.... and he said "NOOOO!" So to US, OhrHaTorah seemed 100% BT but less modern, and Rabbi Rodin's shul seemed more modern and more of a mix between FFB and BT. But that's our view from a couple of Shabbosses in each community... we've never lived there!

At any rate, if you're BT or FFB.... or modern or not, you'll find similar families in each community--- it's not as one dimensional as say, Los Angeles, where ALL the "black hats" live in one community and ALL the "moderns" live in another community and those of us who were confused never quite fit in anywhere *lol*.

Posted: Sat, Jun 28 2008, 11:56 pm Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

Like I said I haven't lived there in a while so my impressions could be off too. The bottom line is, if someone is looking for a kiruv opportunity it is a great place as the hard work of building schools and eruvin and a growing community has already been done, but with many people still seeking role models and teachers in yiddishkeit.

Senior Member Joined: Apr 06 2008 Posts: 115

PinkandYellow, I grew up in Dallas and only moved about a year ago when I got married, so I went to the girl's high school and know the community very well. The basic jist of Dallas is that most of the poeple that live there are BT, with an increase of FFB couples (specifically from New York) moving in, initially to help out with the kollel and kiruv, and now just because it's a growing community with lots of advantages. There are two mini neighborhoods, as previously mentioned, but they are very closely connected. There is a girl's almost BY school (it's not officialy a Bais Yaakov, but has a dress code and that kind of atmosphere, without being overly strict.) There's a Chofetz Chaim yeshivah, a yeshivish day school, a modern day school, a modern high school (well, more of a mish-mash really), and all types of shuls. There are two different kollels there so I'm not sure which one your husband is being considered for. THe main difference between the two is that one is more yeshivish, whereas the otherone is less so. Dallas' main quality is that it is really well-known as being a warm community, where it's small enough that everyone knows everyone, but large enough that it has restaurants and isn't completely cut off from the Jewish world. Basically, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask me here and I'd be happy to answer for you. My parents still live there, so if there's anything that I don't know, I could always ask my mother (who, by the way, would love to host you if you were going to Dallas to visit for Shabbos or during the week.)

And to correct the previous statement, I am from Rabbi Rodin's community. It is not modern; it is BT. There is a difference between the two. I would say about 99% of the shul is BT and therefore everyone is at their own level and growing at their own pace. Therefore, you see all different kinds of people there and the atmosphere is very into everyone coming together in one shul, regardless of their background or current level of frumkeit. Indeed, the shul's motto is "Where Jews of all backgrounds feel at home." Ohr Hatorah, on the other hand, is mostly BT but has a large percentage of yeshivish families in attendance because it is closely connected to the yeshivish kollel, so it definitely has much more a yeshivish flavor, despite its BT roots.

Lisa, I'm curious as to who you are. I've lived in Dallas all my life, so I can't imagine that I don't know who you are, especially being that you're so well-acquainted with Rabbi Rodin's shul. Hmm..

Posted: Sun, Jun 29 2008, 1:18 pm Post subject: re: Dallas, TX

Viva, maybe we are related Wink