English speaking chassidish community in Israel

amother

Maroon

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 2:43 am

I second Ramat Shlomo.

It is part of Yerushalayim, but more affordable. They've recently built a few developments with large apartments. I know American Chassidish (different flavors) families who moved there from the costly center of Yerushalayim neighborhoods (Kaduri, Romema, etc.).

Slightly less expensive would be Givat Zeev. There are several English-speaking Chassidim there (Stolin). I know the principal and some teachers from Bnos Hadassah ("chutznik" girls school) live there.

amother

IndianRed ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 2:52 am

Just a quick note on ikea. OP said she is from an English speaking country not specifying America
Finding great deals is different if you are not American. IKEA and Zara prices in Israel are exactly the same as they are in Canada. Not sure if relevant just an FYI

amother

Peru ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 3:01 am

amother OP wrote:

DH grew up in Bnei Brak, didn`t know a word of english. Fast forward a few years of marriage in my english-speaking country, he now speaks english pretty well. DH dreams of going to live in Eretz Yisroel.
I don`t want to go to Bnei Brak, because my hebrew is practically nonexistent and if I won`t have anyone to communicate with in english, I will explode.
We are chassidish, DH wears a shtreimel. At the same time, I am very friendly and open-minded. Is there a place to live in Eretz Yisroel where chassidim live but also speak English? (Most Isreali chassidim I know only speak hebrew and yiddish). I am fluent in yiddish but am much more comfortable speaking english. Yerushalayim would be ideal, but way too expensive. I am okay with having non-chassidish english-speaking neighbours, but they need to be more to the yeshivish side because I don`t want my kids to have too much exposure.

Any suggestions?

I live in rbs there is a place next to us ramet Avraham I think that would be suitable

amother

↑ Peru ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 3:02 am

amother OP wrote:

A few questions about Israel and about Beit Shemesh in general:

Does ebay exist in Israel? Flea markets? Thrift stores? I love good metziyos!
Are there english libraries? Jewish english books or secular english as well?

Thrift shops yes I work in one

amother

Floralwhite ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 3:10 am

Definitely RBS! There is an English-speaking chassidish shul in gimmel 1, but it's pretty mixed in terms of who comes. Like everything from real chassidish to chassidish style.

Tons of chassidim in gimmel 2 but no English-speaking shuls. Similar in daled.

There are also in alef but less, and harder to find a place to live.

There are also plenty of Enlgish-speaking chassidim in bet and even in the kirya. You really need to find people in those communities to speak to. I know a few but can't give names online Smile

Not Ramat Avraham. Don't even think of going there.

Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 4:03 am

amother Oldlace wrote:

If she's coming from chutz la'aretz is 1.5 hours ride really that far?

The distance between beitar & beit shemesh is 20 min.

An hour and a half, especially with heavy traffic congestion, is exhausting.
Cruising on an open highway with no traffic is very different.

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 4:09 am

amother OP wrote:

Yes we have ebay.
Flea market: Shuk Hapishpeshim in Yaffo. I don't know of any other.
English books: I buy 2nd hand.

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 4:11 am

amother OP wrote:

We are leaning towards RBS but don`t know which one to pick or where to start! We need a chassidish school for our kids but maybe school buses take the kids from one RBS to another (from gimmel to hei for example)? I would love to hear from people who live in RBS if they think we would fit in there and if there are like-minded people there as well. Or we could go to Kiryat Gat on the outskirts of Yerushalayim but I hear the kehillah there is Belz and we are not so I prefer a more generalized chassidish kehillah.
Rosepink, how soon are you thinking of going?

Kiryat Gat in the the Negev. Not in Jlm area.

↑ Bnei Berak 10 ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 4:24 am

amother OP wrote:

I know and deep down I really dislike the israeli culture and mentality. I don`t really want to move there but DH very much doesn`t enjoy where we currently live. That`s why I am looking to live among like-minded and similar people so I get to have some "normal" company. I will probably overlap between the chassidish israelis and the english speaking chutznikim and sort of not really properly fit in anywhere Confused

This sounds quite concerning IMHO.
How long are you married?

↑ DrMom ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 4:38 am

amother OP wrote:

So your DH didn't know a word of English, but he married you, relocated to an English-speaking country, and is now proficient in English... but you can't move to E"Y and learn some Hebrew? That doesn't seem fair... Confused

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 5:17 am

DrMom wrote:

He doesn`t mind living anywhere in Israel because he is quick to make friends and fluent in hebrew. he wants me to be happy. He doesn`t necessarily want to live in BB next to his fam, just wants to be close enough to be able to attend all simchos and go for shabbos/yom tov often.

part of the agreement when we got married was that he would come live in my town, but he still hasn`t found his place that`s why he wants to move back. In my chassidish community it is normal for the husbands to move here and we have lots of israeli hebrew speaking men here but he misses the action and israeli life in general

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 5:18 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

This sounds quite concerning IMHO.
How long are you married?

A few years. I never dreamed I would marry an Isreali because I am the opposite of Israelis but I guess Hashem has a plan and this is how He wants my life to look!

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 5:20 am

amother Peru wrote:

Thrift shops yes I work in one

Yay! In which city is it located? Is it embarrassing for people to shop there? Where I live, I visit these stores in non-jewish areas but in my area it is a complete no-no for jewish people to shop in thrift stores. Flea markets are more okay for some strange reason. Personally I find the stuff in the thrift stores are cleaner than in flea markets but whatever....

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 5:22 am

amother Floralwhite wrote:

Not Ramat Avraham. Don't even think of going there.

Wow thanks! DH brother recently moved to I think daled . Him and his wife are lovely people but don`t speak english. I am happy to live close to them and its okay to not have english speaking shul but if the area in general is what I am looking for, then it is fine. gimmel 1 or 2 sounds better. How far is it to walk/bus to daled?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 5:26 am

Reality wrote:

Shein is cheaper and faster in Israel then in the US. There are second hand shops in Beit Shemesh that are very cheap.

There are a few English language libraries in Old Beit Shemesh and RBS A. You need to pay a membership and it allows you to take out x number of books a week. Some are all Jewish and some are a mix of Jewish and secular.

In a later post I think you mentioned RBS D. It is tremendous so every area is very different. You need to move to a more anglo block that has a mix of yeshivish and chassidish. Also, keep in mind it is all very large buildings giving the area a real city feeling as opposed to other areas of RBS that have a more suburban look.

That`s absolutely perfect! I love the hustle and bustle of city life. I am afraid if everything is too suburban and spread out I would get a bit depressed... I need action and mainly I need to see people.

amother

Papayawhip ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 5:44 am

Might not be a better option than RBS, but another option is rechovot. It's closer to bnei berak. The chasidish community is kretchnif. They are very warm and welcoming, not many English speakers in the community, there are only a few, but right near kretchnif is Chatam , a yeshivish, Anglo Shul. Kretchnif have their own chasidish schools. Your husband could be part of the kretchnif community and you could be part of the English speaking Chatam community, although the Chatam community is not chasidish. It's a much more Israeli option than RBS.

amother

↑ Papayawhip

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 5:45 am

amother OP wrote:

There is an English speaking Shul in daled, but it's not chasidish. The chasadim in bet are pretty extreme and can be violent.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 5:49 am

amother Papayawhip wrote:

Thanks, sounds nice but I prefer less Israeli so RBS sounds a bit more like it.

amother

Cyan

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 7:40 am

amother Papayawhip wrote:

Are you chassidish? You don't seem to understand how being part of a particular chassidus works. You don't just "pick a chassidus out of a hat." You don't just switch rebbes out of convenience. Usually you stick with the same chassidus you were brought up with- it's a community that you have a connection to, that you feel part of, that you respect and look up to the Rebbe.

amother

↑ Floralwhite

Mon, Nov 04 2024, 8:37 am

amother OP wrote:

The bus system is very well-developed all over, but daled is fairly new, so I can't say for sure.