"Instead of stinging nettle, myrtle will rise" (Isaiah 55:13)
 "Instead of evil, good will rise." (The Malbim's Interpretation)
Myrtle Rising
  • Blog
  • Comments Disabled
    • Privacy Policy
  • Aliyah
    • Mini-Intro
    • General Cultural Insights
    • School Tips
  • Kli Yakar Index
  • Most Popular
  • Contact

How My Great Aliyah Disillusion Opened My Eyes to the Social Manipulation

7/4/2019

11 Comments

 
When I first made aliyah (before Nefesh B’Nefesh), I was solidly dati leumi/Religious Zionist.
 
During the one-year program for English-speakers at Bar Ilan University, I ended up spending a lot of time and many Shabboses with dati-leumi people and my friends were dati-leumi Israelis who’d just finished their stint in the army or sherut leumi (national service for girls).
 
I very much wanted to contribute to my beloved country by diving into sherut leumi.

Before I left Eretz Yisrael, I met with a sherut leumi coordinator (who was very nice) and made loose plans regarding my upcoming aliyah and service with her.
 
I returned to America and immediately started readying myself for aliyah by shopping and making some money.
 
But when I met with my region’s aliyah representative, he immediately discouraged me from sherut leumi.
 
I was dumbstruck.
 
Everything I’d encountered in Israeli society emphasized the importance of serving your country in some way, whether army service or national service.
 
Why was a government rep of Medinat Yisrael trying to shove me off?
 
Instead, he insisted that I go to a Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz.
 
At that point, I knew enough to know that Hashomer Hatzair was on the extreme anti-religious Left. I argued with him, saying stuff like, “Look at how I’m dressed! I’m religious! Why would you place me with Hashomer Hatzair?”
 
He just laughed and said that I should go, I’d enjoy it and meet a nice boy and get married and settle down there.
 
That’s when I realized that he had an ulterior motive to make me a secular socialist Leftist.
 
I argued with him some more while he smirked and chuckled, then he signed me up for a “religious” kibbutz.
 
I was crushed and felt helpless.
 
I so badly wanted to prove my loyalty and patriotism, and become part of Israeli society, but wasn’t allowed to by the very government that always insisted this was sooooo important.
 
Anyway, to make a long & convoluted story shorter & simpler, I arrived at the kibbutz and had a miserable time. It was barely religious and there were no resources for olim chadashim, even though they technically had an ulpan program supposedly catering to olim chadashim.
 
But the ulpan only went as high as teaching kindergarten-reading Hebrew and I was stressed out because I desperately needed to improve my Hebrew to get a job.
 
It was just a miserable, unfriendly place on top of everything else and I wasn’t the only one suffering. In fact, some of the olim (like one from Moscow and another from Iran) suffered much more with absolutely no other option — and no one on the kibbutz cared a whit.
 
No one cared about you and there were no resources to help you leave the kibbutz for employment or vocational training. I think it was just a money-making scheme where the kibbutz also enjoyed free labor from the olim.
 
Finally, I “escaped” (and I wasn’t the only one) and ended up at a chareidi seminary for baalei teshuvah, where I became very happy and fulfilled.
 
Fortunately, that girl from Moscow also made her way to a chareidi seminary for Russian girls, where she found fulfillment, and the Iranian boy also made his way to a yeshivah with a lot of Iranian boys, where he also found fulfillment.
 
Actually, a lot of the Russian boys on my kibbutz “escaped” to a yeshivah.
 
And all of us were so much happier in a vibrantly frum learning environment.
 
So we all had a happy ending, baruch Hashem.
 
But my point is that many government officials (and journalists) just like to browbeat religious people.
 
They don’t actually care about you serving the country or “carrying your fair share of the burden.”
 
They just want you to be soulless live-in-the-moment materialists like themselves.
 
(By the way, I have other stories of “official” hypocrisy on this subject. I didn’t come to this conclusion based on my one experience. But I’m just using my one experience as an example.)
 
Anyway, politicians and journalists are very good a whipping up innocent citizens into a frenzy about those who are not serving the country in “official” capacity.
 
And that’s a terrible rock to wedge between Jews who would otherwise get along quite well together.

May Hashem bring us together in genuine achvah under the canopy of Torah.
Picture
11 Comments
bracha
8/4/2019 02:11:28

The first thing you have to understand first is that the whole kibbutz movement, be it the original anti-Torah kibbutzim and even the religious ones are the products of the bolshevik, leftist foundation of the medina. Medinat Yisrael does not represent the true Eretz Yisrael. There is a big difference. The whole infrastructure of the State is left, and that is why when the people vote for the 'right', they always wind up with the leftist agenda. It has gotten better to a degree in its overall functioning but in a way, the hatred for Torah Judaism by the left has increased because they don't know what to do; they see how the 'religious' have increased rather than decreasing. So their hatred has grown and that is why they are forcing chareidi girls to be drafted, which is pure insanity. We are now at the end of days and Esav is losing its power and that means, the power of Yishmael and the Erev Rav is also losing their power. It seems that H' allowed the Erev Rav to come along with the Jews at yetziat Mitzrayim because they needed to be the ones who would bring the Jews enmasse to EY, for the final Geulah in order for it to come to fruition; therefore, their time will soon be over and the state will eventually become Eretz Yisrael and be the truly Jewish Homeland that H' has promised us. H' uses the natural forces of events to make things happen, but the day will come when 'real miracles' will become the natural. We pray that the time of Moshiach is closer than we think - all in a blink of an eye.

Reply
Myrtle Rising
8/4/2019 10:44:33

Hi, Bracha,

First of all, thank you so much for all your insights and chizuk. It's very appreciated.

Secondly, your explanation of why we always get a Leftist agenda no matter how Right we vote is the whole shebang in a ntushell. Exactly that.

And Amen to your last statements!

Reply
Jonathan G
8/4/2019 16:20:46

Hi, that's an amazing statement about the erev rav, it coincides with a lot of what Rabbi Mendel Kessin says about the erev rav . But, could you give a source ?

Reply
Leah
8/4/2019 05:15:12

Amen!!! Crazy... I'm glad you "escaped."

Reply
Myrtle Rising
8/4/2019 10:39:36

Thank you, Leah. The funny thing is that I really felt at the time like I was escaping. It was definitely a "Get me outta here!!!" feeling.

It's also funny that we all escaped from a "free 'n' progressive" environment to chareidi yeshivahs and seminaries -- and were much happier.

Reply
Leah
8/4/2019 17:36:40

Yuuuup, free n progressive. Read: They were enslaving themselves and trying to do the same to yoi.. siiighhhh....

Reply
Myrtle Rising
8/4/2019 19:12:13

Couldn't have put it better. Thanks, Leah.

Reply
Neshama
8/4/2019 17:47:00

You know what came to mind for me? This rep treated you like, excuse the expression, a “dumb blonde,” who is only interested in (the physical) opposite gender! And all you ‘really’ wanted was to find a husband. Most of the dimwit secular girls are only interested in pleasure seeking. He couldn’t understand that “girls” do have brains and some do want more out of life. B”H you passed the test.

Reply
Myrtle Rising
8/4/2019 19:14:51

Nice insight, Neshama.

Yeah, secular "progressives" have a very narrow & superficial way of seeing young women while considering themselves oh-so enlightened.

Thanks for your comment.

Reply
Leah
8/4/2019 19:45:39

Yes, Neshama and Myrtle, if you notice we are viewed as narrow minded though...

Myrtle Rising
8/4/2019 21:27:06

Yup!


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Privacy Policy

    Picture
    Please note this is an affiliate link. Meaning, I get a small cut but at NO extra cost to you. If you use it, I'm grateful. If not, you still get a giant mitzvah connected to Eretz Yisrael.


    Feedburner subscription no longer in operation. Sorry!

    Myrtle Rising

    I'm a middle-aged housewife and mother in Eretz Yisrael who likes to read and write a lot.


    Picture
    Sample Chapters

    Categories

    All
    Aliyah
    Anti Jewish Bigotry
    Anti-jewish-bigotry
    Astronomy
    Book Review
    Books
    Chagim/Holidays
    Chinuch
    Coronavirus
    Dictionaries
    Emuna
    Eretz Yisrael
    Erev Rav
    Gender
    Hitbodedut
    "If The Torah..."
    Jewish Astrology
    Kav Hayashar
    Kli Yakar
    Lashon Hara
    Love
    Me'am Loez
    Minchat Yehudah
    Mishlei/Proverbs
    Netivot Shalom
    Parenting
    Parsha
    Pele Yoetz
    Perek Shira
    Pesach
    Politics
    Prayer
    Purim
    Rav Avigdor Miller
    Rav Itamar Schwartz
    Rav L.Y. Bender
    Recipes
    "Regular" Jews
    Rosh Hashanah
    Society
    Sukkot
    Tammuz
    Technology
    Tehillim/Psalms
    Teshuvah
    The Lost Princess
    Tisha B'Av
    USA Scary Direction
    Women
    Yom Kippur

    Jewish Blogs

    Daf Yomi Review
    Derech Emet
    Going...Habayitah
    Halacha Q&A
    Hava haAharona
    Miriam Adahan
    My Perspective

    Shirat Devorah
    Tomer Devorah
    Toras Avigdor
    True Tzaddikim
    Tznius Blog

    Yeranen Yaakov
    Rabbi Ofer Erez (Hebrew lectures)

    Jewish Current Events

    Hamodia
    Sultan Knish
    Tomer Devorah
    Yeranen Yaakov

    Jewish Health

    People Smarts

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    RSS Feed

    Copyright Notice

    ©2015-2022 Myrtle Rising
    Excerpts and links may be used without express permission as long as a link is provided back to the appropriate Myrtle Rising page.

Home/Blog

Most Popular

Kli Yakar in English

Aliyah

Contact

Copyright © 2023
Photos used under Creative Commons from Brett Jordan, BAMCorp, Terrazzo, Abode of Chaos, Michele Dorsey Walfred, marklordphotography, M.Burak Erbaş, torbakhopper, jhritz, Rina Pitucci (Tilling 67), Svadilfari, kum111, Tim simpson1, FindYourSearch, Giorgio Galeotti, ChrisYunker, Jaykhuang, YourCastlesDecor, bluebirdsandteapots, Natalia Medd, Stefans02, Israel_photo_gallery, Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet, BradPerkins, zeevveez, dfarrell07, h.koppdelaney, Edgardo W. Olivera, nafrenkel88, zeevveez, mtchlra, Liz | populational, TraumaAndDissociation, thinboyfatter, garofalo.christina, skpy, Free Grunge Textures - www.freestock.ca, Nerru, Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith, trendingtopics, dolbinator1000, DonkeyHotey, zeevveez, erix!, zeevveez, h.koppdelaney, MAURO CATEB, kevin dooley, keepitsurreal, annikaleigh, bjornmeansbear, publicdomainphotography, Leonard J Matthews, Exile on Ontario St, Nicholas_T, marcoverch, planman, PhilWolff, j_lai, t.kunikuni, zeevveez, Ian W Scott, Brett Jordan, RonAlmog, Bob Linsdell, NASA Goddard Photo and Video, aaron_anderer, ** RCB **, Tony Webster, mypubliclands, AntonStetner, Zachi Evenor, MrJamesBaker, sammydavisdog, Frode Ramone, Wonder woman0731, wrachele, kennethkonica, Skall_Edit, Pleuntje, Rennett Stowe, *S A N D E E P*, symphony of love, AlexanderJonesi, Arya Ziai, ePublicist, Enokson, Tony Webster, Art4TheGlryOfGod, seaternity, Andrew Tarvin, zeevveez, Israel_photo_gallery, Iqbal Osman1, Matt From London, Tribes of the World, Eric Kilby, miracle design, RonAlmog, slgckgc, Kim Scarborough, DonkeyHotey, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, h.koppdelaney, gleonhard, Pedro Travassos, nociveglia, RonAlmog, Israel_photo_gallery, Septemia, Paulann_Egelhoff, Tatiana12, MAD Hippies Life, Neta Bartal, milesgehm, shooting brooklyn, RonAlmog, smilygrl, gospelportals, leighblackall, symensphotographie, zeevveez, Kyknoord, wotashot (taking a break), Tambako the Jaguar, bitmask, Arnie Sacknooson, mattymatt, Rob Swystun, zeevveez, Dun.can, Tim Patterson, timeflicks, garlandcannon, HRYMX, fred_v, Yair Aronshtam, zeevveez, Ron Cogswell, FindYourSearch, Israel_photo_gallery, Serendipity Diamonds, zeevveez, Steve Corey, Dominic's pics, leighklotz, Stefans02, dannyman, RonAlmog, Stephen O, RonAlmog, Tips For Travellers, Futurilla, anomalous4, Bob Linsdell, AndyMcLemore, symphony of love, andydr, sara~, Gamma Man, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, robef, European Southern Observatory, Brett Jordan, Johnny Silvercloud, Israel_photo_gallery, smkybear, --Sam--, Paulann_Egelhoff, Selena Sheridan, D'oh Boy, campbelj45ca, 19melissa68, entirelysubjective, Leimenide, dheera.net, Brett Jordan, HonestReporting.com, Iqbal Osman1, One Way Stock, Jake Waage, picto:graphic, Marcelo Alves, KAZVorpal, Sparkle Motion, Brett Jordan, Ambernectar 13, Howdy, I'm H. Michael Karshis, Steven DuBois, Cristian V., tortuga767, Jake Cvnningham, D'oh Boy, Eric Kilby, quinn.anya, Lenny K Photography, One Way Stock, Bird Eye, ell brown, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, Kevin M. Gill, lunar caustic, gerrybuckel, quinn.anya, Kaz Andrew, kodomut, kayugee, jintae kim's photography, Futurilla, terri_bateman, Patty Mooney, Amydeanne, Paulann_Egelhoff, Mulling it Over, Ungry Young Man, Ruth and Dave, yangouyang374, symphony of love, kennethkonica, young@art, Brett Jordan, slgckgc, Celestine Chua, rkimpeljr, Kristoffer Trolle, TooFarNorth, D'oh Boy, Grace to You, LittleStuff.me, Kevin M. Gill, philozopher, traveltipy.com, Alan Cleaver, crazyoctopus, d_vdm, tonynetone, penjelly, TheToch, JohnE777, hello-julie, DaveBleasdale, Michael Candelori Photography, andessurvivor, slgckgc, byzantiumbooks, sasha diamanti