Yom HaAtzmaut 2016

Yom HaAtzmaut is a different experience when in Israel to what it is like outside. I guess that is to be expected, but like any of the special days in Israel, the whole country comes alive at this time. 

I was waiting at the bus stop and a little down the road noticed the above image. People have fun hanging flags outside their windows in all kinds of sizes and combinations.

The next was a little complicated to capture without a tripod but we did it, even with a camera phone! Many fly the Israeli flag from one or both sides of their car and often on the back of the wing mirrors too. 

Last night the skies lit up with fireworks. Today the skies are alive with various forms of aircraft flying in interesting formations. I'd love to have the tripod and appropriate lens to capture that, perhaps in time.

There is much talk happening in the social media about this day. For some it is a definite Yom Tov almost like Rosh Chodesh. For others the fact that we do not yet have all of our land and do not yet have the Moshiach, is source of sadness and a reminder that we have not yet reached our goal. Either way, celebrating the steps in the process are important too and it is special to see the unity happening in many different ways.

What are your thoughts about Israel and Yom HaAtzmaut? What are you doing today? Are you taking some time to help to build the land? Are you spending some time appreciating the land G-d gave to us? If you are not yet in Israel, does today help you to confirm the importance of living in the land where we as Jews belong?

We'd love to hear how you are spending today. Drop us a note in the comment section.

Have a blessed day. May we merit "Next year in the Re-built Yerushalayim!"

Shoshanah Shear

Two Fans Broken in our Move

The image above shows the remains of our two fans after our move. They used to stand approximately 1.5m  high or more. Obviously they are not as high as that now as there is a piece missing from the middle that has not turned up in any boxes or any of the lose items. If you look closely at the fan in the front of the image you can also see how they broke it resulting in the metal being distorted out of shape. The fans have clearly been broken. Without the middle section, the fans can not work. The metal part on the top also can not function with the way they have broken it.

These fans are BlueStar. We obtained good ones to make sure that we have good ventilation when we have clients or at night when the airflow is not adequate. They cost about NIS 250 each. These are just two of the broken items in need of replacing from our recent move. It might not sound like much but each item lost, broken or damaged adds up, not to mention being overcharged by thousands and having to obtain appliances that we did not have.

You can read more about our move on

Living the Pesach Story - a moving disaster

Continuation of our Moving Saga

Please help us by contributing to our fundraiser in order to replace our food for Pesach, to replace the damaged items, obtain the basic appliances and furniture that every Jewish home requires and cover this unreasonably high moving bill.

Thank you for your kindness

Shoshanah Shear

Continuation of the Moving Saga

They say all beginnings are hard. That is what many delighted in telling me when I first made Aliyah. Well, I'm no longer new to Israel just newly back in Jerusalem. Is that another beginning? Perhaps it is!

Yesterday I posted about our disastrous move, it seems the saga is continuing. I wanted to prepare something to eat in the kitchen and suddenly heard a crash. I opened the cupboard to discover the shelf I had placed the remainder of a set of dishes on had fallen and all the dishes too. Oh dear, this is turning out to be quite an ongoing ordeal.

Please help us to replace all the broken, lost, damaged items and the time lost in trying to sort this all out. We will have to make some changes to some of our work, but are so looking forward to getting back to working, living, having some kind of order in our lives. Please visit our fundraiser, share the link and help us to continue. 

Ironically, I've been reading the section of Tanach that covers the life of Yirmiyahu the Prophet. The book is full of Hashem's anger at how Am Yisrael turned against the ways of Hashem and did everything but what He wanted, especially in the Holy City of Yerushalayim. I definitely feel the need for Yerushalayim to be re-built. Please join us in developing a very special Torah Centre, it is so needed in Yerushalayim. We look forward to being able to share Torah from Yerushalayim, we need your help to get over these hurdles and to concentrate on increasing Torah and Chessed.

Thank you to everyone who cares enough to assist. This is not just our struggle, there are very many who depend on our work and efforts.

Have a blessed day.

Shoshanah Shear

Chessed Ve'Emet

Living the Pesach Story - A Moving Disaster

We've moved yet again! That makes close to 45 moves for Shoshanah and for Eliyahu - already 6 major moves since marrying. But it's been the complete disruption of everything and tragedy of the events unfolding that has truly wiped us out. Our previous fundraisers have not met with success and here we are again asking for assistance to help us out of our heartbreaking story.

Our previous landlord had threatened us constantly to immediately vacate his apartment even though we always paid him in full and on time - ending up with us being forced to move the day before Pesach this year. The disruption is easy to imagine to anyone knowing how much one must do to prepare before Pesach! It was impossible to fathom his reasoning - but we knew he wanted his apartment back immediately. We had to stop everything, and do whatever it took to get us out - and fast.

While any move is stressful - the disaster at seeing the amount of items broken and missing, irreplaceable books with broken bindings and dent marks - as well as the thought of having to deal with parts of our previous apartment being broken (by the movers) when we show it to the landlord, has brought us to wondering how we can ever get a start in our new apartment. While we've always rented appliances and furniture, never having had the means to purchase our own - this new move demanded us obtaining appliances and furniture - we just don't have the means for. Yet another loan - but we haven't any idea how we will ever pay it back.

While we did our best to obtain quotes for responsible movers, the mover we chose was a smooth talker offering favour upon favour with promises for cheaper rates and an exceptional social etiquette that said he was the best, his behaviour amazed us as his attitude was so different when it came time to move. Looking at the apartment, he made one quote, yet after moving, he changed it by almost doubling the already exorbitant amount. His team packed our items in the most uncaring manner with things being thrown into boxes, stuffed away with little concern for the consequences.

Our new landlord had promised us a fridge as another type of favour to help us, but it arrived filled with the most disgusting mould one can ever hope to never see. The mover offered his own favour by selling us a faulty fridge which he explained was almost new except for a broken bottom. He offered it at an apparent 500 Shekel less the going rate. Unfortunately not only was his offer unacceptable by normal standards, but the fridge did not work at all - causing us to lose all our food by Pesach day! 

Our damages include:

2 fans missing parts

Our heater missing a part

Damaged bookshelves

Damage to some items due to a toxic fluid being incorrectly packed and spilling inside the box. Items had to be thrown out.

Broken shelves

Broken and damaged books.

By the end of the move, we realized we were charged at least 5000 Shekels more than other movers quotes would have turned out to be, and our mover could not substantiate the increase. One reason he gave was due to transporting the bridal gowns of our own charity fund, however this took a little over half an hour to be packaged and put on the truck with me assisting. According to the hourly rate of the other movers that should be some 250 or so Shekels extra, not 5000. The faulty fridge was charged to us. More than this the mover has been unable to break down the huge cost that he demanded.

Though we do have our bookshelves and beds, not having had assistance getting married as an orphan Kallah, we have lacked a dining room table and chairs. We have had to borrow in order to obtain a fridge, stove and washing machine, having no other choice in order to carry on a normal day to day life. Each of our moves has required taking out another bank loan just to try and get another start. Interest rates consume any possibility of us ever getting a start to life. We cannot get ahead with all these setbacks.

Please help us by contributing to our fundraiser in order to replace our food for Pesach, to replace the damaged items, obtain the basic appliances and furniture that every Jewish home requires and cover this unreasonably high moving bill.

Thank you for your kindness

Shoshanah Shear