Translated by Hillel Fendel, interviewed and edited by Dena Udren
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| The Yosef-Chai Family |
Q. Erez, where did you grow up?
A. I grew up in Kfar Pines, a moshav near Hadera; I would say it's a "partially agricultural" moshav. I had a very happy childhood there, being part of the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and walking around the forests nearby… It was altogether fun.
My father was born in the Cochin region of India (also known as Kochi, a city in southwest India's coastal Kerala state), and my mother was born in Israel, the daughter of Ashkenazi immigrants; her father was a Gerrer Hassid, a man of total belief and trust in Hashem, which truly helped him get through very difficult times. He would always visit his Rebbe, especially on special occasions such as Israel Independence Day [later in Israel]; it was the Rebbe who told him and his family to leave Poland, before the Holocaust, and come to Israel. My mother's mother came from Germany; her father, who was a shochet, was beaten by Nazis, and forbidden from practicing his profession; he finally found work after a whole year - but only in Turkey, from there they made Aliyah – so that's how they were saved from the Holocaust. Here in Israel, the Chazon Ish ate from his shechitah (ritual slaughtering).
Q. And your father's parents, from Cuchin?
Erez: They came from India to Yesod HaMaalah, in northern Israel near the Huleh Reserve; they were farmers and people of the land, full of love for Torah and Eretz Yisrael. They even built their own traditional Cuchini synagogue there. My great-grandfather, named Yosef Chai, wore a white turban on Shabbat, and had a holy aura about him; the story is that if there were irreligious neighbors who watered their lawn on Shabbat, when they would see him they would immediately stop. Keep in mind that my grandparents and their entire community from Cuchin made Aliyah not because of anti-Semitism or because they were poor; on the contrary, they had servants and were quite well-off. But they had a great love for the Land of Israel, all of them – and I believe it was in the merit of their many piyutim [prayer-songs] that they sang on all different occasions, which were all full of love of the Land, for Redemption, and for the Messiah. I believe this was something that really strengthened the community, and in fact they all immigrated to Israel, all together. And though they had to work very hard when they came here – my grandfather said that my grandmother worked as hard as six workers – but they truly loved it here, from the beginning. They always said that when my father was a baby in Cuchin, he couldn't eat any food, but when he came to Israel, before age 3, all of a sudden he was able to eat everything.
Q: Yael, where did you grow up?
Yael: I grew up in Maaleh Adumim, outside Jerusalem. My parents made Aliyah as teenagers from Syria after the Six Day War. We spoke both Hebrew and Arabic at home, and I am very happy that I know Arabic, because it helps me with our neighbors here… When Erez and I got engaged, he very much wanted to live here in Beit El, so that he could continue to learn in the Yeshiva and absorb the spirituality and holiness that it gives off – and that he wanted to have shine upon the home that we wanted to build. But I admit that I was a bit apprehensive, since I knew nothing about Beit El. But when we came to visit, my fears evaporated – and I am very happy that we moved here.
Q. How did you arrive at Yeshivat Beit El, Erez?
A. I studied in the Kfar HaRoeh Yeshiva High School [the first yeshiva high school in Israel, founded in 1939 by Rav Moshe Tzvi Neriah], and one of the teachers who gave a weekly class was Rav Moshe Elia of Beit El. I wanted to go to a post-high-school yeshiva near Jerusalem, and so I applied to Beit El. It took a bit of time before they accepted me, but finally they did – and I ended up learning there for about ten years!
Today, my connection with the yeshiva is mainly through the prayers on Shabbat and holidays. The prayers there are something special, like a taste of Paradise! With the special atmosphere, including singing and sometimes even dancing, it is really something. I also continue to attend some classes given by the rabbis.
My years there had a great influence on me, of course, imbuing me with the importance of learning Torah. I also received the gift of knowing that I can sit and learn Torah all day. The Torah philosophy and ideas that I learned there, from Rav Avi Schwartz and Rav Melamed and the others, are with me wherever I go, even today. My entire Torah world was built in the yeshiva here, and from there it developed in many ways.
Q. What are you doing today?
Yael: I am a social worker specializing in adult addictions, but I also mentor some of the newer social workers here in Beit El, and also work with the Bnei Menashe community here (a Jewish community from India that made aliyah). My work is interesting and challenging, and I enjoy it greatly. The Bnei Menashe are amazing people, but some mistakes were made in the way they were absorbed in the country when they first came, and even today they have still not totally "made it." I try my best to help them reduce the gaps and integrate as well as possible.
Erez: I am a teacher in the elementary school in Ofrah, a few minutes' drive from Beit El… Yael and I were married 11 years ago, and we have four children, ages 9 and down. We love Beit El and are thrilled to be in a place that is so influenced by the yeshiva. For instance, in the elementary schools, many of the teachers graduated from the yeshiva, and even our kindergarten son Neriah is taught by the wife of a young man studying in the yeshiva. Yair is in 4th grade, Hodayah is in 3rd, and little Eliya is nine months old. Our children are learning well and they love Beit El; they get to walk around all over the town, such as in the little petting zoo we have here, the Artis mountain, the fresh water springs – all in all, it is very enjoyable for them.
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| The Yosef-Chais in their backyard |
Q. What message would you like to give our readers abroad?
Erez: My message is that whoever can come to Beit El will only receive the best! We have here great values of Torah study, the Land of Israel, good character traits, the importance of family and society, a connection with the IDF, Rav Kook's teachings, the Nation of Israel – there is so much here, and it all comes to fruition here in Beit El. G-d's eyes are always on the Land, the Torah states, and His providence is felt here like nowhere else. Beit El is now building more apartments and it is open and welcoming to all. Come!
Yael: I would quote Rabbe Nachman of Breslov, who said, "Wherever I go, I am going to the Land of Israel." I wish each and every one of our brothers and sisters abroad to have Eretz Yisrael in his or her heart – a special and deep connection to our Land and our Nation."