Aliyah – the good, the bad and meshuga

BENITA LEVIN

In this short space of time here, we’ve met up with our first friend from nursery school in Durban, a fabulously tall Johannesburg woman who stayed at our house during netball tour when we were teenagers and a married couple we first met when we were all students at the University of Cape Town. Today, they all live in Ra’anana. They’re all walking distance from our home.

Bumping into a familiar face while walking down the main road of the city – Ahuza Street – is always a great feeling when you’re new in town. It’s also incredible to see so many familiar new faces too. That’s because the community here wastes no time welcoming new families to town.

People arrive at your flat with home-made meals, cakes, fruit baskets and gifts. WhatsApp messages are sent from mothers at the school, with their contact details in case there is anything you need.

People are eager to help, advise and share experiences. There’s a strong, genuine group of men and women who go out of their way for you, and that certainly helps one feel at home in your first few weeks in a new country.

Community speed dating 

It’s very clear that the South African community here is known for its warmth and hospitality. They are always happy to have people for Shabbos meals, festivals and dinners.

Invitations have come from British, Australian, American, Indian and Swedish olim too. When you go to people for a meal, they often invite other families with children around the same age as yours, so your network continues to grow. Those guests often then invite you to a meal at their place.

It’s like community speed dating, with each family helping introduce you to more people from the area. It’s a special, warm group of people that have made our integration here so much easier…

It feels like most people here were either new immigrants three months ago, 30 years ago or somewhere in between. They’re happy to guide you and tell you where they could have done things differently.

They check in on you regularly, asking if they can help with anything from setting up arrangements for the children to checking if you understood the latest invite for a school event.

There’s a “Directory” WhatsApp group here for city residents – questions include anything from the best plumber, specialist, fruit shop, tour guide or where to get your child’s Purim costume. Responses are fired off almost immediately – it’s like a cyber support group and Yellow Pages rolled into one.

The welcoming committee isn’t restricted to olim, though – an Israeli neighbour in our building arrived at our door while we were still unpacking boxes, with biscuits and drinks for us and the men who helped hoist our furniture into our flat.

A lovely, eccentric looking woman from the building next door arrived with delicious date and nut sweets and a home-made kugel. She insisted I take her number and made me promise we’d come for a meal.

She seemed to shout at me a few weeks later though, when she realised my husband had been out of town and I hadn’t told her. “Next time he’s away,” she scolded, “you just tell me and come eat at us”. “Mevinah” – understand?

One of my favourite messages I love to share in life coaching sessions, is to surround yourself by good people – it’s such an important life lesson for young and older! You can’t help but do that here.

Whether it’s an invite for a meal from a childhood friend, a quick coffee meeting with another mom at the school, or an apparent “reprimand” from the kind-hearted lady next door, you simply can’t help but love your neighbour. 

—————————————- 

Favourite explanation for the week: Sabra – a nickname for people born in Israel, because like the fruit the Sabra, they are prickly and hard on the outside, but soft on the inside. 

Most used phrase of the week: Sliy-cha – excuse me or sorry, usually used while trying to get through a crowd of people. 

Favourite food experience of the week: Kosher Indian curry that rivals the original Durban cuisine. 

Smile of the week: Discovering an app that not only tells you the quickest bus route to take to any local destination, but also sends you an “alert” when it’s time to start heading to the bus stop to catch that bus in time.