Why this blog?

Several of our friends, family, and coworkers said they wanted to hear from us while we’re gone, to know how things are going. Others also suggested that we keep a journal to record this adventure. This blog gives us a chance to accomplish all of that. Now all we have to do is keep up with it.

The audience for this blog, assuming there is one, is very diverse. Our friends, family, and coworkers are Jews, non-Jews, observant Jews, not-yet-observant Jews, etc. Our experiences in Jerusalem will be seen very differently depending on who is reading. Fellow frum (devout) Jews, who may well have spent a significant amount of time learning Torah in Israel themselves, will not find our trip remarkable, and may be more interested in details like what masechta (trachtate of the Talmud) Dan is learning in yeshiva, or whose shiur (class) we were able to hear motzei Shabbos (Saturday night). Other family and friends will find this whole world very unfamiliar, and struggle to understand why we disrupted a perfectly good lifestyle to decamp halfway around the world for a year.

We hope this blog will speak to everybody, albeit not each post. If not, feel free to demand a full refund.

11 thoughts on “Why this blog?

  1. Greg Markow

    That post did not speak to me. Insufficient photos of children and no mention of Deb. I demand a refund.

    Reply
  2. Jenn Albom

    Scope us out a farm, dude. In the northern, greener areas where life is a bit cooler, maybe by the sea…Ooops sorry to interfere in your blog with my dream!

    Reply
  3. Rachel Burstyn

    We are so excited for your adventure to start! Excellent idea to have a blog. I hope to merit to appear in its pages from time to time, and I hope to be a frequent commentator!

    Reply
  4. esther fiber

    hi. i just came upon your blog because i googled “living in the rova” as i had a talk with my son this morning who incidentally is learning at Bircas Hatorah Shana Alef . i just thought it was funny.. beautiful Blog

    Reply
    1. Dan Post author

      Hello, Mrs. Fiber! We’ve had your son over for Shabbos lunch a couple of times. You should shlep a lot of nachas!

      Reply
  5. littleduckies

    Frum does not mean “devout”, it means “Orthodox”, or “religious”.
    I am, by the way, a frum Jew – I just take issue with translating the word as “devout” . . . because that’s not what it means, or what it is.

    Reply
    1. Dan Post author

      Hi and welcome to the blog. “Frum” certainly has come to be a synonym for “Orthodox,” but that’s not its actual meaning in Yiddish (indeed, I’m sure the word predates the heterodox movements that coined the term and idea of “Orthodox Judaism”). See, for example: http://tinyurl.com/ckvspno. Shabbat Shalom!

      Reply

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