Immigration to Israel – Aliyah personal experience
Memo to a new immigrant on my experience
All materials are compiled from personal experience of recent repatriation to Israel and communication with a large number of similar sufferers of the local bureaucratic system. This is the most up-to-date and complete list of materials with the best tips and tricks we have learnt through experience. We hope that this article will help you to make friends with the Israeli bureaucracy and quickly process all the documents. Continue reading →
If you’re like me and trying to learn Hebrew, you’ve probably already “enjoyed” the pain of constantly switching between English, Russian, and Hebrew keyboard layouts.
Personally, it drives me absolutely crazy — I keep missing the right language, getting confused, and slowly losing my mind. Most importantly, it really slows down my workflow. I’ve been thinking for a long time about how to fix this. At some point, I even installed a separate Linux distro just to work in Hebrew. I wasn’t switching between layouts anymore, I was switching entire systems 🙂 Continue reading →
The National Insurance Institute of Israel, known as Bituach Leumi, plays a crucial role in providing social protection to the country’s citizens. Its primary mission is to offer means of livelihood to those who are unable to support themselves independently, as well as to reduce economic inequality within society.
Mistakes of Immigrants That Lead to Debt
Many new immigrants encounter difficulties in understanding their obligations to Bituach Leumi, which often results in the accumulation of debt and other issues. A lack of information and awareness about the rules and procedures can lead to financial hardships and the loss of eligibility for certain benefits. Continue reading →
Georgia is becoming an increasingly popular country among expatriates thanks to its visa-free regime (you can stay here for an entire year without a visa!), low taxes, and the ease of doing business. One of the important tasks after arriving in Georgia is opening a bank account. This is necessary to reduce fees on payments and conduct financial transactions smoothly. In this article, I share my personal experience—how to open a bank account in a Georgian bank, which banks to choose, and what to pay attention to.
💡 Life Hack in Israel: In any unclear situation, say “Ani Olei Hadash” (I am a new immigrant) or “Anachnu Olim Hadashim” (We are new immigrants). People will immediately understand that you are new here and will most likely help or offer some useful advice.
🔴 Do not use this life hack at the market, when renting housing, etc., where everything will be the exact opposite 🤭 Continue reading →
Form 627 is an application to renounce Israeli residency status within the Bituaḥ Leumi (National Insurance) system. This process is crucial for individuals relocating abroad for an extended period and who do not plan to use Israel’s social insurance services or make contributions. Submitting this form can help avoid unexpected debts of tens of thousands of shekels and complications with official authorities. If you are leaving Israel for more than just a vacation, make sure to fill out and submit Form 627!
In this article, we will provide detailed instructions on how to complete this form and where to send it (free and without SMS!).
I’ve been pondering – why hasn’t Israel capitalized on the highly beneficial opportunity to transport goods from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea by building a railway?
Obviously, there’s the Suez Canal. The recent incident with the “Ever Given” (the container ship was grounded for a week; losses amounted to $10 billion per day) highlights the profitability of such a railway. Moreover, for certain types of cargo, a rail route would be far superior to the Suez – perishable goods, hazardous materials, diversification… in short, Continue reading →
While I was learning Hebrew with Duolingo, I came across a multitude of phrases that made me think, delighted me, or posed certain challenges. I decided to gather them all and share them with you. Perhaps this will be interesting to those who are also studying this language, or simply love to learn something new. Continue reading →
How to learn Hebrew on your own to make learning the language interesting and understandable. It is important to choose a good self-study textbook that explains the basics of the language in detail and has practical exercises. Anyone can learn from a self-study book, either in addition to an ulpan or completely on their own at a suitable pace. There are also lessons on youtube and various videos with subtitles, even the simplest cartoons. But today we’re going to focus on the tutorials.
How to start learning Hebrew
The very first step in learning Hebrew is the alphabet. It is convenient to learn it by using apps on your phone, where you are shown the letters, and you write them and listen to their names at the same time. You can learn the alphabet from books or websites, but in an app it is convenient that learning is interactive and you practice writing, listening, perceiving the spelling of the letter at once. It’s convenient to practice, as the apps randomly suggest writing one letter or another until you have it all memorized.
Initially we listened to the Pimsleur Hebrew audio course, after it we knew basic phrases, could say something in a store and have a primitive dialog. It is a very good program that brings you up to speed quickly. You can learn Hebrew without stress, just by listening to new lessons for an hour or two a day. You only learn to understand Hebrew by ear, but you can’t learn to read and write that way. But you get a more or less believable pronunciation and no fear of the new language.
The next thing I knew, there were video lessons on YouTube and Hebrew TV series with subtitles in English. There are great Israeli TV series about the life of religious Jews, such as Shababnikim. You begin to grasp the colloquial phrases and learn the cultural code of the country. And this is the most important thing to become interested and involved in Israel, to begin to understand the society in which you find yourself.
There is another great Hebrew TV series – Shtisel (about the life of Haredim, the ultra-Orthodox). With an elementary level of Hebrew you will hardly understand what people say in the movie, but you will get a general idea. You’ll start to pick up pronunciation, you’ll pick up words, and you’ll be captivated by the plot and characters. You get to know the streets where the movie is filmed – it’s so cool! And the subtitles allow you to understand what’s going on and follow the narration.
Hebrew self-study books
Having analyzed the literature, it turned out that there are several books that are often recommended for self-study of Hebrew:
Ivrit Me’Bereshit (עברית מבראשית — it’s more of a workbook, there are two levels, yellow alef and green bet)
Hebrew from Scratch עברית מן ההתחלה
Colloquial Hebrew: The Complete Course for Beginners
The book is fairly easy to find on the internet and is a complete course on Hebrew for English speakers, which is especially handy if you want to repeat English and learn Hebrew at the same time. Especially since the structures of the language are explained in different ways for a Russian-speaking and English-speaking person, and it can be interesting.
When I was about to go to Israel, I heard beautiful song at youtube.
I’m learning Hebrew right now, so I decided to take it apart. Here are the lyrics of what is being sung:
אם השם לא יבנה בית
שוא עמלו בוניו בו
אם השם לא ישמר עיר
שוא שקד שומר
הנה לא־ינום
לא ינום ולא יישן
לא־ינום ולא יישן
שומר ישראל
It is interesting that these are essentially two verses from the Old Testament (Psalms 126:1-2). I found it on purpose and there is a slightly different text. It turns out that in the video the name of God is not spoken (not sung) because
Israel is a unique country that attracts many tourists with its historical monuments, cultural sites and beautiful beaches. People from different countries also come to live in Israel. Before traveling it is important to know the local laws and customs in order to avoid unpleasant situations and violations. In this article we will tell you what not to do in Israel and provide you with useful tips for a safe and pleasant stay in the country.
Please note that the laws may change over time, and different places in Israel may have their own special rules, so check in advance each point that interests you, and talk more with local people – they know better than anyone else the situation on the ground. From this article you will get a general idea of the traditions and behavioral norms in Israel.
I’m taking it out of the comments under the last video on Culture Code. There was an argument with Konstantin Sh. over nationality. His comment:
But we Jews who repatriated from the former Soviet Union do not have such a (Russian) identity. I do not consider myself a Russian in any way. And I do not consider myself to be a Uzbek in any way. The vast majority of Russian-speaking Jews in Israel identify themselves the same way. For decades, we had great difficulty in explaining this to the native Israelis, so that they would not call us “Russians”. Now only those who want to offend us or the completely illiterate riffraff call us that. Cultured people refer to us as “dobray russit” (Russian speakers), or “yotzei brit amoatzot” (natives of the Soviet Union).
A question came to our editorial office:
Is it true that Pushkin is not a Russian poet, but an African poet?
Jewish Radio answers:
Pushkin is a Russian poet. In many ways the creator of the modern Russian language.
“Moscow… how much in that sound
For the Russian heart has merged!”
Belonging to a nation is determined by the person himself, it is self-identity in the first place. Pushkin considered himself (rightly) a Russian poet. Nationality is an existential and cultural concept. It is associated with a sense of belonging to a particular group of people who share a common culture, tradition, language and history. And what kind of DNA you have is closer to the concept of race and ancestral genesis, which is not relevant in terms of the cultural code of a person. National identity can be multifaceted and complex – some people can identify with several nationalities or cultures (for example, Russian Jews).
Alexander Mitta is a graduate of VGIK, a Soviet film director, screenwriter and actor in such films as My Friend Kolka, Open the Door, Dot, Dot, Dot, Comma, Lost in Siberia and many others. His book “Between Hell and Paradise” appears on many writer’s reading lists, and I decided to read it too.
In this synopsis I give the main and relevant ideas for blogging.
Now I understand why Russians drink vodka, it’s their way of keeping warm in the terrible cold. And the wife, demanding her husband to buy a fur coat, just wants to survive the harsh winter. Snowdrifts up to her waist and icicles as thick as her hand. What does a Russian winter look like in reality?
1)You probably think that in winter in Russia people go home in three socks, a hat and a sweater, because it must be very cold at home… 10 degrees, maybe. Poor people!
Yuri Lotman was a literary scholar and cultural scientist who studied culture in all its manifestations. In the first place he put language as the primary modeling system. Cinema in his work is seen as a secondary modeling system, based on the specific language of cinema.
Cinema is similar to the real world. But this similarity creates the illusion that we understand the language of cinema without special knowledge. This is not the case.
I made myself a list of books to study storytelling and screenwriting, logically starting with the first of them, Aristotle’s Poetics. I decided to make an outline of this book from the point of view of a modern scriptwriter. To analyze the main ideas and thoughts, to find their application in my daily blogging activities.
Who is Aristotle?
Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and thinker who lived about 350 B.C., a disciple of Plato and mentor of Alexander the Great; the founder of logic; author of many aphorisms that everyone knows, such as “choose the lesser of two evils” and “knowledge begins with wonder. Continue reading →
Foreigners think that a Russian girl looks like a top model and dreams of climbing into his pants to… take his wallet and spend all his money.
A tall, slender blonde with blue eyes wearing a short red dress and stiletto shoes. I am 158 cm tall and have dark hair: privet, I am from Spain, hola que tal? People often write to me in the comments under the video: if you’re from Russia, why don’t you look like a Russian? I can imagine how surprised they would be to see my friend from Yakutia.
Our first day in Utrecht. Me and my boyfriend, Igroglaz, moved to the Netherlands — to live and study for a PhD program at Wageningen University. Wageningen is a student town, home to an agricultural university, with people from all over the world living here. The Rhine river flows nearby. Even though Wageningen is a small city, we didn’t get bored at first — between finding a place to live, sorting out a bank card, and buying two second-hand bikes.
Once we settled in a bit, we felt like visiting every city and village around. And this is a story about how we took a train to Utrecht. Just to see the city — and ended up with boats, ducks, a priest on the train, and deep talks about moving through the universe. Everything went off-script by accident. Continue reading →
I started looking for a good selection of “must-see” movies quite a while ago. In just a couple of years of searching on the Internet, I’ve seen lists of the top ten movies, including collections of the most poppy and “not for everyone” movies.
The most successful list of movies, in my opinion, is this one:
A hieroglyph (from the Greek word hieroglyphoi – sacred writings, i.e. hieros – sacred and glyph? – carving) – a figurative sign, fully or partially preserved figurative form. It denotes concepts, words, separate syllables and sound combinations. non-letter writing, allegorical lettering, representative image, which replaces letters or letters.
