Last week we noticed our front license plate was missing on our car. It looks like it fell off, but then again, it was bolted on. We weren’t sure if it had been stolen or simply fell off on a bumpy ride. Since this is a very rare occurrence, I thought I’d share with you what steps you need to take to get it replaced.

Here’s what you do:
1. File a police report – without a police report, you won’t be able to get a replacement plate. In Bet Shemesh, the police station is on route 38, just next to the Nacham industrial area. You can just walk in to the station (remember to bring your teudat zehut and driver’s license, or won’t be permitted into the station). A police officer will take your information and file a “lost property” report. Remember to take your copy as you will need that later.
FYI – the police officer was very friendly and efficient. That whole process took less than 5 minutes. She told me that kids are known to ‘take’ license plates for their collections. The police sometimes stumble upon a cache of plates. She also said that there aren’t known cases of ‘cousins’ stealing plates for devious reasons, or theifs thinking they can circumvent Kvish 6.
2. Don’t go to the misrad harishui – Although their website tells you to come to the misrad harishui in your area, they don’t actually handle new plate requests. They will send you to the musach murshe (designated car mechanic garage). Instead call the Misrad Harashui in your area and ask them where is the musach that makes replacement plates. Here’s the website for the Transportation Ministry, which has all the appropriate numbers (in Hebrew) http://www.mot.gov.il/wps/portal/Default.jsp

In Bet Shemesh, the musach murshe is just next to the test center in the northern industrial zone (about 200 meters from the new Paz gas station).
3. Go to your Musach Murshe – The musach will take your police report (they need it in order to process your request), and 60 NIS for each new plate needed. They have a machine that punches out your new plate in minutes, which they also paint the numbers, and wait about 10 minutes for it to dry. The best part is that they bring out a new plate holder and bolt it on to your car for you! The whole process was very efficient and pleasant (under the circumstances) and took about 15 minutes.

That’s it…

BTW – you will need to speak some Hebrew to get your point across, so here’s a quick lexicon of phrases to know for this effort:
A license plate in Hebrew is a luchit – לוחית
Front קידמית
Back אחורית
I want to report a lost license plate אני רוצה לדווח על אובדן לוחית קידמית של הרכב שלי

Story #2:
It was 1997, we were driving back from my nephew’s Bar Mitzvah, which was held in a Kibbutz up north. Motzash”k was Lag Baomer, just like this year. We drove back from the north down the coastal highway (Highway 6 “Kvish Shesh” wasn’t invented yet).
As we approached Hadera, we saw a massive fire in the city. It looked like it was several stories tall. I commented to my wife how “frum” the folks in Hadera are to be having such a big bonfire. About 5 minutes later, as we came nearer to the fire, we could see that it was indeed not a bonfire, but an apartment building up in flames. Adjacent to the building was a much smaller fire, presumably the bonfire that got things started.

BTW: Last year, I saw the fire department out in force and checking bonfires everywhere in the Ramah, including one that a neighbor had called in to the moked (106). So, there has been progress over the years. But, we must be diligent about safety.

The moral of the story is, (as the Sargent from Hill Street Blues would say) “Hey, let’s be careful out there…”

The newspapers have a lot to say about RBS. Many times, the things that are said are not so good. Yes, we have problems, like every place on earth. Some problems are demographic, and some stem from political activities. However, every place has issues that it wishes could be swept under the rug. RBS is a great place, and I’m glad to be living here for 11 years, going on many more.

I remember coming to Israel as a teenager from my native Chicago. Israelis used to ask me what it was like living with all the mafia violence (you know, Chicago “Al Capone – bang bang”). Sometimes stigmas can overstay their welcome for many decades.

Bet Shemesh includes many unique neighborhoods and sections. RBS Aleph doesn’t deserve the bad rap it’s gotten in the press. RBS Aleph is often confused with RBS Bet, since the names are so similar. Generally, the “issues” you’ve probably heard of in the press are related to a section known as RBS Bet, which is somewhat analogous to Meah Shearim. However, we are worlds apart, and separated by a physical barrier of a couple hundred feet elevation.

Come and check us out – you will love it here. Oh an by the way, whether you’re a native Hebrew, English, French, Russian, Amharic, or Spanish speaker, you’ll fit in just fine! (I assume other languages are spoken too, so come even if you speak Italian…)

Israel has officially declared Apple’s iPad unwanted for now. Israel Customs has begun confiscating iPads from travellers and incoming mail shipments. Even (and especially) if you go to the red line to declare your new Apple toy, it will still be confiscated.
Israel’s government communications office hasn’t given any specific reasons other than that the USA model includes WiFi support that is not allowed in Israel.

Update: Israel iPad Ban Lifted April 25
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/04/25/why-israel-lifted-its-ipad-ban/
Israel lifted the ban on importing iPads. Apparently, Israel’s Communications Ministry was contacted by Apple’s technology labs to verify that wi-fi technologies present in the device will not affect military or other Israeli concerns.

לוח זמני תפילה לבה”כ המרכזי האשכנזי רמת בית שמש א  קיץ תש”ע

BKM_5770 זמני תפילה

Bet Shemesh Train Minyan

Orthodox Jews will do just about anything to pray on time and with a quorum of at least ten other Jews (minyan).

Here’s a great photo gallery and review (in Hebrew) of the now ‘famous’ train minyan that runs weekday mornings from Bet Shemesh to Tel Aviv. They even have their own Torah and Ark (Aron Kodesh). How many of the faces do you recognize? Great photos.

The purpose of this minyan is to enable Ramat Bet Shemesh and Bet Shemesh residents who work in Tel Aviv to have Shacharit with a minyan and get to work on time in Tel Aviv. The train ride is about 45 minutes, so they have to get started immediately on days that the Torah is read!

Goldstone’s one-sided anti-semitic report dedicates two pages out of a 500 HUNDRED page report to deal with the 8 year barrage of rocket attacks on Israeli towns by Gazan missiles.

Hopefully, with more testimonies like from this courageous woman will help bring out Dr. Goldstone for what he is, a traitor to the Jewish people, and a colossal anti-semite from the likes of the authors of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

I’ve been noticing many near misses with young children, unattended or under-attended, who cross the street without having enough time to make

Illustration

it to the other side.  Many children also cross the street diagonally, which adds to the danger, since they are in the street longer.

Tonight, I saw two mothers pushing their strollers with small children by their side.  Two of the younger children in the group ran ahead and one of them was actually in the dark street, at an intersection, with cars flying by.  The mother didn’t even shout out – since she didn’t notice.   I yelled for the child to go back on the sidewalk (from a distance of 100 meters away).  The mother was still oblivious, engrossed in conversation with her friend.

The other night, I saw a child, possibly 10 yrs old, playing ‘chicken’ with a bus.  He crossed the street slowly, and saw the bus was coming.  Instead of hurrying up to the other side, he slowly walked to require the bus to either slow down or swerve.  I know the kid was doing this on purpose, since I saw the smirk on his face as he crossed.  The bus drivers, for their part, are always in a rush to make their schedules.  Yes, they should be more careful.  But we cannot rely on them.  We must train our children to be defensive.

We also cannot rely on miracles.  Yes, Hashem (G-d) watches over us, even the foolish amongst us, but we cannot rely on His mercies to extricate our children from these constant dangers!  I don’t have to list here the statistics of children (and adult) pedestrians who have been killed in Israel in the past decade for us to know that this is a real issue.

Advice For Every Family
1. Review with your children the safety rules for  crossing the road.  Look both ways, look again, cross only at a crosswalk, cross with adults, etc…

2. Experts recommend for children 8 years old and younger to be crossed only by an adult.

3. Never, ever, cross diagonally.

4. If you see a bus or car coming, do not assume they will stop for you.  If you are already in the crosswalk and a bus is coming, run or walk very quickly to the other side of the street.

5. Tell your kids you love them and want them to come home safely.  Explain to them they’ve been given a big responsibility and should always be very careful.

Let’s hope for a safe future for us all.

New travel restrictions placed on flights to the USA include:

1. First and last hour of flight, you must remain in your seat, legs open, no blanket, no PDA/ipod, no going to washroom, no opening the overhead compartment.

2. No GPS in flight map system so you can’t see on a map where the plane is on your journey.  Especially miserable for a 12+ hour flight.

3. No internet

4. For systems (like JetBlue) where the GPS is intertwined with the entertainment system, there will be no TV the entire flight.  How about that?

On a flight from Tel Aviv to New York, you can expect to sit for 12 hours with your hands on your lap, (legs open), no blanket, no tv, no in flight maps, and holding it in, lest you dare make a dash for the toilets.  I’m wondering if this is any better than the sea voyages our grandparents endured in a bygone era?

Silly question…what if the flight is from Hong Kong to New Jersey, and the last four hours of the filght are over the United States, will passengers be required to remain in their seats the entire time?  Why is TSA security so reactionary?  There has to be a better way!