Hollywood, Florida has become an incredibly popular destination over the past few years, especially for frum Jews escaping the cold of the north, but native Torontonians, Sara and Rabbi Adam Frieberg decided to leave their home in Hollywood behind as they headed for a new life.
Sara and Adam met in high school, where they both attended CHAT and then spent a life-changing year (or two, for Adam) in Israel, at Midreshet Moriah and Lev HaTorah. While they both loved life in Israel and even spent time in the Gruss Kollel in Israel while Adam pursued his Smicha, they decided to return to the States to work in Jewish communal life. They served together as a rabbinic couple at Rutgers University and then moved to Hollywood, Florida where Adam was the assistant rabbi and Sara worked as an adult educator at the shul. With each move, Sara would question whether now was the time to move to Israel but Adam was concerned about whether work in Israel would offer the job satisfaction and meaning that his rabbinic career offered in the States. But after five years of being an assistant rabbi, they felt it was time to move on and Sara felt that with their oldest daughter about to start 7th grade, it was now or never.
Adam had concerns. While some people are willing to give up dream jobs to move to Israel, he didn’t feel he was the kind of person to embrace life as “a street cleaner in Israel just to live in Israel.” Sara was. She wanted to live in Israel, not just for ideological reasons but also because she loved the kid-centered environment and freedom that Israel offered for children. What’s more, Sara felt that there’s a certain level of uniqueness to anyone who decides to move their family across the ocean and she wanted to be surrounded by such special people, feeling that there would be an alignment of values, even if at surface value, there is religious diversity. While initially hesitant, once Adam agreed, he fully embraced the idea, to the point that it was important to him to buy a home in Israel before arrival in order to fully establish their roots.
They wanted to live somewhere “cool” (Israeli) and filled with nature, but many communities they considered were too old or too young for their kids. They also felt they needed to be in an environment where they would be socially comfortable. While they strongly considered Efrat, they ultimately decided on the Bet Shemesh area because of the plethora of school options. Although it can be hard to find available homes, Adam was resourceful and made calls to see if anyone was willing to sell their house and that’s how they found their home in Sheinfeld. The Frieberg kids had been prepped for years that aliyah would hopefully be their one-day destination and they had a Hebrew word of the day in their home and the kids had tutoring in Hebrew for a year before their arrival. Sara told them how wonderful it would be to be part of Tnuat Noar (youth groups in Israel) and told them about the freedom that Israel offered kids.
Despite having to procure documents from several provinces and states to get aliyah approval, their arrival was a lot smoother than anticipated although there is always the adjustment to a new culture. Israel is a very last-minute nature society with a very not-hurried vibe and it can be a little unnerving if you aren’t accustomed to it. In contrast, Sara finds that Gan pickup is very precise and it’s just understood that of course her son is expected to be picked up five minutes early. Then there’s Aruchat Esser, the 10 a.m. sandwich.
Sara and Adam both arrived without jobs. Sara works from home which gives her some flexibility to be around for their kids and also allows her to take classes, including at the local Matan. Sara learned with Shani Taragin at Midreshet when she was first introduced to the power and depth of Tanach and learning again now with Shani on Sunday mornings really brings her life full-circle. Sara finds it especially meaningful to hear Shani’s perspective of seeing the words of the Neviim through the lens of the current war and also really enjoys the other learning opportunities in the community – both English and Hebrew – and is a proud attendee and contributor at the Sheinfeld women’s Shabbat shiur.
Adam works at a high-tech company in Efrat and especially enjoys the social nature of the job. While some of his job involves speaking with customers, he also does some technical work, for which he received training on the job. While some people do go through retraining before switching careers, Sara notes that doing so can sometimes be limiting whereas on the job training can open doors to many options.
The Frieberg’s love Bet Shemesh. While some of their kids have more friends in other communities, Sara accepts that no community is going to offer the full answer for everyone and you need to make the best choice overall and everyone will find their way. As an example, while the Frieberg children all initially attended Bet Shemesh schools, after two years, their oldest daughter was interested in a greater academic challenge which would offer more integration into Israeli society. Though she only started at her dorm school two months ago, Sara says that her daughter has become Israeli basically overnight and she is blown away by the beautiful videos of the kumsitz’s and beautiful programs that she gets. Sara and Adam are so proud and know that an Israeli dorm Ulpana will offer their daughter the option to be as Israeli or Anglo as she wants as she gets older.
While initially hesitant, Adam is very settled and very happy they made the move. Sara knows that preparing their family and having a very positive attitude helped their family to acclimate quickly but she also feels that ultimately, it’s a bracha that they found the right community.
“Watching our kids grow up in the place our great-grandparents could have only dreamed of, coming home with knowledge of Rashis we never learned, a connection to our nation, and participating actively in the war effort in every way we can, gives us a reason to appreciate being here every day,” She said, “We really feel blessed to live in this generation and we haven’t looked back on our decision.”
