medical humor

Rosh Tzurim

Back from Cuba, had a great time.... the weather was amazing.... it was just very relaxing......


ok.. back to buisness. Im usually pretty good at finding things on the 'net and can usually find what im looking for, except with Rosh Tzurim, one of the yishuvim in the gush that we are planning on visiting. I Just cant find any pictures of the yishuv.
If anyone out there is reading and has any, please send them over to almostaliyah@gmail.com.. Thanks!

Shalom Fidel....

It's been prety busy... my second month of ICU.... and im on call again...
its been a pretty busy few years... Got married During med school , had our daughter during residency... there hasn't been anytime for vaccation... UNTIL SUNDAY! yes, we are going on vacation.... To CUBA... got a good deal on an all inclusive resort there. we will be away for 1 whole week. Bringing quite a bit of food ( no kosher food in cayo coco!) including a whole shabbat kit. It's really exciting... should be a nice rest... we need it!

Medical Monday....Vol II ( Sleep Edition)

I have always had trouble sleeping. Actually my parents tell me as a baby, i never napped, slept only a few hours a night. I Just never neeeded that much sleep.
These days i do need more sleep than i used to, but i can stil get by ok wih 3-4 hours.
I still have trouble falling asleep, and going back to sleeep if i wake up early. (Belieeve me , try going to sleep after a hectic 12 hour Er shift, not that easy...)

This is quite a coomon problem and many patients complain of this.. usually by opening with the line " Doc, I really need a sleeping pill." Now some people may need a medixation to help them sleep, but most do not...

Here are some things people do that aren't very helpful..

- Alcohol
- Gravol
- Benadryl
- Night time tyelenol / advil cold / sinus preparations.

All these may help you fall asleep, but all have been shown to mess up youe sleep cycle. i.e you may fall asleep, but it wont be refereshing or adequate sleep...

Most people do quite well with "sleep Hygeine". Here are some ips that i have found help the vast majority of patients...

1) Beds for Bedtime Buisness...
i.e no TV, no reading, no computers.. all these things have a very negative effect on sleep

2) no caffeine after lunch.. i.e cofee, tea, cola etc....

3) If you have a million things on your mind, write a to do list... will help you clear your mind before bedtime

4) NO NAPS ( unlike kids who sleep better at night with regular naps.. this is not true for adults)

5) Excercise, but not within 2 hours before sleep, fresh air is better...

Most people do well with these changes....
Good night...

Good Riddance

Its minus 10 F outside right now...........

I'll miss my family, ill miss my friends, ill miss hockey, and ill miss the beer.....

BUT I WON'T MISS THIS!

Maale Adumim

The first place we ever conisdered in Israel was Maale Adumim. i'll never forget the first time driving into the city... it is truly amazing. Driving throuh the different neighborhoods you cant help but be amazed at the cleanliness and beauty.... all this and only 10 minutes from Jerusalem on a great new highway!

Mitzpe Nevo was the community we were most interested in, a dati Leumi community within a larger mixed city. We have continued to hear so many good things about maale adumim and mitzpe nevo, with an emphasis on the warmth of the community... Oh and mitzpe nevo has a great Carlebach minyan as well!

The major iss ue for us was financial... we were initially interested in the new project in Mitzpe Nevo , but it is a bit out of our price range. If for the approximate price we could get a "second hand" home .. that would be a major consideration.. the only issue is there are very few ( if any) homes available as people dont want to leave!!!!

Anyway, if anyone has any leads in the home department ..... please feel free...... we will be in Israel B'H in July and would love to visit again........

Communities 2

Shavuah tov....

after that long post about communities, ill try to narrow it down to the top contenders...

To preface, i must say that we are looking for a community that:
- driving distance to Jerusalem
- Warm, friendly community
- down to earth people
- dati with Torah values but tolerant of others



1) Neve Daniel / Elazar:

Both in the gush, both very expensive. weare a bit concerned about the "warmth" in Neve Daniel.

2) Rosh Tzurim:

Looks like a good fit. New housing, green spaces, close to Jerusalem.

3) Neve Tzuf:

Looks amazing. many services, forest, pool! but we cant buy a home straight off and it is a distance to Jerusalem.

B'H we are planning the next trip for July... Hopefully we will find our place

Communities

We have spent much of the last 2 years looking at various communities around Jerusalem where I will be working. After 2 trips, here are the top choices....


1) Neve Daniel:

http://www.nbn.org.il/social/community/community_gush.htm#neve

http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/nevedaniel.asp

PRO'S:

- Proximity to Jerusalem
- Nice view
- We now know some people there
- Good size yishuv, good english services, good
schools in the gush
- has makolet , bakery, pizza, hardware store
- many minyanim ( including carlebach)
- english shiurim

CON'S
- Prices
- Seperation (topographicaly) of new / old yishuv
- some anglo Israeli- tensions
- not "warm" yishuv ( NO one said shabbat shalom to us
in shul!)
- 20,000$ yishuv entrance fee, must take test

2) ELAZAR

http://www.nbn.org.il/social/community/community_gush.htm#elazar

http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/elazar.asp

PRO'S
- good size yishuv
- good relations / mix of anglo israeli
- considered a more "warm" community
-english services, shiurim, schools of the gush
- proximity to jerusalem


CON'S
- Expensive
- lack of housing
- only 1 central shul
- 15,000$ yishuv entrance fee, must take test

3) Zayit in Efrat

http://www.nbn.org.il/social/community/community_efrat.htm

http://www.zayit.com/new/

PRO'S

- proximity to jerusalem
-good mix anglo / israeli
-many english shiurim
-many minyanim
- all the shopping services of efrat
-more affordable housing
- smaller sub section of large efrat city
- no entrance fee, no test


CON'S
- not the most "green" place
- lack of warmth ( i emailed their chat list asking
for info / aliyah questions.. out of the 100 families
or more i got back a measly FOUR replies!! suggestive
of the lack of a real yishuv type feeling, lack of
caring ( not one of the 4 invited us for shabbat to
check it out)

3) Neve Tzuf

http://www.nevetzuf-halamish.com/

http://www.nbn.org.il/social/community/community_neve_tzuf.htm

http://www.nevetzuf-halamish.com/PDF_Files/Neve_Tzuf_FAQ.pdf

PRO'S

- Beautiful yishuv
- Pool!, Forest, stables
- warm, caring, hospitable community
- afordable rentals
- good climate
-good schools, many serives on yishuv
- heterogeneous dati mix
- no yishuv entrance fee, no test
- 5 min to modiin whee there is a TEREM i can do some
shifts
- 15% anglo
- good school used to english kids

CON'S

- 45 min to jerusalem
-most young couples israeli ( few anglo)
-many shiurim but all in hebrew
- schools have less anglo resources compared with gush
- lack of housing ( as per person i spoke with, its
a real issue, the yishuv is almost full!)
- not a free market ( i.e its more of an old school
experience, cannot just come buy a home like all the
other places, need to live in small rental for a year
before acceptance)

4) Alon Shvut

Like Neve Daniel, expensive, and big lack of housing. In the gush so proximity to Jerusalem. Har etzion Yeshivah on the yishuv.


5) Rosh Tzurim
http://www.gush-etzion.org.il/rosh_tzurim.asp

Looks like a good option for us.
small yishuv / kibbutz in the gush. Down to earth, friendly people. Finishing up a new housing project that is more affordable then other places in the gush.

Keeping in mind as well.....

Tekoa: New road not completed yet.. "outside wall"
Maaleh Adumim: Expensive housing, basically a city...


Thats all for now.... it gets exhausting

Shabbat Shalom