Meet Rafi
Meet Rafi. “I was born to an Ultra orthodox family and I’m the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters. At the age of 14 I came home with an earring and dyed hair. My mom fainted. After about a week I rented my own place and never looked back.
The first time I came to Tel Aviv I remember telling my self:
‘A MECHAYEH!’ (A Yiddish expression of shock)
There are people kissing in the streets, and shops open on Saturday. I felt a sense of freedom that can only be described as how Marc Renton put it; “Take the best orgasm you ever had…multiply it by a thousand, and you’re still nowhere near it.”
That is how much I love Tel Aviv.
“I only knew how to speak Hebrew & Yiddish but that doesn’t get you very far in the secular world. I could read a page of the Talmud and decipher it with no problem but I wasn’t able to read one sentence in English.
It’s a huge OVERSIGHT of the Ministry of Education for not enforcing ‘Core learning’ (Math, English & science) in every school in Israel. The Ultra Orthodox educational system is like that of the 18th century–it’s no wonder why you can’t get a decent job when you’re coming out of those kinds of schools.
It’s a huge gap that you have to close if you want to survive in the REAL world. I succeed because of my resilience and even though it’s (very) cold out there don’t think twice – with a little bit of Divine Providence you will prevail.
“After a few years manging my production business I felt very empty so I decided to bail out of The Rat Race.
I felt that I was ruining after money and not really paying attention to the world out there. I was always fascinated meeting new people and learning about their life so I decided to work in this drugstore.
In the night shift you can really get to know people. There was one customer who would come in 4:00 Am after he finished his sift and we had the most insightful talks ever.
He spoke about his experience in India and I asked him very carefully: ‘Do you think I’ll be alright in India?’ Three months later I found my self drinking Chai tea in New Delhi.
Start speaking with one another for real.
You will never know where that conversation will take you.”