tikkun – i think that some of the things you listed such as a roof over your head, and a bed would be considered necessities rather than luxuries. (AC i could hear….ive lived without it in israel…it was EXTREMELY tough, but managable…)
as for the middos that you mentioned, its funny, but when i was in israel i found myself sort of adapting to the ‘sabra’ mentality – subconsiously. and i did find that for a young born and bred american girl, it affected me a little. the hard, tough exterior of the israelis masks the soft and gentle insides that they have. however, many times people dont get to see the soft side of israelis. its only in times of need and helping other people that the true colors show. so in my case, being a naive little girl, i only saw the outside in the beginning and that affected me negatively. b”h i bounced right back to my regular self once i realized what was occuring….
twisted – so true! thanx for bringing up that point. there are TREMENDOUS kiruv oppurtunites because the secular israelis make no secret of the fact that they are jewish. many of them are proud of it!