Before I made Aliyah on the very first Nefesh B’Nefesh flight in July 2002 I told my wife that I had 3 conditions for me making Aliyah.

1. Air Conditioning
2. High-Speed Internet
3. Spring Water

With those three things I could probably live anywhere, but those are my basic necessities. 

This post is about #3, Spring Water. Since my Yeshiva days in Neveh Zion I have been a big believer in not drinking Israeli tap water. Actually I first learned about my fear of Israeli tap water when I spent the summer of 1988 on Achva, but when I was in Neveh I made it my mission never to drink the tap water unless it was mixed in a huge garbage can with petal and sulfuric acid; the acid obviously killing any germs, bacteria or anything else living in the garbage can and the petal could kill the taste of virtually anything.

So when we made Aliyah one of the first things I ordered was Mey Eden bottled water and for the last 6 1/2 years that is what I have been drinking.

Now to be clear I really do love Mey Edens water and was very happy and impressed with the service, but then something happened that made me raise an eyebrow.

About 6 months ago during one of the deliveries the Mey Eden man told us that since we always take 5 bottles of water we should really be on the 5 bottle plan and not the 3 bottle plan where the 4th and 5th bottle are a lot more expensive. You see, when we made Aliyah it was just my wife, our one child and I and so we got ourselves on the three bottle plan. Somewhere between the 3rd and 4th kid we starting drinking about 5 bottles of water consistently, but it wasn’t in Mey Edens best interest to switch us or suggest that we should be on the higher plan ever though we had been drinking 5 or more bottles a month for 4 years!

So this irked me just a bit…

So with the economy being what it is and the need to try and save money I decided to move over to the Tami4 company.

I had seen Tami4 machines around town, but it wasn’t until we got it for my office that I really took notice.

Out with the Old

In my office we also had Mey Eden water, but we were not happy with it as the counter version didn’t let the water pour out very fast and a couple of other issues like they would always deliver the water at 7:30am when we did not open the office till 9am. So somoene had the idea to get a Tami4 machine since it was less expensive and we would never need to deal with someone coming each month etc. 

The Tami4 machine worked great, always had instant cold and hot water and the taste was great, so after a month of drinking it in the office, I decided to make the move and get it for my home.

Now when making any serious descision like what type of water you are going to put in your body and those of your loved ones you need to weigh the pros and cons.

So first the Pros of making the switch:

• 82 NIS/month for Tami4 vs 350 NIS/month for Mey Eden
• No men coming once a month at 7:30am to drop off water
• No need to worry about ever running out of water to drink
• Frees up space in the kitchen where we can now put a beautiful garbage can
• No Shlepping heavy bottles or worrying about collecting empty bottles and making sure they are outside for when Mey Eden comes

And the cons:

• Can’t use it on Shabbos since it runs on electricity so need to fill up bottles before Shabbos
• Takes up counter-space
• Water bill will go up
• Kids (and myself) will play with it more because it is so cool
• Need to change filter every 6 months
• Need to change a bulb once a year

In with the New

The Pros outweighed the cons for us and so we made the move, but not before Mey Eden tried to put up a fight. I called them to cancel my order and have them pick up the machine. They tried to talk me out of it, but I was pretty firm. The next day I got a call from them and again they tried to change my mind and again I said no and confirmed that my account was closed.  A week later the Mey Eden man came for the last time, but refused to take the machine. He said he couldn’t take it and that I needed to speak with them and he was just a small guy taking orders. A couple of hours later Mey Eden called me and by that point I was a bit upset, but then he made me an offer that I could refuse. He said that times are tough economically and so he would be able to cut my bill in half! Instead of paying on average 350 NIS/month I would now only pay 168/month. Now this was a great deal and I strongly suggest anyone who has a Mey Eden account to call up and get this deal, but for me it was too little too late. Why not offer me this deal months ago? Why did you wait for me to cancel my account before you made this offer? Is it fair that a neighbor up the block should be paying 1/2 of what I paid when we are getting the same thing? When I have been a loyal customer for more then 6 years?

So we now have the Tami4 machine in our kitchen and yes I love pushing the cool blue glow buttons and having delicious cold water come out.