Every week, with my co-host Dr. Simcha Shapiro, I talk the Aliyah talk on Arutz Sheva?s "The Aliyah Revolution" show. We help people understand that Israel is the place for all Jews; that this is the place to raise your kids; that, while the US was great to us, Israel is where the future of the Jewish people is unfolding.
But the other day, I thought, "What about the people who are already here, the ones who have already made the move?"
How do you inspire someone who is already inspired? How do you motivate someone to make a decision they?ve already made?
I started to think things through and I realized that there is one thing that brings all recent olim together. You might say that it?s the mere fact that we?re all olim. And that?s true, but there are plenty of olim who have now been here for decades.
You might say that many of us were products of Nefesh B?Nefesh. And that?s true, as well, and we owe them so much. But we?ve all gone off in different directions since we got off the flight, right?
Let me offer what I think the one thing is that brings us all together.
Your kids are picking up the language and the culture, but boy do they miss their grandparents. Your community is great, but it?s just not the same as fill-in-the-blank (Baltimore, for us). And what I wouldn?t do for an American hot dog, with American mustard on an American hot dog bun - preferably while watching an American baseball game.
The one question that brings us together?
Did I do the right thing by picking myself and - in many cases - my family up and moving to this place?
Here I am, a bit over one year since we made Aliyah, and I think about all that has happened to me and to my family. Just a quick review:
Things started happening fast. I received a job offer on my Nefesh B'Nefesh flight. A week after we arrived, my grandmother, zichrona livracha, passed away. I started working for Ruder Finn, the PR firm that represents Nefesh B?Nefesh, and had the opportunity to be ?on the other side? when last summer?s flights arrived. I became host of The Aliyah Revolution, the very radio show that had played such a major role in helping my family to make Aliyah.
The government decided to leave Gaza, so we all watched thousands of our brothers and sisters leave their homes. And we bought our first Israeli home in the town of Kochav Yaakov. It?s a house less than half the size of our house in Baltimore, but my wife says that she wouldn?t trade this one for that one in a million years.
My wife gave birth to Yitzchak Yehuda, our little First Generation Yerushalmi, in a delivery room at Hadassah Hospital that had a view of the Temple Mount. My six-year old, Tzviki, landed in a class with zero English-speakers - including the teachers - and refused to speak any Hebrew for the first eight months we lived here. But he also became an English-language bookworm, and has plowed through more than 100 books. And he also speaks Hebrew now.
Late last year, my grandfather, zichrono livracha, also passed away. I arrived in Israel with two living grandparents. Now, just over a year later, I have none.
A couple months ago, Hamas came to power.
My father paid his first visit to Israel - at the age of 61 - to visit us. He and my step-mom arrived concerned about even having a good time in this "third-world country filled with rude people." He left after the two-week visit concerned about how long he could be away before returning for his next visit.
Just a couple of weeks ago, on Shabbat, my daughter Tehilla was hit in the forehead by a rock thrown by a little boy in our town. His father, without an ounce of remorse in his voice, simply reported to me what had happened. But he also went with us to the doctor?s house and stayed there until he knew everything was okay.
And just last week, elections. Based on the result, who knows what will be in the coming year.
So, there you have it. A year in review. Many, many important events left out. But as I look back on this first year one thing is clear:
What an intense life we are leading here.
And therein lies a hint about the answer to the question of whether recent olim have made the right decision. How much meaning do you want in your life? How much depth? How much do you want to be sitting on your couch watching Jewish history pass by, versus actively participating in it?
But again, that?s just a hint. The real answer will come from each of us. There?s no one answer that will fit all of us.
And here?s how to arrive at the answer for yourself:
What is the fundamental reason you made Aliyah? It wasn?t so that you could hear your kids growing up with Israeli accents when they speak Hebrew; although that?s great, isn?t it? It wasn?t because of the seventeen different happy birthday songs they sing in Israeli kindergartens; although that?s amazing, too. And it certainly wasn?t simply because of the ability to ski in the Golan in the morning and hang out on the beach of the Dead Sea in the afternoon; although, that?s more than possible here.
It?s something deeper. For some, it might be the ability to live as a member of the majority in the only place where that?s possible for a Jew. For others, it?s simply a mitzvah to live here, and so they have decided to do that mitzvah.
For me? I made Aliyah because I believe that the more Jews there are living in Israel, the closer the Mashiach is to arriving. And I really, really want that to happen, so I?m here doing my little part. But that?s just my reason.
What?s your fundamental reason for making Aliyah? You?ve got to figure it out and keep it in mind. Tape it to your refrigerator if you have to. But keep it in mind, because this is an intense place. We?ve all experienced it. We?ve all felt the exhaustion of no Sundays. The pain of being away from family. The challenges of income not necessarily matching expenses.
Yes, we?re here. Yes, we made Aliyah. But what brings us together is the need - not the desire, but the need - to live here until 120 years, no matter what happens along the way. Because we each have big fish to fry. We each have a larger, fundamental reason for being here.
As long as we always keep in mind what that fundamental reason is, we will stay no matter what happens along the way; and we will live long, meaningful lives in the land designated for the Jewish people, the land promised to our forefathers.
But the other day, I thought, "What about the people who are already here, the ones who have already made the move?"
How do you inspire someone who is already inspired? How do you motivate someone to make a decision they?ve already made?
I started to think things through and I realized that there is one thing that brings all recent olim together. You might say that it?s the mere fact that we?re all olim. And that?s true, but there are plenty of olim who have now been here for decades.
You might say that many of us were products of Nefesh B?Nefesh. And that?s true, as well, and we owe them so much. But we?ve all gone off in different directions since we got off the flight, right?
Let me offer what I think the one thing is that brings us all together.
Your kids are picking up the language and the culture, but boy do they miss their grandparents. Your community is great, but it?s just not the same as fill-in-the-blank (Baltimore, for us). And what I wouldn?t do for an American hot dog, with American mustard on an American hot dog bun - preferably while watching an American baseball game.
The one question that brings us together?
Did I do the right thing by picking myself and - in many cases - my family up and moving to this place?
Here I am, a bit over one year since we made Aliyah, and I think about all that has happened to me and to my family. Just a quick review:
Things started happening fast. I received a job offer on my Nefesh B'Nefesh flight. A week after we arrived, my grandmother, zichrona livracha, passed away. I started working for Ruder Finn, the PR firm that represents Nefesh B?Nefesh, and had the opportunity to be ?on the other side? when last summer?s flights arrived. I became host of The Aliyah Revolution, the very radio show that had played such a major role in helping my family to make Aliyah.
The government decided to leave Gaza, so we all watched thousands of our brothers and sisters leave their homes. And we bought our first Israeli home in the town of Kochav Yaakov. It?s a house less than half the size of our house in Baltimore, but my wife says that she wouldn?t trade this one for that one in a million years.
My wife gave birth to Yitzchak Yehuda, our little First Generation Yerushalmi, in a delivery room at Hadassah Hospital that had a view of the Temple Mount. My six-year old, Tzviki, landed in a class with zero English-speakers - including the teachers - and refused to speak any Hebrew for the first eight months we lived here. But he also became an English-language bookworm, and has plowed through more than 100 books. And he also speaks Hebrew now.
Late last year, my grandfather, zichrono livracha, also passed away. I arrived in Israel with two living grandparents. Now, just over a year later, I have none.
A couple months ago, Hamas came to power.
My father paid his first visit to Israel - at the age of 61 - to visit us. He and my step-mom arrived concerned about even having a good time in this "third-world country filled with rude people." He left after the two-week visit concerned about how long he could be away before returning for his next visit.
Just a couple of weeks ago, on Shabbat, my daughter Tehilla was hit in the forehead by a rock thrown by a little boy in our town. His father, without an ounce of remorse in his voice, simply reported to me what had happened. But he also went with us to the doctor?s house and stayed there until he knew everything was okay.
And just last week, elections. Based on the result, who knows what will be in the coming year.
So, there you have it. A year in review. Many, many important events left out. But as I look back on this first year one thing is clear:
What an intense life we are leading here.
And therein lies a hint about the answer to the question of whether recent olim have made the right decision. How much meaning do you want in your life? How much depth? How much do you want to be sitting on your couch watching Jewish history pass by, versus actively participating in it?
But again, that?s just a hint. The real answer will come from each of us. There?s no one answer that will fit all of us.
And here?s how to arrive at the answer for yourself:
What is the fundamental reason you made Aliyah? It wasn?t so that you could hear your kids growing up with Israeli accents when they speak Hebrew; although that?s great, isn?t it? It wasn?t because of the seventeen different happy birthday songs they sing in Israeli kindergartens; although that?s amazing, too. And it certainly wasn?t simply because of the ability to ski in the Golan in the morning and hang out on the beach of the Dead Sea in the afternoon; although, that?s more than possible here.
It?s something deeper. For some, it might be the ability to live as a member of the majority in the only place where that?s possible for a Jew. For others, it?s simply a mitzvah to live here, and so they have decided to do that mitzvah.
For me? I made Aliyah because I believe that the more Jews there are living in Israel, the closer the Mashiach is to arriving. And I really, really want that to happen, so I?m here doing my little part. But that?s just my reason.
What?s your fundamental reason for making Aliyah? You?ve got to figure it out and keep it in mind. Tape it to your refrigerator if you have to. But keep it in mind, because this is an intense place. We?ve all experienced it. We?ve all felt the exhaustion of no Sundays. The pain of being away from family. The challenges of income not necessarily matching expenses.
Yes, we?re here. Yes, we made Aliyah. But what brings us together is the need - not the desire, but the need - to live here until 120 years, no matter what happens along the way. Because we each have big fish to fry. We each have a larger, fundamental reason for being here.
As long as we always keep in mind what that fundamental reason is, we will stay no matter what happens along the way; and we will live long, meaningful lives in the land designated for the Jewish people, the land promised to our forefathers.