Aliyah-versary!

Once upon a time, in August, 2010, my wife and I boarded an EL AL airliner. Before that 2010 moment--beginning five years earlier, in 2005--we had decided to emigrate to Israel. We had decided to make aliyah. 

For us, aliyah was not a difficult decision. We were older. Our children were grown. We were ready.

But it still took five years to reach that August moment when, finally, we boarded that airliner. At that moment in 2010, my "bride" of 39 years was delighted. After literally 39 years' effort, she had finally convinced me to move to Israel.  

We left America. We would start a new life. 

Now, August, 2020, my 'bride' and I celebrate again our aliyah anniversary. We've been here ten years! 

In 2020, my wife and I have something else to cheer. This year, we have celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. We look forward to many more such celebrations. I truly believe it is fair to say we are today happier than we've ever been. We feel fulfilled.

What a grand feeling!

We are particularly happy right now because, once we had made aliyah, we have both lived to see a miracle: since that August plane ride in 2010, all of our children have made aliyah, too. 

Now, each child has a new life. Each is settled.  Each has a job. Each is part of the land we call, Israel.

We even have a granddaughter who serves in the IDF. We am very, very proud of her. 

My wife and I feel especially happy to live in Israel these days because, despite the political problems Israel faces in 2020, life in Israel looks to us to be far safer and more wholesome than a Jewish life in America. 

The America we left in 2010 was indeed a land of quiet. But the America of August 2020 is not quiet. It is instead aflame with riot, looting and burning cities. 

We thank our G-d, HaShem, that we live in the world's only Jewish state. We live in a place where even non-religious Jews will tell you, Shabbat shalom. We live in a place where even non-religious Jews know when is Yom Kippur and when is Succot. We live in a place where even non-religious Jews often--very often--understand how our G-d, HaShem, protects us.

To give you a just a brief taste of our family's joy living in Israel--and to share our joy at having made aliyah in the first place--I will show you a brief video of someone else's aliyah anniversary--his 36th.

That 'someone else' is Jacob Richman. He lives in our community. He runs a community chat room which helps and informs many of us 'anglos', especially those whose Hebrew-language facility isn't the best. 

Jacob Richman made aliyah in August, 1984. He has just posted a video to celebrate his 36th aliyah anniversary.

This video interests me for two reasons. First, it captures a feeling shared by many who have followed him to Israel. Yes, his aliyah experience may have been a long time ago. But, as this video suggests, that one moment in time means something special to him. Even after 36 years, Jacob Richman still feel joyous enough about his aliyah to want to celebrate it. 

My wife and I share that joy. We understand it. After ten years, we still remember the excitement of our own aliyah experience. Those memories are still fresh, still exciting.

The second reason for me to be interested in this video has to do with its contents--its pictures. These pictures of streets, homes, store displays, bus-signs, holiday store-displays and holiday parades are all about our streets, our buses, our stores and parades, etc. They are about the daily (and the holiday) reality of our life here. Even though these pictures were taken by someone else, they are still, nonetheless, pictures of our experience, too.  

I smile when I see these pictures. They remind me of happy  memories.

By the way, the picture you will see at the very beginning of this video, in the upper left-hand corner of the video's opening, is Jacob Richman, the video's creator.

One last point: this video was made six years ago, for Jacob Richman's 30th aliyah-versary. He's now celebrating his 36th aliyah-versary--and he has re-posted this video.

Enjoy: 

Thank you, Jacob Richman, for sharing this video (it comes from here).

I have one afterthought. Please realize, dear reader, that being an immigrant in a new land is not easy. The language is different. The business culture is different. How work gets done is different. School is different. Your neighbors are different. The food is different. Laws are different.

To a new immigrant--and even to a ten-year 'veteran'--these differences can be difficult. They can cause frustration. 

But I wish to tell you that Israel has 'magic'. It's a magic of daily miracles--the kind of little miracles that make life easier. Then, of course, there's the biggest 'little miracle' most of us experience: over time, we become 'Israeli'. 

So, dear reader, I say this to you. Don't be afraid to join us. Don't be afraid of the stress of aliyah. Come. Come home. 

Pick up. Pack up. Become part of Israel's national Jewish enterprise. Experience for yourselves the joy of aliyah.