So, here we are... in Israel. Personally speaking, I don't think it has truly sunk in yet that we are here - or perhaps that we are here to stay, and not merely on some 2 week vacation. I am guessing that once we get settled into a daily routine it will hit us more. Since arriving, Annie and I have both been a bit jet-lagged, but other than that we have no complaints.
I'll give you all a quick recap of our activities since arriving in Israel, and share with you a few of the thoughts and observations that I have had since arriving.
The flight was for the most part uneventful, except for having the air conditioning vent drip on me during the take-off and landings. During the flight we had the pleasure of sitting next to a female rabbi from LA, with whom we shared some interesting conversations - I could be wrong, but I don't think there are women rabbis in Israel (yet) - and I don't know how high on the list of things that I am going to miss from America that that ranks (although this particular one was very friendly).
Upon our landing in Israel, there were a number of emotional moments for me. The first came when the plane touched down on the tarmac, the impact seemed to knock into me that we were "really" in Israel. Then, when I had a chance to step outside the plane and breathe in the air, and the 3rd momemnt was when I reached the counter for passport control and the lady smiled and asked me, "Atah oleh" ("Are you making Aliyah")?
After that we filled out some paperwork, where I got my teudat oleh (my Aliyah certificate) among other forms as well as some money from the Israeli Government for good measure (not to mention that one gets a free taxi ride anywhere in the country upon making Aliyah).
We then proceeded to get our bags, and then were met by my mother, brother and step-father, as well as my original Shaliach Aliyah, Opher. We took our free taxi ride to Merkaz Hamagshimim in the German Colony of Jerusalem where we will be staying for the next year. We will be living in a studio type apartment (more like a dormitory room) which had 2 beds, a table, 2 chairs, a desk with a chair, a few bookshelves, a small refrigerator, a toaster, and burners. It's a homey type of place, and needs a bit of cleaning, but we are looking forward to getting settled in there.
We then went to Ma'aleh Adumim, where we spent shabbat at my Mother's, for which I slept for a great part of. Which takes us up to the present, where we are planning tommorow to begin our trek to many of the different offices to take care of the vast amounts of paper work and leg work that need to be done. I am looking forward to the challenge.
Now for some early obsrvations.
The first observation was something that I was anticpating, which was what the reaction would be of those who would see that Annie and I were making Aliyah (both Israelis and non-Israelis). (We were wearing "I'm Making Aliyah" pins from the Aliyah organization KUMAH, given to us by its founder and our good friend Yishai.) Just about everyone who saw the pin was very proud and supportive; one person even asked us if he could have the pin when we landed to give to his son, who also is planning on making Aliyah in the future (in all of the comotion we ended up forgetting to give it to him).
When we got on the plane the flight attendant who greeted us was ecstatic upon learning that we were making Aliyah, which was followed by a comment from another flight attendant, to the extent that "not all Israelis are like that" - I am still not sure what she meant by that. During the flight I struck up a conversation with another flight attendant, who was telling me how she felt that its was best for Israel if the American Jews stayed in America, as Israel needs a strong voice there. I explained to her that this year there were 2,000 Jews from North America who had made Aliyah (representing a good year), and yet, in a country with over 5 million Jews, it represented not even a half of a single percent, and as such she had nothing to worry about, as far as Israel losing its American support. She shrugged it off.
From when we landed, until we got to Ma'aleh Adumin on Thursday night, we took two taxi rides. I have always enjoyed talking with Israel taxi drivers, as they always seem to have something to say, and you can hear many interesting stories from talking with them. The thing that stood out the most to me from each of the taxi rides was of how seemingly natural it was for these taxi drivers, when asked how they were, or about things going on in the country to answer something to the extent of "Baruch hashem" or "Todah La'Eil" (both meaning "Thank G-d" in Hebrew). Keep in mind that neither of the drivers wore a kippah, and for all one can assume wasn't what we would consider religious. Yet, perhaps they were. the great thing about Israel, is that one doesnt need to wear a kippah to be religious, and at the same time, one need not be religious to recognize and thank G-d for what is going on in the country and have faith in Him that things will work themselves out.
When I arrived at Ma'aleh Adumim, I decided to have a snack. I opened up a bag of Doritos (which aren't kosher in America), and inside the bag was a little prize (similar to the kind that one finds in a Cracker Jax box). Yet, there was something very different about this prize. Inside each bag of chips was to be found "pictures of the Gedolim (of the great rabbis)". Now whether one wants to be thinking about, or looking at one of these gedolim while eating their corn chips, I still think it is just representative of what Israel is about. Why put in a Pokimon chachka when you can put in something that has unique and speicial meaning to the Jewish People?
Later that night I was reading on jpost.com how the White House was unimpressed with Israel in her decision, in response to the double suicide bombing last week in Tel Aviv which killed 23 and seriously wounded many more, not to allow the PA delgates to attend a conference taking place in London. I thought to myself for a moment, "Why should 'we' care what the White House thinks? Now, in the world of diplomacy, these things, I assume are very important, but for the first time, I truly found myself on Israel's side of the coin, as opposed to that of America's, in reading this particular headline.
I was priveleged this morning, as a result of my jet lag to wake up around 5am. About an hour and a half later, as the sun came up, I went out on the mirperset (terrace) which overlooked Harei Yehudah - the Judean Hills - where I proceeded to read the newspaper (Friday's paper, as there is no paper on Shabbat). As I looked out over the horizon, everything seemed so tranquil and peaceful. All one could hear were the birds flying and singing. I looked out at the hills, and I wondered, this isn't the Israel that I have heard so much about over the last 2+ years. This is the Israel that unfortunatley, not enough of the Jewish People know about. At that moment, I truly felt proud to be a Jew in my Land.
These emotions carried through the morning, when I went to daven at a place called the "Happy Shul". Its a Carlebach-type shul, with lots of singing and dancing. The people there seemed to be full of energy, and were always looking for a reason to sing and dance, and our making Aliyah was just what the doctor ordered. The shul was made up of more than 90% of people who had made Aliyah themselves from the US. As I watched over the course of the morning all the joy and enthusiasm that was displayed throughout the prayers, and when I looked outside to see all the children playing, I came to the conclusion that we're going to be OK here (both on a personal level as well as on a national one). People here seem to have so much love for the Land, as well as an abundance of faith that things will work out (Yihiyeh b'seder) that they are still able to sing and dance, and that the children are still able to play.
I know that there is also another Israel out there, one filled with terror and the effects of it, terrible in-fighting amongst the Jewish People, not to mention all of the polotical turmoil facing the country. Yet, that wasn't the Israel that I have seen since arriving. I know its out there, and I knowthat sooner or later we will meet up with it. But in the meantime, I wam going to enjoy the Israel that the Jewish People longed for for over 2,000 years, the Land where our past, present and future mesh into one. I know there are many challenges ahead, both for Annie and I, as well as for Israel and the Jewish people as a whole, that there is another Israel out there, that as much as we may try to hide from or avoid, we can't escape... in reponse, all I can say is - yihiyeh b'seder (things will be ok).
Looking forward to hearing from all of you.
Jason