I
couldn't think of a flashier title, because the one I chose is so full
of emotion, I didn't want to mess with it. Last week, a close friend of
mine names Ariella made Aliyah, and it was just about the most exciting
thing I could imagine. As I celebrated 3 years here on July 1, I thought
of the changes in my life that have happened in that time. Nothing
huge. No wedding, no babies, not elected to Knesset (yet). And as of
today, I'm still Jordana IN Jerusalem! So what, really, is the big deal
about 3 years here?
Everything.
At
three years, I have watched my ulpan and Aliyah friends decide that
Israel wasn't for them, and leave. I have seen more people come to
Israel to try and make it their home too. I have seen holidays and
festivals, birthday parties and smachot. I have been to concerts and
funerals, I have seen babies born here, and witnessed pretty much every
Jewish life cycle event after that. Three years in the scheme of a
lifetime is short, but it is enough time to outgrow my Aliyah "honeymoon
phase" and the sparkly title of "olah chadasha" (new immigrant.)
Although
I probably still am a new immigrant, most days I feel completely at
home, in a way I never did living in New York for decades. I walk the
streets here or traverse the country in the knowledge that these are my
streets and this landscape is my own. I never feel like I'm visiting,
like this is a stop on my journey. I consider myself unendingly blessed
to feel that this was truly my destination.
So
when I tell you that my friend making Aliyah was one of the most
exciting things to happen, it's not hyperbole. Let's not kid ourselves,
life is hard sometimes and moving to a whole new country and culture
will be tough (we've talked about this here and here) but the only
consistent bummer is being away from family and close friends. I pray
regularly that my family will join me here, but it doesn't seem to be on
the horizon. And although sporadic visits from family members and my
yearly pilgrimage back to NYC are great, they will never be a substitute
for living near family. So when a close friend like Ariella told me a
few months back that she was going to make Aliyah, I was elated!
Not
to get into the back-and-forth about how Aliyah should be EVERY Jew's
ultimate goal (because I don't want to argue with you) but the idea that
someone I love, in a similar social situation, with a similar
background and the same attachment to her family was making Aliyah just
like I did was extremely validating and exciting. She would ask
logistical questions and always preface or end conversations with "sorry
to bother" and I would respond "this is no bother! I wish I could have
this conversation with every one of my friends! I'm so proud of you!"
 |
| Some Israelis riding the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv bus! |
So
when she finally made Aliyah last week, it hit me harder than I
thought. It was my friend, taking a huge step and hopefully succeeding
in building an amazing new life in Israel, of course. But it was also
seeing someone else, realizing a 3,000 year long dream, leaving the
diaspora to come home and showing everyone back in America that this is
the goal we should ALL have, we should ALL strive to achieve.
This
is what 3 years has taught me. It has been HARD and it has been
wonderful. It has been LONG and it has gone by in a blink. It has been
LONELY at times, but I have made new soul connections. It has been
DIFFERENT to what I expected and so much more. And it has showed me, an
American from New York with a tiny bit of jappiness, that there is more
to life than Target and Bagels and Co. and that a new goal in my life is
to help my friends and family come home- to Israel.
And
when that time comes, I will tell you everything you'll need to know.
I'll stay on the phone with you as long as you want, answer all your questions. I'll calm you down
and build you up. I'll sit with you in Misrad Hapnim and give you the
name of a great manicurist/real estate agent/pediatrician/handyman. I
will do whatever it takes to have you here with me and Ariella and the
rest of your Jewish brothers and sisters.
I promise!
