Category: aliyah rites
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An Israeli county fair in the dream of aliyah.
Spent the evening strolling around the Yom Haatzmaut celebration going on in the Tzur Hadassah elementary schoolyard. Clowns, kids, silly string, shaving cream, noise makers, cotton candy, lights, balloons… This no singles’ event. I started reading old entries from a few years ago, describing my purpose for moving to Israel, my role in the aliyah…
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A little thing about home(land) cooking.
There is something so completely special – when you can look past the depressing, lonely, sad aspects – about being an olah in Israel, cooking your family’s traditional Passover recipes for your own seder with fellow olim… My grandmother is far far away, but here I am, across the world, continuing her delicious traditions and…
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Israeli Pet Peeve #127: Wrong number.
I have never experienced this anywhere in my life but here with my Israeli mobile number: *Ring ring* Me: “Hello?” Israeli caller: “Hello?” Me: “…hello?” Israeli caller: “Hila?” Me: “No, must be a wrong number…” (about to hang up) Israeli caller: “Who is this?” Me: “What’s the difference?” Israeli caller: “Hila?” Me: “No. Wrong number.”…
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Have a wonderful holiday of hidden miracles.
Here’s what I love about it being Purim in Israel and being a part of an Israeli community: Coming home after a seuda with new friends (including 342674 kids) and then finding Mishloach Manot at your doorstep – I guess you could say it’s a hidden miracle that we come to Israel single and adventurous…
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Feeling the home land.
After almost a week of driving back and forth to work through trees and hills (the way God intended, no doubt) I have to say that it’s as if I’m only just now settling into my Israeli life. Jerusalem is more international, more global… in importance, position, people. It was a very different Israel, if…
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For an alternative means of defense.
It’s some sort of rite of passage that olim go through; the idea of “becoming more Israeli.” In this case, I don’t mean wearing flowy skirts or forgetting grammatically-correct English. I mean the process of becoming overly defensive and jumping to attack at any flare of doubt or wrongness – the process of becoming more…
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Aliyah reason #213: Shabbat leftovers.
Reason #213 to make aliyah: When you work in an all-Jewish company, lunchtime on Sundays smells (and tastes!) like Shabbat all over again. Although – shhh – I’d take Sunday off in a heart beat.
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Today I turn three… and am no longer 'new'.
So apparently, starting today, I am no longer considered an olah chadasha (new immigrant). That seems to be the consensus from other olim, the Israeli government and Nefesh b’Nefesh. Do I feel vatik (senior)? Certainly not… But I suppose I don’t feel new anymore, either. Whatever I am in numbers or years, I know that…
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Re: israel stuff
I’ve been here almost three years, and the other day my mom forwarded me an email I wrote home a few weeks after I first got here in January 2005. Thought it would be fun to remember, especially since things are so different now. Here are some excerpts so you can get a feel for…
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Hump Day.
My mom has this thing that on Wednesdays she announces that it’s Hump Day. Of course, the first time she said this to me I freaked. Then she explained that Wednesday is the middle of the week; when you get past the hump of Wednesday, you’re halfway to the weekend. What’s funny is that Hump…
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Two teeth dumber… yet also wiser…
I’m sitting here, post-removal of my last two wisdom teeth, done by an Israeli doctor at my insurance clinic, and I’m feeling – wise. For weeks, people have been warning me about getting my wisdom teeth out here – “Go to an American, go private, pay extra for gas.” Sure, it freaked me out, but…