Welcome to “EverythingAliyah.com”! We are excited to start this new site and blog!
This site is to become a portal for all your personal needs when making Aliyah. The focus of the site will be devoted to blog posts and podcasts sharing more about the process of Aliyah. Having made Aliyah ourselves over ten years ago and having gone through so much of the “red-tape”, and learning how to navigate through so much of the system, we want to give something back to those in need of assistance. You’ll be hearing some of our own stories – including the serious and the humorous – and what we have done to get through our stay here.
They say that if you want to get to having a million dollars in Israel really quickly, then come here with ten million! Did we start that way? Not quite – and that’s what makes our own journey that much more meaningful and easy to relate to for most people making Aliyah today.
Aliyah – literally “rising”, or “ascending”, or “going upwards”, is an ultimate journey for so many. Its root is in fact the very last word of the TaNaCh (the Bible)! It was seventy years after the destruction of the first Temple – the exile of Bavel. King Cyrus of Persia had ascended the throne. King Cyrus begins by saying that Hashem – the God of Heaven – had given him all the kingdoms of the earth and commanded him to build a Temple in Jerusalem. With this word — the last word of the entire Bible –“Va’ya’al”, King Cyrus tells the Jewish people that Hashem their God should be with them – and let them (him) go up! It was time for the Jewish people to return to their homeland – as it is today!
The real process of Aliyah is the journey of taking oneself from one’s normal – often comfortable lifestyle – and joining the more than 5 million other Jews (as well as many other people) who have decided that being Jewish includes living in the Land given to the Jewish people over three thousand three hundred years ago as the Jews left the land of Egypt and were taken to “the Promised Land”. God took them out of Egypt with an “outstretched arm” and brought them into the Land that He had promised to our Forefathers notably Abraham as well as Isaac and Jacob. It was His wish that we live in this Land and fulfill His will here.
So many yearn for this dream… To live in the Holy Land! With all that excitement – life is not always as dreamy as it seems in theory! There’s a lot that needs to be done just to get here. Thereafter the trials one encounters can be enormous – often insurmountable at times! There are those moments of real frustration as one tries to work through something – and then of course those moments of calmness. Therein lies that wonderful blessing when one can turn around and realise the beauty of living in Israel. Is it worth it… and then the answer sets in…
“The Land of Israel is acquired through suffering,” teaches Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai – author of the mystical text known as the Zohar. That same Zohar tells us a beautiful story. Once, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was teaching his son Elazar about the secrets concerning the destruction of the Temple. His son burst out crying as he smiled. When asked about his behaviour – he explained, “On the one hand I cry for the destruction of the Temple. Yet on the other hand, I am hearing the secrets of the Torah…” So too does one only too often experience these ambivalent feelings. One treasures the beauty of the Land of Israel – while at the same time feeling the great hardship that life often presents here.
We’re here to share more about this. We’ll be sharing tips about how to get by. Sometimes you’ll find you can do things by yourself with just knowing what to do(!) – saving you the money you’d pay a professional for help! Other times we’ll share with you some of the ways to attend to necessary every-day matters. We’ll be sharing ideas about what to do when one feels stuck. Naturally – well be sharing some of the very happy moments and beauty of living here too.
Your experience in making Aliyah should be a happy one. You must be able to do it if you want to! Please be a part of our site. Let your friends know! Join our newsletter. Become a member of our site and a regular reader because we’re going to be sharing some very valuable information.