Lizrael Update: seven years.
So here I am, in Israel seven years today. Did I consider where I’d be in seven years when I got in the plane from New York? Never bothered to go that far. Maybe in the back of my mind I always...
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Moving to Israel? Make sure you Stick Around.
To ulpan or not to ulpan? It’s up to you, but it doesn’t have to end when you leave the musty, dingy premises of the classroom… Take ulpan home with you with Stick Around. The story behind Stick Around...
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There’s a third camp…
…the people who just live here. I’ve seen one too many Western aliyah/Anglo-bashing/Anglo-praising/Anglo-centric articles in the last week so now I’m just gonna mouth off a little. It seems people are...
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The cost of having kids in Israel.
We ‘have’ kids. Sounds so passive, doesn’t it? Isn’t it more like, we find someone to have kids with, settle in with them, work at it for a few months to a few years, attempt to save money to cushion...
View ArticleHow do you take your Hebrew? Heavily-accented.
Anglo self-hate. Nothing wins more comments on the Times of Israel than that. The latest? This piece by Noga Martin: Why can’t the Anglos learn to speak? The author made aliyah at 19 with no background...
View ArticleHome.
I looked up when, among the mumbling, I heard the word ‘מעליב.’ Standing in a long, slow-moving line at a Staten Island department store, I suddenly felt at home. And yet, it wasn’t because I was in...
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Yom Haaztmaut 5774: Three reasons why
‘Why did you move to Israel?’ We get asked that a lot, don’t we? Here’s my #1 reason 9 years ago, and my #1 reason now: Children who know no differently… The list of reasons for living in Israel grows...
View ArticleExpat life: Eleven years.
As of today I have spent a third of my life living as an expat, having made the choice to leave what I knew and start over somewhere else, with specific goals and ideology fueling the decision. And 11...
View ArticleWe cast our lot.
When people ask me why I came here, my answer is that no matter what I believe religiously I'll always accept the fact that by being born into what I was born I have no choice but to cast my lot with...
View ArticleThe things that change and don’t change in fifteen years.
15 years ago, I landed at Ben Gurion airport and a Russian-accented משרד הפנים rep told me I’ve been spelling my last name wrong my entire life as he prepped my paperwork. Last night, I was helping my...
View ArticleMoving to Israel? Make sure you Stick Around.
To ulpan or not to ulpan? It’s up to you, but it doesn’t have to end when you leave the musty, dingy premises of the classroom… Take ulpan home with you with Stick Around. The story behind Stick Around...
View ArticleThere’s a third camp…
…the people who just live here. I’ve seen one too many Western aliyah/Anglo-bashing/Anglo-praising/Anglo-centric articles in the last week so now I’m just gonna mouth off a little. It seems people are...
View ArticleThe cost of having kids in Israel.
We ‘have’ kids. Sounds so passive, doesn’t it? Isn’t it more like, we find someone to have kids with, settle in with them, work at it for a few months to a few years, attempt to save money to cushion...
View ArticleHow do you take your Hebrew? Heavily-accented.
Anglo self-hate. Nothing wins more comments on the Times of Israel than that. The latest? This piece by Noga Martin: Why can’t the Anglos learn to speak? The author made aliyah at 19 with no background...
View ArticleThe hard way.
At the ‘חוג בת מצווה’ I’m doing with my daughter, tonight’s session was focused on Jewish Israeli women heroes of the last century; this follows six weeks focused on even earlier historical Jewish...
View ArticleAliyah is a million cuts.
When you’re 22 and pick up and move to another country with a minimum 9-hour flight time, you’re really not thinking about 18 years later when the other shoe drops. The first shoe dropped when you had...
View ArticleThe privilege to choose where you’re murdered for being a Jew
A reaction from a lot of Americans (including the State Department, apparently): “You can always come here.” I do feel guilt and appreciation around this, rooted in the well-meaningness and love of my...
View ArticleWell I just had a fucked up weekend abroad
I don’t want to talk about it right now though. What I will say is… the returning home is always something. Every time, it’s a weird breath of relief. As uncomfortable (on a technical level) as I may...
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