Aliyah Countdown

As our flight date quickly approaches (we are now taking off a half hour earlier than expected), I thought it was time to post a little countdown. Not the usual counting of days, something a little different.

·         10 weeks ago we attended the Aliyah Mega Event in NYC. This was the second year in a row that we attended and I recommend going if you have any interested in making Aliyah. In case you missed it, you can read about my experiences here.

·         9 months ago we told our families that we were going to make Aliyah. That was an interesting experience. Some reactions were positive others were a little volatile. It was a hectic day and a lot for our families to process.

·         I hope to be having lunch or a cup of coffee with my Rabbi in 8 weeks. He has been a tremendous help throughout this process and he will be arriving in Israel two weeks after we land to teach at a Yeshiva in Jerusalem for a short period of time over the summer. It has been too long since we sat and talked. 

·         7 weeks ago we got our Aliyah Visas! We didn’t expect to get them so soon. That is the best lunch break I think I have ever had. I still pull our passports out every once in a while and stare at them in disbelief.

·         6 weeks ago we got the signed lease back for our apartment in Nachlaot. We finally got our home in the homeland. It took a few emails back and forth, the kindness of a new friend, and some negotiation but we finally got it done.

·         Throughout this process, we had made our Aliyah plans anticipating not having jobs when we get there. However, that changed a few weeks ago. So, in 5 weeks I will have my first business meeting.

·         In 4 months we will be fulfilling our declaration as the New Year begins... This year in Jerusalem!

·         3 days from now I will be on my way down to Washington, DC. A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were invited to the Embassy of Israel for an Olim Farewell Party (I still don’t know how we managed to get invited). I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

·         2 years ago we were falling in love with our Homeland while on our honeymoon. Oh, how things have changed.

·         Just under 1 month from now we will be Israelis. There is nothing else I can really say to describe the way that makes me feel so I am going to stop writing now.

Aliyah Update: I'm Freaking Out Man!

A lot has happened recently. The big news started on Wednesday with an email from our realtor who let me know that there was a one bedroom apartment available in Nachlaot. We quickly had one of our friends look at it for us and take some pictures. After discussing the details of the place, we decided to move forward. On Sunday we signed the lease and this morning we sent it over and wired the first two months rent.

However, that was not the only news of the week. Wednesday was busy but paled in comparison to Thursday. While going back and forth with the realtor, I received an email from Nefesh B'Nefesh notifying us that we have two reserved seats on the July 11th flight. This was a little surprising since we hadn't gotten our visas yet (we needed to secure an apartment before we would be approved) but I wasn’t going to question it.

Interestingly, that afternoon I received a call from the Jewish Agency letting me know that our visas were ready for us to pick up. This was a BIG surprise. So, I took a long “lunch” break on Friday and walked across town. Visas in hand, I returned to the office clutching the envelope like Gollum would grasp the ring…. my precious!

So, it has been a hectic week and we got a lot more accomplished than I ever thought we would. It is becoming a reality. We will be in Israel, we will be Israelis, in a little over two months.

Wow. I am freaking out a little bit.

And Now We Wait….

I would rather be waiting here!

After a long and frantic day yesterday and the resulting feeling of this being the beginning of a waiting period between horrific events rather than an isolated tragedy, I had a completely opposite feeling today. While colored with a few tainted hues of recent reality, it was a tremendously exciting day when we would take the next step in our journey home.  

My wife and I met with our Shlicha this morning at The Jewish Agency office in New York. Well, we met after a taking the train from central New Jersey to Penn Station, walking across town, and filtering through the multiple stages of security. We brought all of our documents, even the Nefesh B’Nefesh ones we didn’t “need”, and I am glad we did. I will just say this: there is no such thing as too many recommendations.

After answering some questions about our background and our decision to make Aliyah, we sorting through the pile of papers that we thought were organized when we left the house this morning.

Birth Certificates? Check! Thanks Mom!

Marriage Certificate (with Apostille)? Check! We have an extra one without an Apostille if you want it… thanks Philadelphia.

Conversion Documents? Check (and check and check and check)! I have a lot of supporting documents. It’s a long, and some would say painful, story.

Letters from sponsoring Rabbi? Check and… check! That was a close one!

Health Declarations and Entry / Exit Forms? Check and Check!

Passports and additional passport photos? Check and Check! And that is when we said bye-bye to our passports. Good things we aren’t planning on leaving the country (well, at least not until the summer)!

With everything checked off the list (woo hoo) it was time for… more paperwork (d’oh). Okay, I’m exaggerating, it’s not that bad, just one more form. We borrowed our passports and filled out or immigration visa applications. And, as has been my theme during this entire process, every other line I would ask “what’s this?” or “what do I put here?”

Eventually, we got them filled out and signed and we returned them to our Shlicha along with our borrowed passports. Bye-bye passports (part deux).

And now, we wait. We wait and we prepare. Emotionally, financially, spiritually we prepare. Anxiously, excitedly, nervously we wait.