Aliya + 1 week – “A Letter From Home”
Dear Friends and Family,
We just got Internet today so we have a lot of catching up
to do. Thank you so much for all the updates and keeping on top of the voting!
I am so glad that you are following through with this even while we were
offline. It has been an interesting week since we arrived last Wednesday. I
have not yet decided what to mention in my blog but so much has happened that I
cannot imagine covering even a fraction of it here.
 |
| At Newark Airport |
The Nefesh B’Nefesh people were so calm and helpful throughout.
Besides guiding us through the processing at the airports and assisting at getting
us our teudot zehut and oleh, they helped get our customs file open by faxing
those papers to the customs office. That probably cut a day or so off of the
time that it takes to get us our lift. And while playing the Jewish Geography
game we found that we are second cousins to one of the NBN people.
Out of necessity, we have become quite efficient at getting
things done. Before lunch today, we brought our clothing to the cleaners (so
that we can have them back before the 9 days), got our dud shemesh (solar hot
water) fixed, got confirmation that our lift will be delivered on Tuesday and managed
to go with the contractor to Talpiot (where else?) to shop for all of the
things for the bathroom, especially the tub, toilet and tile. And while setting up our bank accounts and credit cards this
morning (it is so nice being able to take care of business on Sunday!), we had
one of those "only in Israel" moments when we saw the teller wearing
a gun. Amazing!
 |
| Putting up the mezuzah on the front door |
As soon as we got the car on Friday, we (Yair and I) ran
over to Kever Rachel to say a few tehillim for Jeffery Hamber (שרה אביבה בן יעקב פתחיה רפאל). I had that as a
very high priority on my list of things to do. Kever Rachel's placement made it
the default the place where the Jewish people would visit on their way into and
out of galut, so I wanted to go there, now that we are returning from galut.
I joined several members of the yishuv to daven in Mearat HaMachpela on Friday morning - they do that every Friday before shabbat
mevorchim. Next stop - the Kotel.
 |
| "Welcome Home" |
Ilan and Julia joined us for our first Shabbat here.
Although we had practically no furniture and were sleeping on mattresses on the
floor, Pearl managed to set up Julia’s room with a little night table by
flipping over a basket and putting a cloth on it and put a few flowers in a cup
to make it feel just a bit more homey. We were invited to about 5 meals so we
had to take a couple of rainchecks. And we had so many people stopping by
before shabbat with flowers, wine, cake and challah, not to mention mattresses,
chairs, water kettles, etc. It was a nice touch to get flowers and a bottle of
wine from our contractor!
Now if I can only think of what to write for this week’s
blog…
-Daniel and Pearl
Mazel Tov!
ReplyDeleteWell said, as usual. It’s been quite hectic , not only these first 5 days of Aliyah, but the days, weeks and months leading up to it. With more chaos ahead of us for the foreseeable time, I would like to say to prospective Aliyah candidates that it’s important to set aside moments to just reflect on the big picture, the big step that you and I are taking, and thank Hashem for giving us the strength thus far to reach this milestone in our lives. I too experienced some special moments this past week, although they may not sound profound to anyone else. On 2 separate occasions I was given a ride, ‘tremp’ to my destination. On our 2nd day in Israel, my son and I were trying to get to Talpiot to arrange cell phone service. We took a bus out of Neve Daniel to the Tzomet, (junction) and from there, a very kind gentleman, picked us up. When he heard that we had just made Aliyah the previous day, he said that he was so ‘honored’ (!!) that he wanted to take us directly to wherever we were going. What a wonderful feeling that was. Again, on my 3rd day here, I walked from my lovely new home to buy some Shabbat treats at the famous Shiffon bakery. Unbeknownst to me, a driver noticed me walking, and we ended up on line together. We spoke briefly, sharing my exciting aliyah news, and he quickly offered me a ride back home, although he is not from Neve Daniel, explaining to me that walking back up the hill, isn’t nearly as carefree and effortless as walking down the hill! (Especially laden with packages!) How thoughtful of someone to go out of their way like that! Thank you guardian angels, for lifting my spirits with your acts of kindness. Precious moments only in Israel.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteTears came to my eyes from both your glimpses of your first moments and hours here, Daniel, and Pearl'a appreciation for the "business-as-usual" tremp culture here in the Gush.
ReplyDeleteI think your hoda'ah will be one of your strongest attributes in dealing with any and most hassles. Welcome Home, kids. ;-)