nefesh b'nefesh - letters from home
DESCRIPTION
"Letters from Home," is a newsletter customized for your community from your neighbors and friends who have made Aliyah in the past recent years. From their letters, smiles, and reflections, it is evident that we are living in truly miraculous times.TRANSCRIPT
It
is now a little over a year since we made Aliyah…..and what a year it has been! We started off with all
of the obvious challenges a move to Israel with three children would involve… language barriers, making
new friends, learning new roads, understanding our mail to name a few. Our children were real
troopers. With determination and a sense of humor, they seemed to be truly happily adjusting to their new
lives. The past summer provided an exciting couple of months. We were expecting the birth of our fourth
child, we were building a house in a new neighborhood, and our son was chosen to play baseball for the
Israeli national little league team in the Czech Republic. And then the war broke out. We were fortunate
that our daily lives went on as normal, sort of… If waking up in the middle of the night to nurse your baby
and hearing warplanes zooming overhead is normal. As we were still terribly busy with our daily lives, in a
way I started to feel guilty. How do I continue normally with all of these things happening just a two hour
drive away? It then occurred to me... this is actually why I moved to Israel! Going on with my daily life was
exactly what I should be doing to show those who seek our destruction that we are not leaving. Not only are
we not leaving, we are growing and building because we are a nation of builders. We build homes, we build
families, and we even build sports leagues. Our life here can only be the statement that it is by building and
LIVING here. I miss my family, my friends, the Skokie Public Library and baggers at the grocery store more
than you can imagine, and my family misses the Cardinals and the White Sox. But we wouldn't trade the life
we have here for anything.
We'd love to hear from you!
Dear Friend,
In previous decades, when visitors from Israel would journey temporarily to their hometowns in the Diaspora, they would be greeted by their former community with fanfare and celebration. The entire neighborhood would rush to catch even a morsel of information
about Israel - waiting eagerly to hear descriptions of the Land and be inspired by the travelers’ tales. Certain rabbinic literature even discusses how a traveler from Israel would receive an Aliyah L'Torah on Shabbat and trump any chiyuv of the day.
Over time, with the advance of technology enabling frequent trips to Israel and "real time" connectivity to locations 6,000 miles away, the marvel and allure of this precious gift of the ability to live in Israel has somewhat faded.
It is therefore significant that we reinvigorate our generation's awe of our modern endowment of Eretz Yisrael. Our communities and specifically our children should never lose sight of the miracle that after years of praying, hoping and longing, they actually have friends, neighbors and family who are living the dream of centuries – building their lives and future in Israel.
It is with great pride that we present to you this installment of "Letters from Home," a newsletter customized for your community from your neighbors and friends who have made Aliyah in the past recent years. From their letters, smiles, and reflections, it is evident that we are living in truly miraculous times.
Beyedidut,
Rabbi Yehoshua Fass Founder, Executive Director
Nefesh B'Nefesh is dedicated to the revitalization of Aliyah from North America and the United Kingdom.Over 10,000 olim have made Aliyah with Nefesh B'Nefesh since 2002.
Nefesh B'Nefesh offers: • Employment Resources • Expedited Processing • Group Aliyah Flights • Financial Assistance • Post Aliyah Support
North America:1-866-4-ALIYAH
United Kingdom:0800-075-7200
Israel:972-2-659-5700
www.nbn.org.il
It is now a little over a year since we made Aliyah…..and what a year it has been! We started off with
all of the obvious challenges a move to Israel with three children would involve… language barriers,
making new friends, learning new roads, understanding our mail to name a few. Our children were
real troopers. With determination and a sense of humor, they seemed to be truly happily adjusting to their
new lives. The past summer provided an exciting couple of months. We were expecting the birth of our
fourth child, we were building a house in a new neighborhood, and our son was chosen to play baseball
for the Israeli national little league team in the Czech Republic. And then the war broke out. We were
fortunate that our daily lives went on as normal, sort of… If waking up in the middle of the night to nurse
your baby and hearing warplanes zooming overhead is normal. As we were still terribly busy with our
daily lives, in a way I started to feel guilty. How do I continue normally with all of these things happening
just a two hour drive away? It then occurred to me... this is actually why I moved to Israel! Going on with
my daily life was exactly what I should be doing to show those who seek our destruction that we are not
leaving. Not only are we not leaving, we are growing and building because we are a nation of builders. We
build homes, we build families, and we even build sports leagues. Our life here can only be the statement
that it is by building and LIVING here. I miss my family, my friends, the Skokie Public Library and baggers at
the grocery store more than you can imagine, and my family misses the Cardinals and the White Sox. But we
wouldn't trade the life we have here for anything.
We'd love to hear from you!
Letters from Hometo QUEENS
It
is now a little over a year since we made Aliyah…..and
what a year it has been! We started off with all of the obvious challenges a move to Israel with three
children would involve… language barriers, making new friends, learning new roads, understanding
our mail to name a few. Our children were real troopers. With determination and a sense of humor,
they seemed to be truly happily adjusting to their new lives. The past summer provided an exciting
couple of months. We were expecting the birth of our fourth child, we were building a house in a new
neighborhood, and our son was chosen to play baseball for the Israeli national little league team in the
Czech Republic. And then the war broke out. We were fortunate that our daily lives went on as normal,
sort of… If waking up in the middle of the night to nurse your baby and hearing warplanes zooming
overhead is normal. As we were still terribly busy with our daily lives, in a way I started to feel guilty.
How do I continue normally with all of these things happening just a two hour drive away? It then
occurred to me... this is actually why I moved to Israel! Going on with my daily life was exactly what
I should be doing to show those who seek our destruction that we are not leaving. Not only are we not
leaving, we are growing and building because we are a nation of builders. We build homes, we build
families, and we even build sports leagues. Our life here can only be the statement that it is by building
and LIVING here. I miss my family, my friends, the Skokie Public Library and baggers at the grocery store
more than you can imagine, and my family misses the Cardinals and the White Sox. But we wouldn't
trade the life we have here for anything.
We'd love to hear from you!
Letters from Hometo NEW YORK CITY
Letters from Hometo BALTIMORE
It is now a little over a year since we made Aliyah…..and what a year it has been! We
started off with all of the obvious challenges a move to Israel with three children would
involve… language barriers, making new friends, learning new roads, understanding
our mail to name a few. Our children were real troopers. With determination and a
sense of humor, they seemed to be truly happily adjusting to their new lives. The past
summer provided an exciting couple of months. We were expecting the birth of our fourth
child, we were building a house in a new neighborhood, and our son was chosen to play
baseball for the Israeli national little league team in the Czech Republic. And then the war
broke out. We were fortunate that our daily lives went on as normal, sort of… If waking up
in the middle of the night to nurse your baby and hearing warplanes zooming overhead is
normal. As we were still terribly busy with our daily lives, in a way I started to feel guilty.
How do I continue normally with all of these things happening just a two hour drive away?
It then occurred to me... this is actually why I moved to Israel! Going on with my daily life
was exactly what I should be doing to show those who seek our destruction that we are not
leaving. Not only are we not leaving, we are growing and building because we are a nation
of builders. We build homes, we build families, and we even build sports leagues. Our life here
can only be the statement that it is by building and LIVING here. I miss my family, my friends,
the Skokie Public Library and baggers at the grocery store more than you can imagine, and my
family misses the Cardinals and the White Sox. But we wouldn't trade the life we have
here for anything. We'd love
to CHICAGO
Letters from Hometo TEANECK
Letters from Hometo LOS ANGELES
Israel: Beit Ofer - 5 Nachum Hefzadi | Jerusalem, 95484 Israel | Tel: (02) 659-5700North America: 42 East 69th Street | New York, NY 10021 | Tel: (212) 734-2111
United Kingdom: JNF House | Spring Villa Park | Edgware, Middx HA8 7ED, UK | Tel: 0800-075-7200 www.nbn.org.il