Saturday, December 31, 2011

Last chance to save the Dead Sea

Cross posted in Environmental Tip of the Week

In a few days, the government will vote on a bill that could save the Dead Sea. But the Finance Ministry and polluting companies are pressuring the ministers to block it. To win, we need just one minister to switch sides.

I've just signed a petition to the ministers calling on them to stand up to public pressure and approve the bill. This is our last chance to save the Dead Sea - join me by clicking here:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_dead_sea/96.php

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

notice

This and all my blogs are suspended until further notice (hopefully not forever) due to a number of things going on in my life currently.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

"...it's because G-d wants all the Jews to move to Israel..."

Cross posted in The Daily Yay!

Have you heard? There are activists in San Francisco who want to ban circumcision, a religious rite for male Jews that also provides health benefits to male Jews and Gentiles alike. See the comments on this article for where the title quote came from. Yes, it's little reminders like these that remind us Jews where our true home is, where we can truly be free to be who we are: Israel, the land that G-d gave us. :)

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I'm not in Israel...What happened?

My then fiance, now husband, was still in the US! Here's part of a note I wrote on Facebook the night before I left Israel, December 30, 2007:

Just tonight it really hit me that I'm leaving in the morning and only G-d knows when I'll be back. I want to thank each and every one of you for your own personal contributions to my wonderful experience here in Bat Ayin. I hope you all know that there's just one reason that I'm leaving ;) and this was a very hard decision. I believe it was the right one, though, much as I'm going to miss Bat Ayin. Please pray for us that we'll return ASAP, or better yet that Mashiach comes before the wedding so we can get married here in Israel and everyone can come.

Why haven't we made aliyah yet? 1. He had a green card and wanted to wait until he could obtain US citizenship. 2. We want to gain more skills so we can contribute to Israel, and we want to come with a solid financial backing. We don't want to be a drain on the country.

I intend to write in this blog from now until we make aliyah, to document both our physical and spiritual journey to Israel, and beyond. Our journey will not finish when we make in to Israel; we will always be growing. I also intend to follow and comment on the collective journey of Israeli society and the Jewish people as a whole, which also does not end no matter how many people make aliyah. That is the main reason I chose to title this blog "The Road That Never Ends."

Another meaning behind this title is to convey the sense of despair that I sometimes feel. I sometimes worry that we will never end up making aliyah. I have no idea if my husband will ever be ready. Moshe Rabeinu himself did not merit to enter the Land of Israel despite his deep desire and heartfelt prayers! Who am I to think that I deserve better than Moshe Rabbeinu? But guess what? I cannot live in despair! I keep praying to G-d constantly to clarify for me the ways in which I can merit moving to Israel. I cannot have the mentality that we will be stuck in galut forever! I must keep going with the surety that wherever I am and whatever I'm doing is another step in our journey to Israel! Where I am is where I'm supposed to be. G-d does not make mistakes. I cannot believe that G-d first put in my heart a deep, strong desire to live in the Promised land but then made it impossible for me forever!

Monday, April 4, 2011

My Nefesh B'nefesh aliyah application essay (minus the financial part)

Note: I wrote this several years ago and the writing isn't so good in my opinion, upon rereading it now. But it's the content that's important. Here it is:


I remember, as a teenager, trying to figure out where I would want to live. This was before I became religious and decided I wanted to make aliyah, so the Jewishness of the location wasn't so important to me. Then I got involved with NCSY in tenth grade. I went on one of their Israel summer programs, Michlelet, the summer after tenth grade. That was a huge turning point in my life. During the program, I decided to become religious, so I knew I'd be changing my lifestyle. Not only that, but it was during this program that I decided that I wanted to make aliyah. I remember being inspired by a Chaim David song that includes a string quartet whose members had made aliyah from the four corners of the world. I suddenly realized that Jews were coming from all over the world and that Israel is the one place where you can really live Jewishly, in a completely Jewish environment.
At that point, I had basically emotional reasons for wanting to make aliyah. That changed when I went to Orot for seminary: in classes like Torat Eretz Yisrael, I learned the religious sources and reasons to make aliyah. I'd always been Zionistic, but when I got to Orot I discovered the meaning of religious Zionism. I realized that optimal mitzvah performance can only occur in Israel. I realized that the Zionist dream of reclaiming and rebuilding the land that has come true and continues to unfold is part of the geula process, and therefore we have an obligation to do whatever we can to support Israel. And the fact that so many Jews are making aliyah is the promised kibbutz galuyot. So, it seems to me that Mashiach is coming soon. Also, so many things about Israel are holy: lashon hakodesh, shekel hakodesh, tzivot Hashem (although the Chabad have a different definition for that).
My children will be Israeli. They will grow up speaking Hebrew and therefore be able to learn Judaism in its original language more easily. They will grow up not surrounded by a non-Jewish culture, and so they won't be jealous that they don't have a Christmas tree. They'll be able to make friends with all the kids in the neighborhood and know they're all Jewish. There are a lot more choices for schooling.
And finally, Hashem gave us this land; it is His gift to us. It was taken away for awhile, but now we have it back. How can I take it for granted? You can go on a tiyul and learn about incidents in the Tanach that happened in that place. The whole land is full of kedusha. It's amazing that the desert is blooming, and it's clearly a miracle. Prophecies are being fulfilled in our generation! How can I not be a part of it?
If I keep thinking about it, I can come up with more reasons. This is very important to me.