Almost Eden

During our pilot trip we received, from an acquaintance who later became a friend (thanks Ron!), what I now know was/is the best piece of Aliyah advice: Don't expect Israel to be like the USA. Like most things in life, your experience here will be l… more »

Our friends over at the Shipping & Living in Israel blog have just offered the best advice for new or prospective olim I've heard in a long time! Recommended reading: Quite Possibly My Most Important Post. more »

There are lots of wonderful and inspiring blogs filling the blogosphere these days. So many that I often have difficulty finding time to read the ones I have subscribed to. After putting in an intense day of work yesterday I'm indulging this morning by… more »

BS"D 4 Be’Mar Cheshvan 5770 Dear Friends Today I received the following missive from a well-meaning acquaintance that expresses the feelings of other people who have written to me. He writes: "As much as I enjoy your drashot, I am wondering if y… more »

Since posting about yesterday's Nefesh B'Nefesh Aliyah flight, I've had the opportunity to correspond with dozens of people in the US who want to make Aliyah but feel they can't for various reasons. So I decided to consolidate my responses here in order… more »

My friend and fellow blogger, Sherri (Leah) Henkin. Sherri, who blogs at Growing the Write Way, is one of my heros! Despite a stream of overwhelmingly difficult life situations - the latest being a long period of unemployment - Sherri remains upbeat an… more »

The Nefesh B'Nefesh e-mail list has been hopping lately with prospective olim asking questions about whether or not it makes sense to ship their appliances, electronics and/or furniture to Israel on their lift or container. And others have written to me… more »

While moving files from the hard drive of my broken computer to this one, I came across this document I wrote seven months before making Aliyah (I remember jotting down notes throughout the day to capture it accurately). So I'm now sharing with you one… more »

It breaks my heart to read news stories like this one when situations like this are completely preventable with a little help from people like all of you who haven't come home yet. Ehud Barak - one of the most despicable politicians in Israeli history… more »

Then watch this video. Having lived here for 8 months, I can tell you that it paints a very real picture of the life waiting for you in the Holy Land. Watch it on YouTube more »