My time at New York University did not affect my decision to make aliyah; I was rock solid on that decision before I began orientation. However, my decision to make aliyah did affect my time at New York University. Though I moved to Israel after completing my university degree, my motivation to move was strengthened through my time

I was within earshot when some of our sons were carrying on a conversation. Usually the boys talk Torah, family or making shidduchim, but this earnest conversation was not about any of these important topics. They were discussing which pistol is best to purchase. Growing up in small town Pennsylvania did not prepare me for

Rivka Namir speaks at the OU Israel Center about how she has grown from her personal tragedy after being evacuated from her home in Gush Katif. Recorded at OU Israel’s L’Ayla Rosh Chodesh Women’s Event

Nissim was a brilliant kid. Or at least that was what everyone was telling me in the week leading up to our appointment. By now I’d heard from his mother, his father, and his Rosh Yeshivah. Apparently he was also loving, kind, peaceful, and a great learner. His younger brother Sasson–who I’d helped out a

I felt as if I had entered Gan Eden—rich blue skies; lush vegetation; majestic palm trees and a large, clean pond thrown in for good measure. I had not known that such a place existed in Eretz Yisrael! My first date with Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip was in the fall of 1983 when

Panic-stricken, I search for my child. Someone has taken my precious child. I try to scream, but no sound comes out. My entire world crumbles. With a pounding heart and gasps expressing terror, I awaken in my bed. Boruch HaShem, it was only a dream. But what a nightmare! The families of the three Israeli

I awaken early in the morning and look out through the glass door in our bedroom which leads to our upstairs porch. The coolness of the Gush Etzion spring night still lingers. I view the mountaintops across from me and the first orange-yellow rays of the sun climbing over them. My gaze focuses on a

This summer more than 1,550 young adults (the largest amount ever) from diverse backgrounds and communities will experience Israel through Israel Free Spirit, an official Birthright Israel trip provider. Before the trip, many participants have never had the opportunity to genuinely connect to their Jewish identity. The climax of every Israel Free Spirit Birthright trip is highlighted

Yoram had initially come to see me for “help with focusing.” “Maybe I have ADHD?” he asked. But nothing about his case suggested this was the case. Here was a talented computer programmer and business man, a dedicated family man, and a spiritual individual who had zero trouble focusing when he wasn’t too tired to

Bracha Slae made aliyah with her husband in 1966 to Beer Sheva, then a border town, a year before the Six Day War. She shares her experience as a new olah in the time leading up to, during, and in the aftermath of the war. Recorded at OU Israel’s L’Ayla Rosh Chodesh Women’s Event