This is a collection of short essays about various aspects of immigrating to Israel as an English-speaker. It's really very well done. Beyond the obvious audience of people planning or considering "making aliyah" — "going up" or moving to Israel — these stories at best have a lot of wisdom and thoughtful reflection in them about life in general: "the journey, not the destination." Of Israel, one essay says, "we are a work in progress." Isn't everything, and every place, in some sense? Several of the essays mention the idea that if the immigrants don't completely fit in as Israelis, or their Hebrew isn't perfect, their children will surpass them. This idea of hoping your children achieve what you have not, or exceed your own accomplishments, is also something that is certainly not limited to immigrants to Israel.
My favorite essay of the many excellent ones was by Dov Lipman, an immigrant who became a member of Israel's parliament. He writes, "We are all blessed to live in the best of times, in which nothing is impossible, and the land of Israel is ours and available for all Jews to settle raise their families, and contribute to its future and the future of the Jewish people." Perhaps some things are indeed impossible. But Lipman's phrase nicely captures the sense of boundless possibility that has inspired so many brave immigrants to begin new lives in Israel and for that matter in America, too.
About the author
Akiva Gersh first visited Israel in 1998 at the age of 22. Within days, he knew that he wanted to make Israel his future home; a dream he fulfilled when he made aliyah with his wife Tamar in 2004. Since 2007, he has been teaching Jewish History and Modern Israel at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, where he guides visiting high school students through the story of the Jewish people, mainly through tiyulim (excursions) to historical, cultural, religious, and ecological sites around the country. He is also a contributing blogger at the Times of Israel as well as a musician. In 2010, Akiva created Holy Land Spirit, an uplifting and spiritual musical experience for Christian groups visiting Israel that fosters interfaith celebration, understanding, and dialogue. Akiva holds a BA in Religious Studies from Brown University and an MA in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University. He and his wife live in Pardes Hanna with their four children.
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