Oleh Spotlight - Nefesh B'Nefesh

From Summer Camp to Boot Camp

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:49:34 +0000

For Melissa Goldman, Daniel Warshawsky and Joshua Seed, making Aliyah and joining the Israel Defense Forces as lone soldiers was not a spur of the moment decision, but the result of a culmination of years of experience from school, camp, youth group, synagogue and family. The three grew up extremely active in the Conservative movement, [...]

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Starting With Seminary

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:47:38 +0000

For many post-secondary students, a year in seminary or Yeshiva provides the confidence, knowledge, skills, and growth to start their adult lives on their own. This “year in Israel” is designed to strengthen one’s Jewish identity, focus on Jewish studies, and experience Israel. While some end up staying in Israel after spending a year [...]

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Tzfat: A Love Story

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:47:09 +0000

It wasn’t long before living in the same building in Tzfat that everything fell into place for Sharon Rappaport (NBN 2015) and Ephraim Lewis (NBN 2014). They had heard of one another from friends who insisted they meet, they had been shown pictures of one another, and that is where this love story begins. Tzfat [...]

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David and Susan: A Love Story 51 Years in the Making

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:46:18 +0000

We met David Craft and his new wife Susan Weinstein Craft, during a May 2016 Guided Aliyah day, where David became "Officially Israeli" and made Aliyah. David and Susan originally met as teenagers and reconnected as adults, sharing their love for Judaism, Israel and each other. They are married, and happily enjoying their new lives together [...]

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Uri Kelman: Family Back Together Again

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:44:57 +0000

There is no denying that his parents felt strongly about Israel - he and his brother were given only Hebrew names, his father lived on a Kibbutz for two years picking oranges for soldiers, just because he believed strongly in supporting the State. Uri Kelman was raised in a Zionist home. The Zionist dream was [...]

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It Only Gets Better…

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:42:14 +0000

Two weeks before my flight I panicked, but I wouldn’t dare tell anyone that I had thoughts of backing out. Somehow I got over the fear, or was too chicken to admit to my friends and family that I was thinking of staying, and I got on the plane to Israel.

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Olah Spotlight: Rachel Yeger

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:42:02 +0000

Growing up in an American Ultra Orthodox community, Rachel Yeger never could have dreamed of the life she is living in Israel.

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Melinda and Chelsea: The Inspiring Story of Aliyah Across the Ages

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:38:42 +0000

When Melinda (Malka) Kieffer first traveled to Israel in 1969, she was elated by what she found. “I remember being so impressed that the garbage collectors were wearing kippot and that there was Hebrew on the mailboxes,” said Melinda. “It resonated with me that every single aspect of the country had something Jewish about it.” [...]

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An Aliyah High Five

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:37:58 +0000

Jessica Levine Kupferberg We were sitting at a sushi bar in Jerusalem this week on a beautiful, breezy night. We were celebrating. Our 11-year-old pipsqueak of a daughter, our middle child, had just competed in her first “Battle of the Crews” (an all-girls, shabbat-friendly hip hop competition that proves definitively that little Jewish [...]

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AEPi Brothers Create a Campus Community in Israel

Baruch Mackler — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:37:34 +0000

At 18, Jacob Ryan left his community in Rochester, New York to pursue his dream of studying counterrorism at IDC Herzliya. Having grown up in a Zionist home, Jacob had traveled to Israel in the past. But he knew that it would take time to acclimate to living in Israel. “I came here knowing nobody, [...]

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