Ilana made Aliyah in August of 2011 on a NBN group flight. Ilana and her husband Yisroel, an attorney, came with their three children, who were 5, 3 and 5 months old and settled in Ramat Beit Shemesh.

She had always had a strong love for the land of Israel, as it was a value passed down to her from her Holocaust survivor grandparents, extended family, New York Jewish day school and Bnei Akiva summer programs.

She didn’t know if the dream of Aliyah would ever come to fruition, but after living in New York and then Chicago Ilana and her husband Yisroel recognized that the U.S just wasn’t providing the strong Jewish identity and experience that they craved for themselves and their children.

It was time to go home!

Ilana came to Israel with a Master’s in Social Work and took the first year after the move to get the family settled. She started working part-time at Kol Hadassa – an alternative girls high school in Beit Shemesh – as the school social worker and also opened up a private therapy practice.

A Typical Day in the Life

7:00- 7:45 Wake up and make sure kids are awake and/or have not made a huge mess with the breakfast items. Deal with general morning craziness – find matching socks. Locate backpacks, sign notes, brush hair, call out instructions for the day.

7:45 Send my two boys off to school on their ride and walk my daughter to her kindergarten across the street.

8:00-9:15 Coffee, Shower, Emails, leave to go walk to work.

9:30-2:00 Counsel students, have staff meetings, deal with teen crises, conduct student workshops, advise parents, speak with various offices and the welfare services.

2:00- 3:30 Pick up dry-cleaning, purchase a couple bags of milk and bread (we are always running out of those items) deposit checks at bank, walk home.

3:30-4:15 Kids arrive home from respective schools/ganim. Require snacks and drinks and hugs and kisses promptly.

4:30-7:00 Hang out with my kids and manage to run a couple loads of laundry, put a dinner together, walk to the local library for new books, assist with 1st grade Math homework and 3rd grade English, ooh and ahh over my four year old’s drawings, feed the kids, break up an argument, try to get everyone cleaned and teeth brushed, pick out clothing for the next day, read books with each child, rub backs, snuggle, sing Shema and Hamalach Hagoel and pray that they all stay in bed after I leave the room.

7:00-8:00 Tidy up house and look forward to seeing my husband after a long day

8:00-11:00 Have dinner with Yisroel, talk to family in the States, read, try to stay awake long enough to watch an episode of Law & Order or Elementary

11:00 – Fall into bed and try to get a good night’s sleep so I can start the mommying/working/household running program all over again the next day.