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| North America: 1-866-4-ALIYAH • United Kingdom: 0800-075-7200 • Israel: 02-659-5800 |
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Nefesh B'Nefesh - Community Guide
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Homecoming
By MICHAEL C. DUKE
Three Houston families to make August aliyah
This month, three Houston families will be swapping one Lone Star State for the other Lone Star State.
All
three families – the Friedmans, Landwebers and Levises – are making
aliyah (immigration to Israel) with assistance from Nefesh B’Nefesh.
And, all three families described the move as a special “homecoming”
and the realization of a years-long dream.
Making aliyah is a
mitzvah (a Jewish obligation). Nefesh B’Nefesh, founded in 2002, has
revitalized western aliyah, bringing 15,000 olim (new immigrants) from
the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Though global aliyah
has been declining over the past decade, North American and British
aliyah have increased, thanks to Nefesh B’Nefesh. By minimizing the
logistical, financial, professional and social obstacles that olim
face, Nefesh B’Nefesh helps ensure their successful absorption in
Israel; in turn, the olim help ensure the future of the Jewish state.
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| Eitan and Chana Friedman will be setting up their new Israeli home with children, Leeba and Esther. |
By
summer’s end, Nefesh B’Nefesh will have helped 2,000 olim resettle in
Israel this year, including Houstonians Eitan and Chana Friedman. The
Friedmans left Houston for New York on July 30. They are scheduled to
arrive in Israel on Aug. 13. Like most olim assisted by Nefesh
B’Nefesh, the Friedmans initially will be living in Ramat Beit Shemesh,
an Israeli community located in the Jerusalem district with a sizable
North American and British population.
The Friedmans have two
daughters, Leeba, 6, and Esther, 2½. Upon arrival in Israel, the family
will participate in an ulpan, an Israeli immersion program that
includes intensive Hebrew language courses.
“We’ve wanted to
make aliyah for a long time,” Eitan explained, prior to leaving
Houston. “My parents actually lived in Israel shortly after they were
married, but then moved to Houston. However, their hearts never left
Israel, and we grew up always knowing that Israel is our home.”
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| Yocheved and Naftali Landweber are looking forward to a tightknit Israeli community for their children, Daniella and James. |
For
the Friedmans, making aliyah means homecoming. “For us, it’s going
home, going to where Jews belong. Making aliyah is doing what a Jew is
supposed to do; that is, living in the land that G-d promised us,”
Eitan remarked.
The Friedmans will be joined on the same flight
to Israel by the Landwebers. Also a family of four – parents, Naftali
and Yocheved, and son James, 18, and daughter Daniella, 7 – the
Landwebers, too, will be living in Ramat Beit Shemesh and participating
in an ulpan.
The Landwebers, like the Friedmans, have been
yearning to live in Israel. “But our daughter, Dani, is the most
important reason,” Naftali explained. “We want her to grow up in a
place where Jews can be Jews. We really like the way children grow up
in Israel, where the communities are very tightknit and built around
the family structure.”
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| Michael
and Rivkah Levis are fulfilling the promise they made to themselves to
make aliyah with their children, Atarah Sarit, Refael and Chanah Sarah. |
With
several visits to Israel over the past decade, the Landwebers gained a
greater understanding of what it means to be a Jew living in Israel
today. “For us, making aliyah ensures the future of the Jewish people
in their historic homeland,” Naftali said.
The Levises will be
making aliyah on a later Nefesh B’Nefesh flight, on Aug. 18. Like the
other Houston families, the Levis’ move to Israel is motivated by their
desire to fulfill the aliyah mitzvah. Their move to Israel is also a
promise fulfilled – not just by G-d to the Jewish people, but also
between husband and wife.
Michael Levis proposed to future wife,
Rivkah, at the Kotel (Western Wall in Jerusalem) during the Jewish
Federation of Greater Houston’s Connections 2001 Mission to Israel.
Upon their engagement, the two promised each other to make aliyah
before their first child turned 6. They fulfilled that promise – and
just in time. Eldest daughter, Chanah Sarah, celebrates her 6th
birthday on Sept. 4. The Levises also have two younger children, son
Refael, who’s nearly 3, and daughter, Atarah Sarit, 11 months.
For
the Levises, who also will be living in Ramat Beit Shemesh, making
aliyah is a profound family and historical moment. “Aliyah means we’re
going home,” Michael commented. “In 486 B.C.E., and again in 70 C.E.,
the Jewish people were dispersed all over the world. If not for those
events, we’d all be in Israel today. So, for us, it’s a homecoming –
we’re returning to the place where we are from, Eretz Yisrael, where it
all started for Jews.”
The Levises noted that they are grateful
for the assistance they have received in making the transition from
Texas to Israel. “Nefesh B’Nefesh is an amazing organization. They help
you every step of the way, and provide you with a book that helps new
olim move to Israel, beginning with the planning stages one year from
the date of aliyah. For many families, making aliyah can be a culture
shock starting out, so Nefesh B’Nefesh helps soften the landing,”
Michael pointed out.
For all three Houston families moving to
Israel this August, the greatest challenge is saying goodbye to a
Houston community they dearly love and will miss. However, the Levises,
Landwebers and Friedmans each noted that they greatly look forward to
seeing their Houston families and friends in Israel soon.
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