The Hesslers, from left, Teresa, Yisrael and Michael will settle in Ma’aleh Adumin.

Six Cleveland families are making aliyah this year

Five Fuchs Mizrachi families and one Hebrew Academy family will join the 3,980 Jews worldwide who have made aliyah since the beginning of this year. They will be part of the staggering 3,031,699 olim (newcomers) who have made Israel their home since 1948.

The CJN asked some of our future olim to share their reasons for leaving Cleveland’s Jewish community for one in the Promised Land.

Commanded to live in the holy land

“Israel is the holy land, and we are commanded by God to live in the holy land,” says Fuchs Mizrachi parent Teresa Hessler, who along with her husband Michael and their 7-year-old son Yisrael will be following that commandment. As soon as Nefesh B’Nefesh (an aliyah support agency) confirms their July flight date, they will leave Cleveland to settle in Ma’aleh Adumin, a town five miles east of Jerusalem.

Anita, left, Yafa and Zvi Feigenbaum will join many of their relatives in Israel.

Michael, a data base administrator and chemical engineer who is originally from St. Louis, and Teresa, a writer and native New Yorker, are eager to call Israel home n although neither one of them will be guaranteed a job when they arrive.

“When we visited Israel in January, we were told that Israeli companies don’t like to hire Americans until we are actually living there,” says Teresa. “They said to call when we land. But I have been told there is lots of work for English writers in the technical arena there.”

The Hesslers, who are both Jews-by-choice and are members of Young Israel of Greater Cleveland, Torat Tzion Kollel, and the Orthodox Union, say they have been working toward this goal for years. Yet, the couple is constantly reassuring both sets of parents about their decision.

“Our relatives are worried about our safety because of misinformation from mainstream media,” says Teresa. “We share photos and videos of our January trip to Israel to show them that it is a civilized and modern country. We also send them photos and articles from friends and honest news services regarding the truth about what is happening in Israel.”

What will the Hesslers miss the most from the States? “Our family, friends and our Honda Element,” says Teresa. “But we have made lots of new friends online through various Yahoo and Nefesh B’Nefesh e-mail lists. And Michael and I plan to attend ulpan (Hebrew language classes) as soon as we get settled. Right now Yisrael’s Hebrew skills (he is a Fuchs Mizrachi student) are better than his mom’s and dad’s.”

In July the Goldman family, from left, Dr. Benjamin, Tehilah, Noam, Vicky and Rahel will make their home in Efrat.

A prescription for aliyah

Hebrew Academy parents Vicky and Dr. Benjamin Goldman knew that making aliyah was not a question of if, but of when.

Now the Goldmans and three of their five children will arrive in their new home in Efrat in July. And their two oldest children will join them after they finish their high-school studies.

“Both Vicky’s and my immediate families made aliyah years ago, and we are eager to join them,” says Benjamin. “We have been separated for too long. Imagine what it costs for a family of seven to fly to Israel to see relatives.”

An internist, Goldman was waiting for the right professional climate in Israel before he left this country. “For years Nefesh B’Nefesh discouraged American doctors from coming to Israel because they had trained enough of their own,” says Goldman. “But I have heard through the grapevine that the situation is changing. I’m hopeful after I apply for my medical license in Israel, I will eventually secure employment as a physician there.”

Goldman plans to commute from his Israeli home half of the year to a medical facility in North Carolina to earn a living. “This is far from ideal, but this is the way it has to be until I have a permanent position in Israel,” he says.

Raised in a Zionist Orthodox home in Brooklyn and as an alumnus of the Zionist Flatbush Yeshiva as well as a graduate of the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, Goldman is ready to settle his family in Israel.

“My mother is not well, and now I will be able to spend time with her,” he says. Vicky, who is from São Paulo, Brazil, hopes to join a few friends and open up a Brazilian catering service in Israel.

Want to do their part

Fuchs Mizrachi parents Anita and Zvi Feigenbaum are looking forward to making aliyah n again. Their first attempt was in 1987. “That was the year of the first intifada and when the national healthcare system fell apart,” says Anita. “We could have handled the intifada, but we needed reliable healthcare.”

This time around will be different. The Feigenbaums, who are bringing their 16-year-old daughter with them, have built a home in Ma’aleh Adumim and are eager to begin their Israeli lives there. Their 19-year-old Ohio University son will join them next year.

Zvi, a nursing home administrator, anticipates finding a similar job in Israel. Anita is open to “anything,” she says.

The family will join their many relatives in Israel. “I’m looking forward to being an active participant in Israeli society and doing my part,” says Anita.

“Our dysfunctional shtetl”

“I could win the biggest procrastinator award,” says retired attorney David Gleicher. “I’ve been planning to move to Israel for 40 years.”

On August 18, Gleicher will procrastinate no longer. He will finally move to Baka, Jerusalem, with his wife Jill, a retired doctor, and her son, Fuchs Mizrachi student Roni Bernstein.

“Several years ago, Jill and I visited Israel and decided to buy an apartment there to use as a vacation home,” says Gleicher. “Suddenly we looked at each other and said, ‘Why use it just for a few months a year; why not live here the rest of our lives?’”

The Gleichers’ decision to move from Beachwood to Israel was a realistic one.

“When you move to Israel in your 50s and have been following Israel for the past 40 years or so, you go without starry-eyed optimism,” Gleicher explains. “Jill and I are fully aware of Israel’s problems. Israel may be a dysfunctional shtetl, but it is our dysfunctional shtetl.”

As eager as Gleicher is to make aliyah, he will miss a lot about America. “I truly believe the United States is the greatest country in the history of the world, and only the pull of Israel could make me leave here,” says the native New Yorker. “I’m not running away from a country; I am running to the Jewish homeland.”

The Gleichers plan to take a two-year course on becoming English-language tour guides. “This would be an ideal way for us to learn so much about our new home and to share our knowledge with English-speaking tourists,” explains Gleicher.

Neighbors make aliyah together

What will Dr. Matthew Morris miss the most when he and his family leave for Efrat in July? “My grandmother Phyllis Bookatz,” he says. “She took me on my first trip to Israel when I was 10 and gave me my first taste of Zionism.”

Morris, his wife Tiffany, and their four children, ages 10, 8, 6 and 4, credit their decision to move to being part of the Fuchs Mizrachi family. “My wife and I did not come from Orthodox backgrounds,” says Morris. “But over the years we have learned so much about Zionism from our children’s school and our neighbors, Fuchs teachers Rabbi Adi and Bracha Krohn, that we can’t wait to board an El-Al flight and get settled in our new home.”

The Morrises’ connection to the Krohns is so strong that they are both making aliyah together and have already bought houses very close to each other in Efrat. “We also have connected with a number of other Fuchs families who have made aliyah, so we will have an instant community and support group when we arrive.”

Like other American doctors who have made aliyah, Morris plans to commute to the United States ten days every month to earn a salary. “Right now I am grateful to Hashem for bringing me and my family to this point,” he says. “I’m not worried about the future. I’m confident if we do what is right, things will work out for us.”

Fulfilling the Zionist mission

When the Krohns and their three children, 9, 5 and 3, leave for Efrat on July 9, they will “realize the religious Zionist vision of ‘People of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the Land of Israel,’” explains Bracha.

“This is the best time for our family to make aliyah and we are all so excited,” she enthuses. “My sister is already there, and my brother will soon follow. Our parents are extremely supportive and proud but sad we will be so far away.”

The Boston natives and popular Fuchs Mizrachi educators agree they will miss the warmth of Cleveland’s Jewish community and the friendships they have made during their seven years here.

“Our work environment at Fuchs has been a dream, and Adi has enjoyed being assistant rabbi of the Beachwood Kehilla,” says Bracha. They hope to come back every summer and continue to work at Camp Stone “so we can maintain our close ties to the Cleveland community.”

Both Krohns have jobs in yeshivot and seminaries in Israel. “We’re going to make our contributions to the Holy Land through education,” says Bracha. “We are privileged to have the freedom to make aliyah.”