I wandered among the olim. Here was a recent college grad with a BS in mechanical engineering. We chat about how Israel is a great place to go for a career in technology, and how the Israeli economy is supposed to be holding up far better than the American one. It’s a good time to move. He doesn’t have a job or a place to stay yet, but he’s got a truckload of family friends, and he figures if he spends two weeks at each one, he’s set for half a year. And Nefesh B’Nefesh helped him make contacts in the field, so he’s confident he’ll land a job soon.

Here is an 18-year-old high school grad. She’s making aliya and doing her sheirut leumi. She’s not the first in her family – she’s got three sisters there already. Here’s a 19-year-old, just back from seminary. She’s going to major in English Lit at Bar Ilan University. She has a sister in Israel. Her parents have a feeling her younger brother will follow, and so will they, eventually.

Here is a middle-aged couple as excited as little kids. “This is a dream we’ve always had,” the husband enthuses. “But then we started paying yeshiva tuition.” But now with two daughters who made aliya last year, they’re taking the plunge. “My wife is working at her firm’s Israel office, and I’ve got some options in the works,” he says.

Here is a teacher, formerly living in Puerto Rico. Here is a woman from Massechussetts with her two dogs. Here is a young woman making aliya to join her Israeli husband. Here are a pair of chareidi grandparents, making the move to be near their grandchildren. Here are some guy following their parents now that they’ve finished college.

“It’s a matter of making up your mind to be part of Jewish history,” declare a man.

“And what’s your story?” I get asked. “I’m not an oleh,” I confess, feeling guilty. “I’m just publicity.”

“Why not?” comes the rejoinder.

I ask everyone, “So what did Nefesh B’Nefesh do for you, aside from this flight?” I get a blank look in response. “Everything,” they say, not knowing where to start.

I get a taste of what “everything” is when I get a folder containing the materials given to a new oleh. Included is a fold-out wall poster of the 14 things to do upon arrival in Israel, in order and numbered. Number 1 starts in Ben Gurion. Number 3 is for getting your ID card. The poster notes that you should wait four days after touchdown for your information to be processed in the system, and then show up with all the documents listed. It also lists what you should have when you leave, who to call with further questions, and how to find the nearest branch of the Misrad Hapnim.

A fridge magnet in the packet lists important numbers (police, fire department, electricity, telephone) as well as conversions for temperature, distance, weight, and volume.

They make it very difficult to find the process overwhelming.

Off to the goodbye ceremony! More later.