Julia Makes Aliya

Noticing the Magic

For a long time, I’ve developed a practice of stopping and noticing the beauty around me. It’s something I’ve tried to weave into my everyday life—a practice that grounds me, a way to take a breath and recognize the small victories, the little moments that remind me that even when life gets insane, there’s magic all around. I used to have this nightly ritual where I’d reflect on what I was grateful for, the good moments, the things I looked forward to, and something I’d accomplished. It was my way of reminding myself that there’s always something good, even on the busiest or most challenging days. Now, I still try to take a moment, even (especially) when things get overwhelming, to say out loud how lucky I am and how great my life is.

Part of noticing the beauty is putting it into words—whether I’m saying it out loud or writing it down. When I name something, when I speak it into existence, it becomes real and part of my story. And I want my story to be one of noticing, appreciating, and celebrating the breathtaking, everyday magic of being alive.

We’re often told from a young age that celebrating our own victories is bragging, but I’ve come to realize that it’s not. It’s a radical act of self-awareness. When we fail to acknowledge the beauty in our lives, we do ourselves a huge disservice. This isn’t just about the good moments—it’s about being strong enough to appreciate the beauty especially when things are difficult. And right now, as the Jewish people are enduring pain, loss, and confusion with the war, the hostages, and tumult within us, it’s harder than ever to hold onto that beauty. It’s not about ignoring the suffering. The pain is real, and it’s heartbreaking. But even in the darkest moments, I choose to zoom in on my bubble of beauty. Zoom in, zoom in, zoom in. I force myself to focus on the small victories and joys in my life because, when everything else feels overwhelming, it’s these moments that keep me grounded.

The decision to move to Israel has been one of (if not the most) fulfilling and life-changing decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve come to realize that one of the greatest gifts of making aliyah has been the ability to create a life that is fully mine—one where I can live authentically and make choices that align with who I am. That kind of freedom—the freedom to make decisions that are fully mine, with no one else’s expectations weighing me down—has been rare and precious. There’s something deeply fulfilling in knowing that I followed my own inner wisdom and trusted the Universe to hold me. That is an enormous blessing.

Today, I’m overflowing with gratitude for so many things in my life:

Living in the south, which even in just a few months has really become home. It’s everything we hoped it would be and more. It’s truly like living at camp, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be able to raise Nevo here.

Nevo, who seriously is the best baby in the world. His smile is wow, his warmth is contagious, and he fills me with so much joy. I’m in awe of how much good he brings to the world and how lucky I am that his soul chose us.

Gabe, who is truly the best partner I could ever ask for. He’s kind, smart, adventurous, funny, generous, and endlessly supportive. He inspires me to be my best self, and there’s no one else I’d rather have by my side, building this life together.

My friends, who are the most incredible, supportive, and inspiring people. I’m lucky to have friends who truly see me, understand me, and push me to grow.

My family, who are always just a phone call away. No matter what, they’re there for me with love and support. They’re always happy to accompany me on my ride home from work and share in all my joy with me.

The beauty of living in Israel—how utterly alive this country is.

I’m so grateful for the privilege of being able to put my thoughts into words and have a platform where I can share my ideas with others. Finding meaning has always been what truly heals, and I’m praying that our world can find peace soon. For now I’m starting with my bubble.

10 Years in Israel

Ten years ago today, Wednesday (Sept 11, 2014), I stepped off a plane at Ben Gurion Airport. Weirdly enough, despite earlier attempts to visit Israel, this was my first time setting foot in the land. And yet, it didn’t feel foreign at all. I felt like I already knew this place, like I was simply reuniting with a place that had been waiting for me my whole life.

Those first nine months were a whirlwind. I was a wandering Jew, my legs taking me to places I’d never imagined, engaging in deep, sometimes complicated relationships—with the land, with people from all over the world, and most importantly, with myself. I found a new kind of freedom, a space where I could truly be who I wanted to be, connect with the best version of myself. I didn’t have to be “Jewish first and Julia second.” Here, I could just be Julia.

There’s an exhaustion that comes from being a minority, but in Israel, I discovered a sense of peace I didn’t even know I was missing. It gave me the space to explore parts of myself I’d never touched before, and I began to imagine what my life could look like if I stayed. I talked to everyone I could find who had made aliyah at different stages of their lives, soaking in every perspective. And then, I decided: it was now or never. I had blue and white running through my veins, and I didn’t want to lose that momentum. So, I emailed the university I was supposed to attend and told them I wouldn’t be coming. Instead, I reached out to the Ulpan at Ma’agan Michael and Garin Tzabar and made my plans a reality.

I returned to the U.S. for a few months to pack for the rest of my life, then came back to Israel to live on one of the most beautiful kibbutzim. I worked in a plastic factory, assembling little pieces, and met Jews from all over the world who had come to Israel for so many different reasons. That experience opened my eyes to the variety of paths that lead people to make aliyah, deepening my understanding of the Jewish people and the world.

At the end of 2015, I moved to Kibbutz Hanita, where I spent nearly two incredibly formative years. I was adopted by an amazing family (Galia and Lior Ben Harush) who took me in and supported me in ways I didn’t even know I needed. I hope to be that for someone else one day. The openness and warmth I found there shaped my understanding of family and what strangers can become.

My garin became like a family—more than friends, more like a group of cousins. Nowadays, we don’t always see each other, but we’re always there for each other during life events—weddings, brits, celebrations—showing up with all the love. Hanita is forever frozen in my mind as the most peaceful place in this country. I can close my eyes and feel the breeze, see the view down the mountain all the way to the Mediterranean, the trees waving hello, the peaceful quiet from the lookout.

From Hanita, I joined the army and pushed myself in ways I never imagined. I cried a lot and was challenged daily, but I felt free enough to cry and safe enough to push myself, and for that, I am forever grateful. I never lost sight of my “why,” and I’m so glad I went through that experience.

During my service, I met the best person in the world—Gabriel Jacobson. From the very beginning, I knew he was my person. He is the most responsible, giving, welcoming, fun, determined, and good-hearted person I know. He pushes me to be my best self every day, and he’s the best dad. I have to pinch myself when I think about the life we’ve built together, I feel so beyond lucky.

After the army, I worked at Hummus Eliyahu—a truly Israeli experience—before moving to Hod HaSharon to work at HSI. It was some of the most meaningful work I’ve ever done. I felt so honored to have the chance to influence the future of the Jewish people. I will never forget my chanichim, the way they challenged me, inspired me, and gave me space to grow and learn just by letting me into their lives. Being a madricha at Muss was one of the best experiences of my life.

Then, I flew to meet Gabe in Asia, backpacking across a continent I knew almost nothing about, with my best friend by my side. It was an adventure I never could have imagined for myself. I felt this constant joy in being Israeli, in being part of the Jewish people, especially while abroad. The trip was life-changing and shaped me in so many ways. Meeting Jeannie for a month in Thailand was incredible—something I wish everyone could experience with their sibling. We had the best time, period.

Returning to Israel and moving to Jerusalem was another chapter of growth. I discovered a flavor of Judaism that spoke to my soul, found adults who genuinely cared to take their spirituality into their own hands, and realized that I, too, could find my own ways to connect with my Judaism. Israel allows for the grey areas—you just have to know where to look. That realization continued to shape my Jewish and personal identity.

During Covid in the summer of 2020, I found myself at Zeirei Kayitz, where we spent six weeks sweating in the Israeli heat, loving every minute, and being challenged in the warmest learning environment. I wrote about and discussed who I wanted to be and envisioned what my life could look like. How lucky am I to have had so many experiences in these past 10 years that have allowed me to open up every part of my soul?

Then Gabe and I got engaged, and we planned our wedding. And then, we got married! Twice! Once on a magical night overlooking the Jerusalem hills, surrounded by our beyond incredible community in Israel, and an additional reception block party in Chicago, dancing in the street with family and friends who have been cheering for us from day one. Those were two of the most joyous, love-filled days of my life.

We moved to Rehovot, where I co-founded the Egalitarian Minyan with Rachel, a space that allowed me to lead, to question, and to build a community I truly believed in. I also started my degree in Tourism Management. There were days I didn’t think I’d make it to the end, but somehow, here I am, just a few days away from finishing my degree.

And then, maybe the most incredible experience of all—Gabe and I decided we wanted to become parents and bring a new soul into this world. We moved to Jerusalem for a year, searching for our next step. Then, October 7th happened. Gabe was called away for four months of miluim, and I found myself navigating this uncertain time without him. It was scary, lonely, and forced me to dig deep to find strength I didn’t know I had. But it also made me fall in love with Israel all over again. I realized the true miracle of this place—every day, people choose to be here, to build, to defend, and to dream.

The war reminded us how short life is and how much we need to live our dreams now. So after lots of research, we decided to make the move to Retamim, a small yishuv in the Negev. We have the best neighbors, live in a place that feels like summer camp, and are blessed with the most breathtaking sunsets. In March, our son, Nevo Michael, was born. He is everything we ever hoped for and so much more. I feel so lucky to be his mom and to share this journey with Gabe.

As Israel and the Jewish people endure so much pain, I truly feel what a privilege it is to be here, helping to write this chapter of our nation’s story. Even when it feels nearly impossible to envision a brighter future, we absolutely must. We have to find the collective strength to reimagine what a future here can look like and do everything in our power to make peace a reality. This includes doing everything we can to bring our hostages home and striving to create a world where we don’t have to live in constant suffering.

Israel is complex and challenging, but it’s where I feel most alive, most connected and most myself. I love being part of this wild, messy, beautiful story of the Jewish people. Here’s to many more years of deep love, growth, and intentionally living life to its absolute fullest.

The Best Feelings

The reuniting hug with someone I havent seen in so long and have been waiting to see
Tasting warm freshly baked challah
Mastering a song on guitar that I’ve been working on, recording it and playing it back
Texts from chanichim who even after all this time, still really appreciate me
Soothing anti itch cream on a horrible itchy mosquito bite
Getting into a bed with clean sheets
The ocean breeze while watching a beach sunset
Waking up next to someone I care about
Landing in Ben Gurion airport and seeing the sign that says ברוכים הבאים

Happy Thanksgiving

Every night before I go to sleep I write what I’m grateful for so today I thought I’d share-

I’m grateful for forever friends, sunsets, dairy free ben and jerrys, family, my garin, army friends, my host family, my one and only sister, my parents, comfy beds, clean bathrooms, food that nourishes your soul and body, nice weather, hommade challah, experiences that can’t be captured in photographs, difficult questions, museums, snuggles, belly laughs, genuine smiles, art , when the bus comes on time, quality movies, meaningful conversations , funny texts from my mother, voice memos because you can replay them a million times , the beauty of northern Israel, Hebrish (Hebrew and English together), getting into bed with clean sheets , music that makes you feel, friends who become family, phone calls with people I love, freedom , hot showers, bars with good vibes, beautiful views, my strength, deep breaths that fill your entire body, kindness without the expectation of anything in return, kibbutz hanita, stars, how nice my room looks when it’s clean, all the special people I have in my life , feeling loved, pita with zatar from outside the train station in nahariya, smoothies, texts that make you smile, friends that just get me, free food, feeling appreciated, bug spray, pep talks, my job in the army, crying when necessary, alone time, Israel, hugs, flowers , tea, fresh air, PJ’s, good listeners, heart to hearts, A.C., informal education, dairy free frozen yogurt , sushi, toilet paper, campfires, hiking, bonding games, good feedback, sleeping with no pants on, second chances, new beginnings, patience, optimism, sleepovers, self love , long walks, fresh fruits and veggies, sunshine, naps, honesty, butterflies, good hummus, pleasant surprises, the life I’ve chosen for myself, stretching, feeling clean, good news, Oreos because they’re yummy and dairy free, happy memories, meditation, all the love I have in my life, quiet, full moons, laughing so hard you cry, the power of writing , those moments where I remember why I’m here, phone calls because “I just wanted to hear your voice”, happy squeals, the way my feet feel on the beach when the water is splashing them, eye masks, self reflection, the view when you’re driving out of Jerusalem, friends who take you home when you don’t feel good, Shabbat dinners, soldier discounts, yummy leftovers, those mornings where you wake up and feel beautiful, good books , that if you miss the sunset today there’s always another one tomorrow, חמשושים, fuzzy socks , the herzl statue at the entrance of herzliya, that any day can be perfect if you make it, my glasses because I can’t see without them, dark chocolate, being able to pick myself up, happy endings, the poop book in my bathroom, my apartment in herzliya and that I’m freakin living my dream .

Happy thanksgiving!

Pep Talk to Myself

Dear Julia,

You’ve passed more than that year mark in the army (only 9 months left) and that shvizut is really killing you. You’re feeling unmotivated and unsuccessful and you’re just ready for all the bullshit to be over and you can just be left with the good memories and forget about all the stress. I think most people get to this point sometime in their army service and so I’m going to give you a pep talk and a reminder of how you’ve gotten to where you are now.

In September of 2014 you arrived in Israel for your gap year. You had never been here before and you really had no clue what you were about to experience. You had heard gap year stories since you were a kid but until you experienced it yourself, you didn’t really know what was in store. You were signed up for only 5 months but after just 3 months you were absolutely positive that there was no way you could go back to America before the full 9 months of the program were over… You were just too happy and having too much fun. You felt yourself learning and growing in a way that you hadn’t ever before. You were learning about yourself and your strengths and weaknesses. You were learning about the world and you were slowly learning that Israel is far from perfect. You started to fall head over heels in love with a place that made you angry and confused and frustrated and at the same time, passionate and hopeful and excited and truly happy. You got a taste of Tel Aviv and kibbutz life and Jerusalem and traveled as much as you could. Fast forward a few months and your year was coming to an end. You couldn’t imagine leaving this place that you learned to love with your whole being. You couldn’t imagine leaving a place that you felt like you were your best self. You asked yourself questions like “can I make as much of a difference for Israel advocating from America or is this the place I need to be in order to do my part?”. You asked yourself what it means to find meaning in life and you asked yourself what passion is. After many tears and research and long phone calls and difficult conversations you decided that Israel was where you wanted to be and not only did you want to live here permenantly, you also believed in the importance of serving in the army like every single other Israeli in order to fully be immersed into this new country.

After finishing your gap year you went back to America for a few months… just enough time to give everyone you know a high five, do laundry and pack a new suitcase for your ulpan at Kibbutz Maagan Michael.

In July 2015 you flew back to Israel and arrived to the kibbutz. You didn’t know a single person there. It was a gorgeous kibbutz and you had the privilege of going to the beach every night and watching the sunset. You learned Hebrew in ulpan every single day for 4 hours and then worked in the kibbutz’s plastic factory. The plastic factory was boring and the classes were exhausting. There were people in your ulpan from all over the world. Some came to make aliyah and others just for the experience of living in Israel for half a year. You quickly learned that not everyone comes to Israel for the same reason. You learned how to deal with feeling alone. You learned how to ask for help. You called Nefesh B’nefesh and told them you want to make aliyah and you collected your papers and traveled to Jerusalem to get a signature of a lawyer and then to Tel Aviv on November 3rd to receive your teudat zehut. You started a list of every single person you knew in israel that you could call if you needed a place to stay for shabbat or just a peptalk. It consisted of around 10 people. And just like that, you changed from being an American visiting Israel on a visa to a full fledged olah chadasha. You went to the bank and opened a bank account and struggled with your broken Hebrew to explain what you needed there. When you were sick you didn’t call your mom, you went to the doctor and dealt with taking care of yourself like an adult. You went to garin tzabar seminars and were accepted and in end of December 2015 you moved to Kibbutz Hanita to live with a group of 18 people that you had never met before.

In hanita you learned as much about the army as you possibly could without actually being in the army yet. You were terrified that your Hebrew wasn’t good enough and that you would never really be fluent. You went to your tzav rishon and realized early on that nothing in the army would be easy or simple. Those 18 people that you had never met before became your family and you met incredible people who changed your life forever. You cried and laughed and bought way too many pairs of socks and tshirts because that’s what you thought you were going to need for the army. You met your host family in Hanita and they too became your family in israel. Your list of people who you knew in this new country grew from 10 to over 100 people. You watched your best friends draft to the army and you waited until your turn came.

On April 17th you arrived to the lishkat giyus in tveria and your name was called to get on the bus. You were transported to the bakum and were given a uniform and a nice finger prick and an army ID with a horrible photograph because you didn’t understand that she was taking the photograph that would stay with you for your entire 2 years of your army service. You were so overwhelmed that you didn’t even eat the disgusting sandwiches that they gave and when you arrived to Michve Alon around midnight you had no clue what was going on. You were assigned to a tzevet and a mifakedet and they explained to you how to speak to your commander and how to stand in a chet. You laughed when they told you to pick weeds and quickly learned that there’s absolutely zero הגיון in the army. You took a Hebrew test and were assigned to the highest tzevet and had no clue how you got there. You doubted yourself. You raised your hand during classes and were so uncomfortable with speaking Hebrew that you “forgot what you wanted to say” when you were called on. You didn’t sleep or eat very much and you cried… a lot. You cried when you lost your watch one morning and you cried when there wasn’t toilet paper in the bathroom. You cried when you had to close Shabbat (which was only one time in the entire 2 months). You hated your mefakdot with your whole heart. You felt alone and confused and frustrated. You were told that you’d never get to a course and that your job options weren’t so promising. You cried some more. You were a total chutzpanit. You lead meditation for your tzevet when you were assigned to lead an activity and you sat with your mefakedet beforehand to make sure you knew all the words so you’d be able to explain what to do because your limited vocabulary didn’t consist of “inhale” and “exhale”. You came back to Hanita on the weekends to be with friends that really loved you and a host family that gave you hugs and support and yummy food. You went into your katzin miyun and hoped for the best.

In July you started course chinuch to become a mashakit chinuch. This was the exact job you had dreamed of. Your Hebrew wasn’t very strong and you were one of 2 olot chadashot (the other was 23 years old and from Russia) And you barely understood what was going on around you. You sat in lessons from morning until night and tried your best to participate in discussions (and didn’t succeed very well) and you tried to read in Hebrew and take tests and failed every single oje and retook the tests and when they made you have a conversation with the mem mem and mefakedet of the whole course because they didn’t think your Hebrew was strong enough and that you weren’t capable of being a mashakit chinuch you explained with fire in your eyes that you are the most motivated person there and you will do anything in order to finish the course. You cried and didn’t sleep very much and felt like you couldn’t “be Julia” in Hebrew. You felt alone and like the girls didn’t understand you and didn’t really get to know you because you couldn’t fully explain who you were and what you felt and what you really thought. You were so frustrated and overwelmed. You returned to your room at night and didn’t even have energy to speak to anyone because your head hurt too much from hearing/speaking/struggling to understand/reading/writing in Hebrew all day long. You lead activities and discussions and a hike in Hebrew. You did all the same assignments as all the other girls in the course even though it was 700 times harder for you. You worked in your bed with the flashlight on your phone after shatash was already over so that you could finish your work. You didn’t give up. On the last day you went into that katzin miyun and they told you that you’re going back to Michve Alon to be a mashakit chinuch there. You cried. You cried for hours and talked on the phone with your host mom and your garin and your mefakedet from tironut and really really really did not want to go back.

Your parents came to visit Israel and they saw with their own eyes the beauty of Hanita and a glimpse of the new life you were building for yourself here. They went to your final ceremony for your course and didn’t understand a single word and were still the most proud people there. They supported you and your decisions and bragged to everyone they know that their daughter made aliyah and was in the IDF even when people looked at them like they were crazy. Your friends and your sister who always understood you didn’t quite get it anymore because what you were going through was so different than anything they were and they loved you and sent you support and hugs despite that.

You were absolutely sure it was going to be awful to return to Michve Alon and that no one would take you seriously or see you as anything beyond an olah chadash because there are so many of those there. You thought there would be no work and they wouldn’t need you but you still went to base on the day they told you to go with a determind and nervous smile across your face. You had almost no help when you got there and didn’t understand at all what your job was and what you needed to do. You felt like there wasn’t a lot of room for your creativity so what did you do? You tried to create a tafkid that didn’t exist. You planned successful trips. You brought interesting speakers that people loved. You were yelled at and were pushed down and you got back up again. You made stupid mistakes. You thought of brilliant ideas and were told no. You fell and you got up. You felt like you were useless and you found where you could be useful. You were told you are disorganized and your friends made you a journal to help you work on that. You felt like you were losing your motivation and like you wanted to give up. You cried and you fell and you got back up again.

You went back to hanita on the weekends and things weren’t always perfect. You had ups and downs and nothing was simple. Being a lone soldier has it’s wonderful times and it has it’s harder times. Your heart got broken and you fought with your friends and sometimes Hanita didn’t feel like the home it once did.

What makes this all worth it? What makes you get up after the millionth time falling? You’re a fighter, Julia. You’re someone with tons of passion and hope. You chose to see the positives in every single day and you know that the worst days are the ones you have to actively remind yourself of the positives. You’ve made incredible friends in this place. Friends that look at your face and already know how you’re feeling without even having to explain. You’ve met people who have opened their homes and hearts and souls to you. You’ve been blessed with gorgeous views and incredible sunsets. You’ve traveled from north to south felt truly free. You have told people how you feel and what you think even when that scared you. You learned a language from almost nothing. You’ve begun to learn how to navigate an entirely new culture.

Sometimes you lose sight of these accomplishments. Sometimes you forget all the progress you’ve made and sometimes you feel like you aren’t totally sure of yourself like you once felt. Sometimes you really miss your family in a way you didn’t expect you would.

I am wishing you that same energy that you had when entered into that meeting during your course when they tried to kick you out. In your most difficult moment you found your passion and you were able to show it. I hope you remember that your experience of joining the army has given you much more than just what happens during your day to day routine on base. I hope you continue climbing those mountains because even though your sweating and your legs hurt, the view at the top is more than worth it. I hope you continue to make memories that are impossible to capture in photographs. I hope that you challenge yourself and I hope you fail so that you can prove to yourself that even when you’re at your lowest, you are always able to get back up. I hope you continue writing and crying and appreciating the small things. I hope you continue to take risks and that you understand that the whole point of a risk is that it could end up to be great or awful, but the possibility of greatness is worth the possibility of awfulness. I hope you love with your whole heart dispite knowing it could so easily get crushed and broken. I hope you remember the reasons you decided to make aliyah and feel Herzl looking down on you and seeing his pride that people like you made aliyah to this country. I hope you continue to strive to be better and to dream and to hope. I hope you make the choice to take each day as a growing experience and to trust yourself.

I know you have what it takes to survive here and to make the life you want for yourself. You rock and don’t you forget it!!

Love always (from the person who knows you best in the whole world),
Julia

Today One Year Ago

Exactly one year ago I finished my Hebrew course at michve alon. I’ve been through quite the experience in the past year and I can’t exactly explain it in just a few words.

It’s been really hard honestly with lots of ups and downs but I still can say I don’t regret any of it.

I’ve gotten pretty cynical about the army honestly. I’ve seen so many people get completely screwed over and I’m lucky to have fallen into a job that I like and is overall satisfying I think we’re really lying to ourselves when we thing that were going to make this huge difference for Israel and have this crazy meaningful service.
I have moments where I feel like I’m truly making some kind of difference and there are many moments that I dont. There was a period in the past year that I felt completely useless and unneeded.

Everything is a process and sometimes in order to feel meaningful you have to be proud of the small improvements and look for the small successes.

Saying all of this, i really couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else in the army. Every base and every job has it’s good and bad parts and honestly I am lucky to have such supportive and amazing friends with me and also the drive to make the space for myself on base.

I do feel like I’ve accomplished a lot and I still need to work on being more confident and taking things in proportion but I’ve definitely improved from where I was even a year ago.

I think what’s helped me most through the whole experience is reminding myself of what I’ve accomplished and what I’ve gained from the whole experience. Reminding myself of my success and the friends I’ve made and people I’ve met and learned from. Remembering that I will one day look back and won’t remember the stupid things that happened but rather the friendships and the fun times because there are honestly so many.

Also my Hebrew has improved so much in the past year. I’m in total shock that I’ve learned a language from zero. I’ve learned to read and write and speak and express my feelings and thoughts. I was always worried that my Hebrew wouldn’t be strong enough to make real deep relationships but that’s completely not true and I really have created close connections with people and my Hebrew is totally good enough to do that. I still struggle sometimes but it’s incredible how much I’ve improved.

Whenever you have “anniversaries” it’s nice to take a minute to look back and reflect so happy 1 year since finishing michve to me!!!

The Judaean Desert and My Eliyahu HaNavi

Yesterday I went on a tiyul (hiking trip) to Midbar Yehuda (nachal kina). We left early in the morning and drove an hour and a half from Modiin to get there. Waze told is to go through this bedoin village on an off road and we finally found the parking lot and the beginning of the hike. It was still early and not too hot when we started and there was already a gorgeous view the minute we started the hike. The desert is like nothing else. I live up north and my base is up north so I rarely get to go to the south anymore. I almost forgot how peaceful the desert is. We hiked for a little and sat down to have some food. There wasn’t a lot of rain this season in the desert so we got to this pool of water but the water was green and nasty so we couldnt go in. Oh well. We walked through what once was a river and I couldn’t stop thinking that this must be what it feels like to walk on the bottom of the ocean. We hiked and hiked and enjoyed the views and I tried not to trip on too many rocks. We hiked down the mountains and then walked through the river and what goes up must come down (especially if you’re doing a hike that ends up being a circle so you can get back to where you parked your car). I still haven’t decided if up hills or downhills are harder.

We followed the path and came to a part where you have to go up. There were some steep parts so far but this wasn’t just a steep hill… this was a straight up wall. Let me start by saying I don’t rock climb. Every time at camp that we went to rock climbing I cried. I think the combination of heights and the fear of falling really freak me out but hey at this moment I didn’t have a choice. It was either stay in the desert forever or climb up a little wall. I got really nervous and sweaty and just looked up and I really just didn’t see a way this was going to happen. All of a sudden this bedoin guy comes up to us out of nowhere and sees me freaking out a little. He coached me through the whole thing and explained exactly where to put my feet and pull myself up and literally pulled me up so I wouldn’t fall. My friends cheered me on and guess what, I’m not in the desert anymore and I lived to tell the story wooohooo. Apparently there was supposed to be a rope there to help climb up but people stole it. We thanked the nice guy and he disappeared and I’m pretty convinced that he was my Eliyahu (it’s pesach haha see what I did there).

The first time I was in the desert on my gap year, we all layed down in the sand and had a minute of silence. I’ve since done that on many hikes in many different places and not to sound cliché but these moments have been the times that I’ve felt most at peace with the world . There’s something amazing about silence. There’s something so wonderful about the sound of wind and being able to clear your thoughts and just be. I get to enjoy being an insignificant obsever in this massive world.

I’m so lucky to live here and that I can drive with friends for an hour and a half and arrive in another world. I get to spend my pesach traveling this beautiful land and when I feel such peace it’s hard for me to understand how this world can be both so peaceful and have so much conflict at the exact same time. Today I’m sitting on the beach in Haifa and enjoying a different kind of special time with nature. What a happy passover.

Bucket List- Things to do to create my meaningful life

We had a guy named Yuval Abromovitz come to base to give a talk. He is a sort of motivational speaker and explained how to be a “successful person” and how to achieve goals. I haven’t stopped thinking about his presentation since I heard him. He talked about how in order to achieve goals they need to be specific and objective. It’s hard to measure happiness or the idea of success but if you can make attainable goals, it can bring you closer to finding meaning in your life which I think is the ultimate goal.

He said that we train ourselves and our children to keep our dreams to ourself and this does a lot of harm. When we have a birthday we blow out the candles and think of our wish inside our head. When we see a falling star we think of our wish inside our head. We even say if you say your wish outloud, it won’t come true. The way to success is knowing how to ask for help.

I am proud of my life in Israel because I believe that everything I have here (friends, community, money, experiences) is because of me. I believe that I have gotten myself to this point and that no one did it for me. That being said, I know how to ask for help. When I am not able to achieve something on my own I find someone or something to turn to for assistance. For example, I didn’t form my garin on my own but I found Garin Tzabar and decided to do the seminars and join. Even though technically Garin Tzabar helped me, I wouldnt have allowed myself to be helped or been able to seek out help if I didn’t know how to ask.

I have decided to start a list of goals and wishes of things I want to accomplish in my life and I’m not going to keep it just in my head or in my phone for only me to see. I’m going to post it here because who knows, maybe there will be someone who reads this blog and has some way to help me or wants to join me.

speak in front of 200+ people
be in nature by myself for 24 hours
travel to every continent
learn Spanish
get a writing piece published
learn Arabic
go to a multiple day music festival
learn to play guitar
organize a protest
run in a 5k race
watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
particpate in a poetry slam
be a bridesmaid
dance on a bar
join a flashmob
go to a concert and meet the singer/band after
be silent for 24 hours
get (at least one) college degree
meditate in the desert
sleep outside without a tent
not use my cell phone /computer for a week
send an anonymous letter in the mail
buy plane tickets at the airport the same day as the trip
go up the Washington monument
spend $100 on one meal
Eat at a 24 hour diner at 3am
leave a note in a book in a library/ book store
leave an anonymous gift on a friend’s door step
work on an election campaign

Happy passover and I hope that we can all achieve our dreams and goals.

Yuval’s TedTalk (English)

https://youtu.be/xHIu6jNqOGc

“Purpose” Avenue Q

https://youtu.be/zlmn4OHvfPg

P.S. for all of you on my mailing list- I apologize for sending this twice, I accidentally posted the first time and had to edit and publish it again.

This Last Week

All I wanted was for this week to be over already but now that I think about it, it wasn’t such a bad week.

Sunday me and Siboniy went to base together for “take your boyfriend to work day” (stammmm⇓ that was me trying to be funny- he actually came to speak in a panel for soldiers who were in plugat carmel⇓ to speak to the soldiers who are currently in carmel about their jobs in the army now) which was really fun. It made my sunday much less miserable and he stayed until 8pm and had a fun dinner with the girls in my room and we had my dream Michve⇓ date of sitting and looking out at the most beautiful view in all of Israel.

Whenever I see the girls who are in lahava⇓ I always talk to them and see how they’re doing and it always makes me happy. They’re so cute. SOOOOOO so so (so) happy I finished that shlav⇓ of my life but happy to make people who are still there smile.

I had toranut mitbach⇓ this week but it’s not REEAAALL toranut mitbach because there are actual paid people who work on the base (shoutout to the dodot⇓) who are in charge of the kitchen so it was no biggie. Another reason it rocks to be at Michve.

I was sitting in my office being stressed about this tiyul⇓ that was happening the next day and I hear someone call my name, turn my head and guess who it is?! Ariel Hoffman!!!!! All the Ariel’s were with me this week at Michve! I jumped on him and it was so nice and we got to talk for a little. Visitors are fun.

Because Michve Alon is a training base, there are always courses starting and finishing. Yesterday plugat sa’ar⇓finished their tekes⇓. In plugat sa’ar they have girls one session and boys one session. This time the boys finished. People draft to sa’ar for all kinds of reasons. For the boys, it’s usually some kind of anxiety or social type issues. There’s a huge range of people who draft to sa’ar but basically it’s because they got low scores at their tzav rishon. I had some free time and decided to go watch the tekes. I’ve been at Michve 3 months and I’ve watched at least 3 tkasim⇓ but each time it’s so emotional in it’s own way. When soldiers finish their course or basic training at michve, it’s more meaningful than finishing anywhere else because of the special populations that draft to Michve and not always מובן מאלב שהם התגייסו בכלל . The mitztayen⇓ of the pluga⇓ gave a speech during the tekes. He told his story. He explained that when he went to his tzav rishon⇓, he was super excited. He had a conversation with the kaban and because of anger issues and anxiety they told him he doesn’t have to do the army. He decided instead that he would do sherut leumi⇓ and do volunteer work if he couldnt draft. When he was at the end of the process to start sherut leumi they asked him again if he was sure he didn’t want to draft because there is a way he could draft if he wanted to. He decided that he did and he drafted to sa’ar at Michve. He told the boys in his pluga that they’re the best family they can ask for and explained that the segel⇓ didn’t have lower expectations for them because of their circumstance but instead demanded even more from them and helped them to succeed. He told his pluga “there really is nothing we can’t achieve”. Meanwhile, I’m sitting in the audience almost crying because it was another reminder of why Michve is such a special place and why it’s incredible that I get to take a part in the bigger movement of the base.

My מ״מ⇓ from tironut⇓ just went up a rank and I went to her little ceremony which was nice and exciting. Even if I’m not close to the person it’s exciting for me just to watch the people who are close with them be happy. Makes me happy too.

Every Wednesday we have erev madaria⇓ and yesterday it was Tal’s birthday and we had a birthday party for him and it was fun. I even got my friend to smuggle him in McDonalds. Very successful opperation. I really like the people that I work with. They’re fun. Afterwards I had a two hour meeting with the ktzina⇓ of my ktzina last night and we’re almost done with the tochnit chinuch⇓ 2017 woot woot. פחות כיף אבל לא נורא

This morning my ktzina decided that we were going to have a little field trip and take a nice walk (ended up being an hour there and back) to the Druze village next to Michve and buy some breakfast food and eat a breakfast together with all of the madaria. It was great and yummy and we passed a scary dog and I screamed but other than that it was nice and relaxing.

I went to Tara’s (friend who was at Michve with me) tekes masa cumta⇓ today. Super last minute she told me that there was a shuttle from Afula so I said to myself what the heck and decided to go!! It was an adventure and I was so happy I went. Army ceremonies are still exciting even though it’s the 70000th one I’ve been to. I’m really serious just seeing all the excitement and seeing the accomplishment on someones face is a reason enough to go. Tara’s dad and grandma flew in from New York and her roommate came and it was all super nice and I’m happy I could come and share in the happiness. Mazal tov Tarrrrrrrr that cumta looks so nice on you 🙂

I got to Hanita this evening and hung out a little with the host fam and then sat and talked to ionatan for a long time and I’m about to go to sleep and go tomorrow to Tel Aviv and stay with Emma and it’s gonna rock. She’s coming to the panel on Sunday at Michve for lahava (which by the way I got uninvited to because no one from Michve gets my job so it’s not really worth it for me to even explain lol and they have too many girls coming to speak) but doesn’t matter cause me and Emma get to go to base together. Another not so bad Sunday!

Kitzerrrrr⇓- I’m grateful for army ceremonies and sharing in the joy of other’s accomplishments, the beautiful Michve view and especially gorgeous sunset this week

This song is stuck in my head. Hatikva 6 was still probably the most fun concert I’ve ever been to.

I feel like I’m losing my English a little bit. I’m in this horrible middle period of my English not being so good and also my Hebrew not being perfect. It’s hard so bare with me on the many Hebrew words I mixed into my post.

Dictionary:

stammmm- slang… I think I’d best translate this right now as “just kidding”
plugat carmel- name of the Company in Michve for olim chadashim with slightly better Hebrew
Michve Alon- the base I serve on
lahava- name of the Company in Michve for olot chadashot (new immigrants) who are learing Hebrew- I was there in the beginning of my service
shlav- stage
toranut mitbach- kitchen duty
dodot- people who work in the kitchen at Michve
tiyul- trip
plugat sa’ar- name of a one of the Company’s in Michve
tzav rishon- the first tests for the army before you draft
tekes, tkasim- ceremony, ceremonies
mitztayen- outstanding soldier
kaban- army psychologist
sherut leumi- national service
segel- staff
מ״מ- comander Platoon
tironut- basic training
erev madaria- evening with my office
ktzina- officer
tochnit chinuch- education program of the base
פחות כיף אבל לא נורא- not so fun but not horrible
masa cumta- long hike that combat soldiers do at the end of training in order to ern their unit’s beret
Kitzerrrrr- in short

I have no clue how to speak about the army in English so this helped me a little— http://balagan.info/israeli-hebrew-terms-for-military-formations

Happy Friday!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD0Zlwg5VOg

10 Things I Wish I Could Tell My Pre-Army Self

1. This is the beginning of a crazy adventure filled with many ups and downs. Make the best of it all.

2. Take everything as a learning experience and allow yourself to always grow and find the positives in every single day- no matter how horrible it seemed.

3. Don’t ever give up and remind yourself that everything passes- the good and the bad. Appreciate and enjoy the good stuff and know that the bad doesn’t last forever.

4. Michve is a really special place. You’re going to meet people from all over the world. Some of them you’ll really like and connect to and many of them you won’t and that’s OK. You have an opportunity that most people in the entire world do not have. Remember that people come to Israel and the army for all different reasons. Challenge yourself to be accepting of people who are different from you in every way possible and find the common ground to connect on.

5. It’s OK to cry, everyone does it.

6. SPEAK IN HEBREW AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Keep reminding yourself that the reason you’re there is to learn Hebrew. The best way to learn is to talk. Talk in class and talk to your friends. Speak in Hebrew even if you’re tired or overwhelmed. It’s super easy to just stick with the Americans and speak in English but you’re not going to take the easy way. Make all your stupid Hebrew mistakes in Michve. You get to practice Hebrew with people who won’t judge you and understand where you’re coming from- take advantage of that!! Build your confidence in the language, that’s the most important part and half the battle of learning a new language. Engage and participate in discussions. Write down words that you hear and don’t understand and look them up and ask what they mean.

7. Build a relationship with your mefakedet if at all possible. Trust her and she’ll trust you. Even if she’s yelling at you, remember that that’s her job and she doesn’t actually hate you.

8. Bond with your tzevet. It’s so miserable to feel alone. Regardless, there will be times when you feel alone but keep reminding yourself that you’re really not.

9. You’re not the first to do this and you’re not the last.

10. Go kick the army’s ass!!!!!!! You got this!! ❤❤❤❤