Dateline Jerusalem — Happy anniversary! Nine years ago, I made aliyah to Israel. It only took me 28 years from my first visit to Israel to finally immigrate to my ancestral home. After touching Israeli ground for the first time in 1979, I knew that the tears in my eyes, goosebumps on my arms and shivers from head to toe were signs that I must return home, the land of my ancestors. My family, all adults at the time of my aliyah in 2007, claimed I had abandoned them. I knew that at my age it was now or never to make aliyah. And never was out of the question. How could I not want to live in a country where I feel G-d’s presence at all times? I am living history every day?

“Aliyah” describes the immigration and return of Jews from countries all over the world back to their ancient homeland.

The Land of Israel also means “to go up,” to ascend in a spiritual sense. Often it is defined as “progressing toward Jerusalem,” the eternal capital of the Jewish people. “Gimel,” the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is indicative of a spiritual journey. The number three is significant in Judaism because a pattern is established in Jewish law when something is repeated three times, such as prayers and rituals. Therefore, since the number 9 is equal to 3×3, a pattern of something worthwhile or holy is established. Celebrating the nine-year anniversary of my aliyah is significant to me because my aliyah has been both a spiritual and physical journey.

According to Deuteronomy 30:1, all the Jews who have been scattered to the four corners of the earth will return to Israel at the end of time. Although only G-d knows when that will be, many of us already began our spiritual and physical journeys returning to roots. In just the last year, 30,000 Jews from 90 countries made aliyah. Some come because they are targeted by terrorists, some because life in their country is harsh, some for religious freedom, some as refugees because they have nowhere else to go. Then there are those like me, from English-speaking countries, who leave the good life and comforts of home to come to Israel where life can be difficult and uncertain. We live on wages one-quarter of what they are in the States, and we have expenses four times those in the States. But we love living here. We would not think of leaving.

The Super Bowl of Food

To celebrate the anniversary of my aliyah, I sent an invitation for a get-together at my apartment to thank those who made my aliyah a success. Without the support, help, and friendship of these women, my aliyah would have been difficult to say the least. They helped me cope with bureaucracy, getting around without a car, and translating Hebrew documents since nine years later I still do not speak Hebrew. Most importantly, they opened their homes and hearts to me by inviting me to Shabbat meals, holiday feasts, Passover seders, family simchas (parties or celebrations). They welcomed me and made me feel as though I were a member of their family.

I cooked and cooked. Thirty of us crowded into my apartment and gorged ourselves on a dairy menu. Since it is customary to eat dairy dishes on Shavuot in remembrance of when G-d gifted the Jewish people with the Torah, I thought it only appropriate that I serve a dairy meal in remembrance of G-d’s gift to me of a successful aliyah. Someone made a ladies cocktail of fruit juice, vodka, gin, and rum and fruit juice. Another friend made a broccoli kugel and a bean salad, another made a pavlova dessert. Others brought wine, cake, and rugalach pastry. The rest of the meal I prepared including regular and cheesy garlic bread, tuna salad with mandarin oranges, sweet chili penne pasta salad, cheese lasagna, fettuccini, eggplant mozzarella, cheese blintzes with lingonberry sauce, spiced fried garbanzo beans/chickpeas, panko crusted smashed potatoes, orzo vermicelli and sundried tomato salad, hot cheesy artichoke dip with corn chips, pineapple sour cream pie, blueberries with whipped cream and there were assorted salads.

We had plenty of food and drink, we were entertained by someone who sang for us a cappella. We were a mix of every stream of Judaism, laughing and conversing together.

So wonderful to have such good friends.

L’hitraot. Shachar