It is Friday evening here in Israel, but my computer reminds me that it is still only 9 AM in the morning in my old hometown of Yachats on the Oregon Coast. That is a little bit weird. It is one of the things I still have not gotten used to. Also (to be honest) sometimes I look at prices and think something is way too expensive before I remember that it is in shekels and not in dollars.
Thank you, friends, for staying with me and for your interest in my transition to my new life in Zichron Yaakov. Yes, I have made Aliyah, which is the Hebrew word meaning (literally) “ascent” or “going up” but which has been used for centuries in Jewish life to refer simultaneously to the honor of being called up to read from the Torah in synagogue and to the immigration of Jews to our ancestral home in Israel.
For those of you who have wondered how I chose the beautiful town of Zichron Yaakov and how I made the decision and the plans to move here it is really rather simple. I started with a 3 week trip in April where I spent a week in Tel Aviv, a week in Jerusalem and a week driving around in the North based in Haifa while I simultaneously imagined what life would feel like if I lived here and tried to decide where I might live if I ultimately decided to move here.
I am at the stage of life (called retirement by many) in which my income is somewhat fixed and hopefully will last for the rest of my life. For younger people, considering Aliyah there is an additional burden of trying to guess how they will make a living in a new country. I just had to decide what my standard of living would be and what compromises I was and was not willing to accept.
I had a lovely life (in many ways) for my last five years. (I will consider those years to be my “pre-retirement” years) I had gotten my last adult child out of our home and into the world (with a college degree and no debt) and still had a tiny little bit of periodic law work that I could do long distance. I rented a comfortable house directly across from the ocean outside a small town on the gorgeous Oregon Coast and went to the beach with my dog (Jerry) at least once a day for at least an hour. I had been spending a good deal of time trying to complete a memoir of my unique experience and perspective practicing law and I had the privilege of being able to afford tickets to concerts and plays and sporting events and drove up to Portland (3 hours away) and to Seattle (5 hours away) and stayed in nice hotels and ate in restaurants during those trips. YES – for those of you who have followed my adventures I managed to see three Dead and Company shows at the Sphere in 2025, six shows (on two separate weekends) at the Sphere in 2024 and 3 shows at Folsom field in Boulder and 2 at the Gorge during their last tour in 2023.
On my first trip to Israel (back in April, 2025) I decided that I wanted to move to Israel if possible, for a variety of reasons that stemmed from my having become an October 7 Zionist. I assumed that I would need to keep my rent similar (in an equivalent cost in shekels) to what I had been paying in dollars in Oregon. I knew that I did not want to live in a big city like Tel Aviv or Haifa but that I wanted to maintain the ability to take Jerry to the beach which had been our (both his and mine) main pleasure. I wandered around in a rental car exploring towns that people had suggested (or that appeared in travel guides) until I got to Zichron and basically decided that this was it.
There is a dog friendly beach not too far away (15 minute drive when I get a car), a vibrant and friendly English speaking population and gorgeous views (of the Mediteranean) and nice walking trails and a Botanical garden. Of course, it also has a fantastic falafel shop (which I’ve mentioned previously) and a gelato/”art” shop.
I had already begun the paperwork assisted by the organization “Nefesh b’ Nefesh” and finally got notification in the end of October that my application had been approved. I flew out of LAX on December 29 and landed in Tel Aviv on December 30 exactly one month ago. I have previously described the trip down to Los Angeles and even details about flying with Jerry (in cargo) so I’ll skip ahead.
The simple truth is that just as there was a long list of things I had to do before leaving the USA that I accomplished methodically by getting them done one by one, once I landed I had an equally long list of things I have to do in order to get settled in Israel. I am still only at the very beginning stages. Everything has been more difficult than I would have imagined in part because of the bureaucratic nature of this country compounded by it all being in a language that is foreign to me. A small example is my first attempt to get my senior pass which will allow me free transportation on all buses (and I believe trains too). I was given a general description of where to go to get my pass and wondered around until I saw a little shop and went in and asked if the person spoke English. She said NO but pointed me to the shop across the alley. I asked the clerk in the second shop where to go to get my senior bus pass and he pointed back to the original shop. I went back in there and could not communicate the simple request for a senior pass. I will have to go back next week after having written down the words that I will need to speak.
Even opening a bank account was chore that required multiple visits to the bank branch and of course required me to have my temporary Israeli ID card (Teudat Zehut), as well as an Israeli phone number and the form permitting me to open an account. One of the best pieces of advice of have gotten since arrival was to only try to get one thing done each day and then to celebrate whenever something is accomplished.
So as not to end this post as if I am complaining about how hard it is one of the daily experiences is that whenever I mention to anyone that I am a recent immigrant (new Oleh) I am greeted with a warm and sincere “welcome home” or “Baruch Haba” which is a Hebrew phrase meaning “Blessed is the one who comes”. The weather has been cooler then , I had anticipated but this weekend is supposed to be in the seventies and sunny and I am hoping to take Jerry to the beach. (for the first time since we’ve been here).
When I walk along the cobblestone pedestrian street in the center of town on my way to the market to pick up some groceries (or go to a café) I usually smile and think about the old Talmudic saying that walking in Israel is doing a mitzvah. On a whim I searched the source of that saying and discovered the thread of a discussion about whether it was a commandment or a good deed and ran into a rabbinic source known as the Ramban (acronym for Rabbi Moses ben Nachman) made Aliyah in 1267 at the age of about 70 and wrote about giving up his home and missing his adult children.
I am 72 years old and miss my adult children but because of the blessings of modern technology I can talk to them on WhatsApp and have expectations of seeing them again on visits. I think frequently about my dad who travelled from Germany to France and from there by boat to South America without any money (only the charities from the Jewish Agency) and struggling to learn a second language (French) and then a third language (Spanish) before finally making it to America and learning his fourth language. I think about my paternal grandfather who travelled from Germany to Palestine (also in 1938) and presumably with very little money before finally settling in Tel Aviv and living out his life without ever seeing or talking again to his two adult children. I am blessed to be here and grateful for my privileges.
I have not yet found a permanent apartment to rent but in the meanwhile Jerry and I are staying in the back room of someone who rents us her extra space. I have kitchen privileges and a private bathroom and there is a nice trail nearby where Jerry and I walk a few times every day.
I have been notified that my stuff is on a boat that is expected to reach port in the middle of march so I am certainly hoping to have found a permanent apartment by then and looking forward to getting my bed, my tv, my computer and my stereo and CD collection.
I still follow the news from back home (obsessively) and am terrified for my children and friends about what seems to be coming down the road.