My Experience Visiting Israel for the First Time.

Guest Post by Julie Abrahams, posted with permission of Julie Abrahams.

In February 2010, my husband, youngest daughter, and I packed our bags and set out on our Pilot Trip to Israel. We had already made the decision to make Aliyah (move up) to the Holy Land of our ancestors. My husband had lived in Israel in 1967, 1973, and in the 1980's. However, for my daughter and me, this was our first trip to Israel. Our excitement could not begin to prepare us for our arrival. 

The emotion one experiences when entering The Land is beyond words or explanation. The tears in our eyes said it all. We heaved a communal sigh as we stepped onto the soil where generations of Jews had walked before us. 

Our excitement was soon matched by a flurry of activity, the renting of a car, driving up to Jerusalem, and traveling through a maze of road construction to finally register in our hotel. 

During our first week we visited the Wailing Wall (the Kotel), the Shuk (outdoor marketplace) in the Old City, and walked the ancient streets. 

The second week, we headed North to a cottage my husband had rented, just outside of Tzfat, Israel. Each day we ventured forth, visiting potential homes, the Golan, and the ancient ruins of Jewish settlements. 

It was the trip of a lifetime. Each visit left us in awe, more certain than ever that this was the Land we were meant to settle, this was our true Home. 

We returned to the United States just two weeks later. We felt as though we were in mourning, yearning to return to Israel with unmatched resolve. 

In the months that followed, every step, every task, every carton was filled with the determination to make Israel our permanent home.

Almost two years later we are living in northern Israel, in the city of Tzfat. My husband and I are very grateful to be able to call Israel Home. We walk on the ancient cobblestones determined not to take any step for granted, reveling in the beauty and splendor that surrounds us. 

And we wait for our sons, daughters, and grandchildren to join us in this vision. We wait for countless thousands of our brothers and sisters to, not only visit Israel for the first time, we wait for our Jewish family to come HOME!

Come and Meet Other Jewish Women

If you are coming to Eretz Yisrael on a Pilot Trip during the month of December or have recently made Aliya, come and join our Full Day Seminar for Women. At this event you will meet other women who already live in Israel. We have some wonderful speakers lined up.

Each of these speakers is very worth getting to know and each have guests for Shabbat.

So come and join us. One of the keys to settling in Israel successfully is increasing your network. What better way than through a full day that is geared to increasing Unity with Jewish Women.

If you can't make this event, please be in touch anyway. We are working on making this kind of event a regular happening. So come along another time.

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Our Upcoming Women's Event, scheduled to take place, G-d willing, on 8th Dec 2009 at the Dati Leumi Shul Hall, 22 Rehov Chai Taib, Har Nof.

"It looks like terrific program!" One of our presenters in response to confirming details of the time for her slot.

As you can see, responses coming in are positive. We have wonderful and inspiring speakers and a varied program.

Come and join us for a day of Torah, Tehillim, Tzeddakah, Simchah and Unity. Further details can be seen on our website

Prior Booking is essential. Payment to attend can be made either via PayPal or direct deposit to our Bank Account.

To book your places, please email Shoshanah
Book for a friend too and receive a free raffle ticket.

₪250 per person.

A Pilot Tour - Part 1

Many Olim, prior to making Aliya, will come on a Pilot trip or tour. This can be a private visit to Israel to gather information or it can be on an organized tour. What are some things you will look for on such a trip?

An obvious big decision is housing and location. When talking to fellow Olim, I often ask, how did they choose the particular area of Israel that they are living in. Some will say that they moved there because there was an offer for cheap housing.

This is something that is advisable to look into further. For Olim from different areas, there are different areas of Israel that the various organizations offer perks for them to move. For example, you might be told by your Shaliach, in the country you are coming from ,that if you move to a certain area that you will be given better mortgage rates, increased rental subsidy and more. The Shluchim do a very good marketting job, trying their best to get Olim from their area to go to those particular parts of Israel. For some, this is a great option. However, it does not suit all Olim.

If you are being "pushed" into a given area, check out the marketting strategies. If you are told the area is only 10 or 15 minutes from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, when you come on your Pilot tour, check that out. Is it really 10 or 15 minutes on a watch or does it just feel like 10 / 15 minutes to the shaliach. Is that 10 or 15 minutes by bus or train or car. If it is so close by train, how long would it take you to get to the train station and from the train station at the other end.

This information helps you to get an idea of real traveling time.

Look at other factors too. What is the population like in the area they are advising that you go to. Does the population meet the age group you are looking for, religious background, types of stores that would be beneficial, kupat cholim you are considering using, hours of kupat cholim, schools.

What is the housing like, are there only apartments or are there also houses or caravans. Are there good buses to wherever you might need to go to. Are there parks and beautiful views. This is important to some. If you like the city, dont get pushed into moving to the country and visa versa.

In short, it is beneficial to work out for yourselves what is important to you. Do you need the mountains or the sea, inland any where as long as it is Israel or somewhere specific. Green or desert. Are there other Olim or is it more established and predominantly Israeli area?

If you have friends and or family already living in Israel, do you wish to live in the area they live in. If not, are there times of the year that you will be able to get together to visit. Keep in mind that Israel has for the most part a 6 day week and Shabbat, there is no Sunday as an extra day to go visiting family. If your family is religious and you are not yet, how will you feel spending Shabbat with them? What will you do if the reverse occurs. If you observe Shabbat and only have Shabbat free, what arrangements can you make for visiting family. Will they come to you, will you stay with others in the area and walk to them on Shabbat.

We have given you some ideas to think about. Obviously there are many more when deciding whether to make Aliya and if so, where to move to.

One thing to remember when coming on your Pilot Trip, this trip is rather like the tour that the Spies made when scouting out the Land of Israel prior to Am Yisrael entering the Land. We learn from them a powerful message. When gathering your facts and looking for your needs, be careful as to how you formulate your conclusion and what you look at and for. As we know, the Spies gave a certain report that was true but sent the Nation of Israel complaining. There were 2 spies who did not fall into this trap.

In another post we will look at these two who did not formulate a negative opinion and what we can learn from how they conducted their trip differently to the other 10 Spies.

If you have other thoughts or questions on this topic, please do send them in and we will try to address them.