Songs of Ascent Inspiring True Stories of Aliyah Edited by Rosally Saltsman Songs of Ascent Inspiring True Stories of Aliyah Edited by Rosally Saltsman First edition Copyright © 2020 Rosally Saltsman All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without permission in writing from the authors. Th e digital copy of this book may be forwarded and shared only in its entirety. Cover design: Galina Bleikh Cover photo painting: Aliyah in Progress by Yoram Raanan Graphics and layout: Sara Hager Copyeditor: Farla Klaiman Printed in Israel Pray that God should give you longing and desire for the land of Israel, and then you will succeed in getting there. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov ִ שׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת, לְדָוִד: הִנֵּה מַה-טּוֹב, וּמַה נּ ִ ָעים שֶׁבֶת א ִ ַחים גַּם יָחַד. A song of ascents by David. Behold, how good and how pleasant is the dwelling of brothers, moreover in unity. Tehillim (Psalms) 133:1 L’ilui nishmot פרימה רבקה בת משולם ובבצע טשרנא ז״ל Frima Rivka bat Meshulem v’Babse Charna z”l Ruth Klaiman שמעון בן שמואל ואיטע פייגע ז״ל Shimon ben Shmuel v’Ita Faige z”l Sydney Klaiman שמואל פינחס בן שמעון ופרימה רבקה ז״ל Shmuel Pinchas ben Shimon v’Frima Rivka z”l Dr. Stephen Klaiman דינה בת שלמה ורחל ז״ל Dinah bat Shlomo v’Rachel z”l Donna Klaiman from Farla Klaiman לעילוי נשמת אברהם בן צבי הערשל ויהודית אסתר פרל בת אהרון צבי In memory of Bernard and Pearl Garmaise z”l CONTENTS About Pronunciation .......................................................13 Foreword ......................................................................14 Acknowledgments ...........................................................16 Dedication ....................................................................17 I Love Going to Israel .......................................................18 Author’s Note ................................................................ 20 Coming Home .................................................................. 22 Th e Voice of Clarity ........................................................... 24 I Am the Land .................................................................. 26 A Visit from Eliyahu .......................................................... 28 Th e People of Israel Lives and Endures and Eats Falafel.............. 30 Stones ............................................................................ 33 First Fruits ...................................................................... 36 Accredited Aliyah ............................................................. 38 A Bowl of Toff ees .............................................................. 41 Dog-Gone Aliyah .............................................................. 47 11 Songs of Ascent Don’t Whine For Me São Paulo ............................................ 48 From the Mouths of Babes ................................................... 50 Th e Price Is Right .............................................................. 51 Th ree in One Day .............................................................. 55 Common Denominator ...................................................... 57 Dying to Live Here ............................................................ 60 Dreaming of Israel ............................................................ 61 Simply a Jew .................................................................... 65 With Th eir Own Eyes ......................................................... 68 Practical Halachah (Jewish Law) .......................................... 71 A Cause for Celebration ..................................................... 72 Reasons .......................................................................... 75 Need a Lift ? ..................................................................... 78 Th e Right Move ................................................................ 80 Roots of Aliyah ................................................................. 83 My First Week of Work ....................................................... 87 Th e Forty-Niners .............................................................. 90 Golden Hebrew ................................................................ 94 Plucking the Vibes ............................................................. 97 Th e Homecoming .............................................................. 98 It’s a Relationship ............................................................103 No Choice ......................................................................108 Rites of Passage ...............................................................112 My Father’s Aliyah ...........................................................115 I Could Write a Book ........................................................118 Bursting Her Bubble ........................................................ 120 Flying Carpet ..................................................................121 Th e Heart and Soul of Israel .............................................. 123 All in the Family ............................................................. 125 Inspiring True Stories of Aliyah 12 From Russia with Love ......................................................129 I Say Ofanayim, You Say Mishkafayim .................................131 Th e Chicken Lady of Jerusalem ...........................................132 How I Brought My Mother-in-Law on Aliyah .........................136 Th e Real Light of Chanukah ...............................................138 Meant to Be ....................................................................141 Getting Accustomed to Israel ..............................................145 Aliyah, So Diff erent Th en ...................................................146 A Letter from Israel ..........................................................149 Living in a Conversation with Hashem ..................................152 Relative Aliyah ................................................................155 Waving the Flag: Refl ections on Israel Independence Day ..........157 In Israel You’re Never A Lone ..............................................161 An “Aliyah” to Remember! .................................................164 My Golden Aliyah ............................................................166 Conclusion .....................................................................168 Glossary ........................................................................172 ABOUT PRONUNCIATION Different groups of religious (and secular) Jews pronounce Hebrew and Yiddish words diff erently based on their ethnicity and their upbringing. To remain true to the voice of each of the stories, we have included all pronunciations. A glossary appears at the end of the book for further clarifi cation. In the course of reading this book, you may feel like you are learning a whole new language. Th at’s because you are. In Israel, people who speak English (or any other language) as their mother tongue quickly adopt a certain lexicon of words that are always said in Hebrew (or Yiddish) even if they are speaking in their native tongue. Th is book contains words of Torah. Please do not read this book in the bathroom, rest it on the fl oor, or dispose of any part of it. FOREWORD Th e Happiest Place on Earth The happiest place on earth isn’t Disneyland, though I would defi nite- ly put Disneyland in the top fi ve. No, I’m convinced that the happiest place on earth is the arrivals’ hall of Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Air- port. Everyone is happy. Whether they’re waiting in nervous but happy anticipation for their loved ones to land, coming for a visit, home aft er a visit, or home aft er a lifetime, everyone is in various stages of euphoria to have landed on Israeli soil. Th e festivity is enhanced by the myriad balloons on the ceiling. I had wondered how they had gotten there until one time I came to meet my son with a balloon and, in my haste to hug him, I let it go and it fl oated up to join its friends. Th ere’s contained Israeli mayhem as people talk on their cell phones, dogs bark, and people squeal and rush to greet their friends and family. Th e airport workers intermittently try to shoo people back behind the barrier as people stream in from the dozens of fl ights from all over the world. But they do so half-heartedly, knowing it is a lost battle. Israelis are fi ercely loyal to their traveling relatives. And then there are the groups on pilgrimage or friends of Israel who, dressed in various 15 Songs of Ascent costumes, come in singing and dancing or beating drums. Th ere are the Birthright groups and the tourist groups. People don’t get disconcerted if you shout at them, “Hey, what fl ight were you on?” And everyone comes out smiling, beaming, grateful. It’s also a very user-friendly hall. For those of you who’ve never been here (what are you waiting for?), the arrivals’ hall is in a semi-circular shape with a decorative barrier so that you can see the arrivals and they can see you as soon as they come out of the doors, and you don’t get in people’s way if you happen to jump the barrier in your enthusiasm to greet someone. A huge board clearly displays the arrivals and when they’re supposed to arrive, and while you’re waiting you’re surrounded by food options. I’ve even seen someone bring brownies. Unlike in bigger city airports, you will invariably meet